Sunday, July 25, 2021

The Greater name of James

Sermon for the feast of St James the Greater

What do you know of St James?

You might first ask, "which one?" for you know there are two disciples called James. The other we celebrate with St Philip on the first of May.

The fact that this James has a feast day of his own might tell you that this is St James the Greater, the brother of St John. This is the James who, together with St Peter and St John, bears witness to the more intimate sayings of the Lord. He is also present at the Transfiguration. This James is the first Bishop of Jerusalem. He is the first of the Apostles to lose his life as a martyr under Herod.

The second thing you might know is that his name is not James - it's Jacob.

[PAUSE]

Well, that's a bit pedantic. It's like saying that the Lord's name is Joshua and not Jesus. While Jesus is the Greek version of Joshua and is fairly direct, the name James is actually a medieval Latin version of Jacob. The name has travelled quite extensively and, unlike the Lord's Name, St James would never have been called that in His lifetime. He will always have been Jacob.

Now, why is this relevant? Why is the fact that the name of this Holy and Venerable Apostle has changed so radically in contrast to his Master and Our Lord?

[PAUSE]

The life of St James has been embroidered by stories. There is a tale that he went to Spain but there is no evidence for this before the eighth century. All we really know of St James is what we see in the New Testament and we even hear his name hidden in our modern ears.

Like Jacob, St James wrestles with God - not physically. He asks to drink the same cup as Our Lord. He asks Jesus to sit down with his brother either side of Him in Heaven. He wrestles with this Jesus who goes to His death. He wrestles with himself as he flees from the scene of His arrest. Yet he stays with the other disciples to bear witness to the Resurrection. 

Like Jacob, St James witnesses God. He sees Heaven opened and the light of God pouring out on Mount Tabor. Like Jacob, St James becomes the spiritual father to an uncountable number of Christians.

His name travels and, in travelling, alters. His testimony does not. While his name gets altered by the centuries, the name of his Master does not but is repeated faithfully and lovingly to all people. In having his name altered, St James receives the promised new name from Our Lord. He is like the patriarch Jacob but he is so much more for He has not just wrestled with God and seen God in a fragment of His glory, but He has born witness to our Salvation to the extent of his own blood. He has decreased to make his testimony increase.

[PAUSE]

Our names, too, will change and alter. Like many martyrs of God, our names will probably be forgotten altogether by an indifferent world. But God gives us our new name, our true name by which He calls us. God is always faithful, we have to learn to be faithful too, just like the Great St James himself.

No comments: