St James - Following, failing and faith

 Today in the church calendar is the Feast Day of St James - James was the Galilean Fisherman who, along with his brother John, was one of those called by Jesus to give up everything and follow him. He seems to have enjoyed a privileged position in the group as one of Jesus’ inner circle. He was one of the disciples chosen to be with Jesus at the Transfiguration, at the healing of Jairus’ daughter and also then at the Garden of Gethsemane as Jesus awaited his arrest. 

It is believed that James was eventually put to death in the year 44AD on the instructions of Herod Agrippa who believed that by killing off the Christian leaders, he could kill off the spread of the Christian Faith. 

How foolish Herod was to think that a faith was just about the people. Had that been the case then I’m sure that Christianity would never have survived and prospered as it has over the past 2000 years. The Christian faith, whilst heavily reliant on each one of us to act as witnesses for Jesus, relies on Jesus himself for its growth. 

And that is something that in times of change and sometimes times of struggle in the church, we can too easily forget as well – we think of strategies, we think of plans, we think of practicalities that might cause us problems, and whilst it’s wise and sensible to think through situations, the beginning, the middle and the end of our thoughts must always be Jesus and where he might be guiding us… And that is why prayer and reflection are so important… 

We don’t know too much about James really other than what I’ve already said, but I want to think of a few episodes from his life that can I think inspire us – the first has to be the fact that he responded to the call of Jesus to come and follow me. He put down his fishing net, he, along with his brother John, left his father to set out on a journey of faith. He gave up what he knew and took a step into the unknown. 

But James, I’m sure, never regretted that step. He may have known fear and danger, maybe even been discouraged at the time of the crucifixion, but he also knew comfort and peace and fellowship, close fellowship with Jesus. 

It’s a challenge to us all as we seek to follow Jesus to consider what barriers we put up to stop us really listening to him and following him wherever he leads. A journey of faith may not always be easy but it’s a journey where we will be accompanied by the Lord of all creation – someone who never leaves us and offers us peace, joy, hope, comfort and unending love. 

The second thing I want to think about is James’ faults ! It’s always a great comfort I think to hear of Saints with faults ! James was nicknamed a ‘Son of thunder’, perhaps for his passionate work for Jesus but maybe also for his temper. We can only speculate really but it was he who asked Jesus to command fire to come down on a village where Jesus had been rejected. In reply Jesus gently reminded him that his message was one of peace and love. 

Saints with faults remind us that none of us are perfect – we’re called to do our best, to try and follow Jesus in our lives, and when we fail, to follow him again and again… And the saints with faults remind us of the love and grace of Jesus… think of people like Peter who rejected Jesus but was welcomed back. What about Thomas who, perhaps naturally, had his doubts when the others told him they had seen the risen Jesus. There was no condemnation from Jesus, just understanding, love and compassion… 

What about the Apostle Paul – this man, as Saul, had persecuted Christians, literally killing them, but when he recognised God, he was used powerfully as perhaps the greatest missionary the church has ever known… 

Through the centuries since there have been many stories of God’s grace being revealed… Most of us won’t have incredibly dramatic stories of transformation in our lives, but each one of us is a beneficiary of God’s grace and his love.

And in the third lesson from the life of James we think of our gospel reading today (Matthew 20:20-28) and the time when his mother approached Jesus asking that James and his brother John be seated at his right and left hand in the kingdom of God. 

Jesus explained this couldn’t happen – there were no favourites in the kingdom of God… The other disciples when they heard about this were angry – why should James and John have sought preferential treatment. “Why do they think they’re better than the rest of us ?” was their feeling. 

Again Jesus though wasn’t angry – he wasn’t angry at the request and he wasn’t angry at the response from the others – it gave him the chance to explain again that the kingdom of God was about servanthood. Jesus came incredibly as a servant and that is the example we are each called to follow… 

The request of James and John’s mother was a huge misunderstanding about the kingdom of equality and love, but it offered Jesus the chance to remind us all that we are to be servants of all, not seeking power or authority, but seeking to do God’s will. 

And so we are to be servants working for justice and peace, servants showing love in how we treat others, servants in proclaiming the gospel message of hope.  

Things throughout the world have been difficult over the past 18 months or so – some people have lost their lives, many people have struggled with all kinds of things. I think we’ve all struggled at times with the lack of company and our churches have been changed perhaps forever, but we’ve been reminded of what is most important and that is often not the material things, not the things that we have but the people around us, the relationships we enjoy, the company, the fellowship, the love that can be shared… 

In Jesus we recognise the most perfect form of love – sacrificial love that led him to the cross, unbreakable love, all powerful love… 

It was the love of Jesus which James recognised and responded to as he, following the resurrection of Jesus, shared the gospel message. It was the love that millions of others have responded to since, and are continuing to respond to today. 

It is the love that today draws his Church together, to reveal, to a world in need, some of the power and awesome majesty of Jesus, something of his humility as we seek to serve others, and the compassion and concern for our neighbours, whoever they are and wherever they may be. That is our calling today… 

And we exercise that call with the full force of God behind us, and within us, if we open our lives completely to him. AMEN