JAMES THE GREATER
James the Greater
Was a son of Zebedee
Was an Apostle
And together
With his brother John
Were called “sons of thunder”
“Going on from there
He saw two other brothers
James-son of Zebedee
And his brother John
They were in a boat
With their father Zebedee
Preparing their nets
Jesus called them
And immediately
They left their boat
And their father
And followed him”
Matthew 4:21-22
Thus James
Was an original Apostle
We know that James
Along with Peter
And his brother John
Were present at the Transfiguration
“After six days
Jesus took with him
Peter, James and John-the brother of James
And led them up to a high mountain
By themselves” Matthew
17:1
There they saw Jesus
Talking with Moses and Elijah
And we know
That James and John were so presumptuous
SO HUMAN
That they asked for their spot
In the kingdom
“Teacher,” they said,
“We want you to do for us
Whatever we ask”
“What do you want me to do
For you,” Jesus asked
They replied
“Let one of us
Sit at the right
And the other at your left
In your glory”
And Jesus told them,
“Whoever wants to become great
Among you
Must be a servant
And whoever wants to be first
Must be slave to all”
Matthew 10:35-44
In other words
They have to prove themselves first
As we too
Must prove ourselves
To be a servant of God
He was the first Apostle
To die for the Christian faith
Legend has it
That he preached the Gospel in Spain
After the Resurrection
That is why today
He is the patron Saint of Spain
He was put to death by the sword
By King Herod
So today-his feast today
We pray Dear Lord
That we prove ourselves just like Saint James
Only NOT by dying
For the faith
But by LIVING for it
Robert P. Wallman
7-25-12
Ps 7-25-18
and 7-25-2019
Saint James' feast day is July 25th
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