Reflection for the day - Saint James the Apostle: Treasure in a Clay Jar

 

 

The Gospel reading for mass today is the story about the mother of James and John who had the audacity to ask Jesus to,”Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.”

We are just human beings and we all have human weaknesses, flaws and shortcomings. Sometimes we may fail to live up to the kind of behavior that Jesus or other people expect of us, because of our human weaknesses. Sometimes we have these weaknesses by choice, such as the sin of pride that James and John had in wanting to sit on each side of Jesus in his kingdom, and sometimes our weaknesses may be a physical problem or illness that prevents us from fulfilling the expectations that others have of us.
Should we give up trying to do God’s will in our lives because we can not do a perfect job at it? The readings for mass today do not seem to indicate that would be the right thing to do.  If we were perfect, then other people would look up to us too much and become distracted from developing their own relationship with the Lord.
This is a danger in the manner in which many Catholics view our priests and the
leaders of our church, too. We can look up to them too much, expecting them to be perfect, since they are our spiritual leaders who guide us in how to live holy lives.  It is hard to live your life in the public eye though, because everything you do is on public display.  If you commit even a small sin, or fail to live up to what people expect of you in even a small way, then everyone knows all about it.
News travels fast too. Gossip is something that we all need to work on overcoming in our personal lives, but also in our parishes as well.  The gospel today says that when the ten heard about James and John wanting a special place in the Lord’s kingdom, they became angry at them.  That happens in our families, workplaces, schools and our parishes too when people gossip about one another’s weaknesses or their strengths.  It can stir up a lot of unnecessary anger and hard feelings, justified or not.
It’s really awesome though, how Jesus handled this whole situation in today’s gospel though. When James and John asked to sit at his right and left hand in his kingdom, Jesus did not reply right away that, “it is not mine to grant, but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”  That wasn’t actually the first thing he said.  The very first thing that Jesus did, was to ask them, “Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”  They answered yes.
We should stop for a moment and think about this, because their response was not necessarily a bad thing.  It would be easy to overlook this. James and John were prepared to face whatever the Lord himself would face.  However imperfectly they actually did that, is another story.  Today is the feast day of Saint James, and it is a bit of a shame that this passage in the gospel is the main thing he is remembered for in the mass today.  Saint James actually did go on to have his own people turn against him and sacrifice his life for the Lord.  Saint James was the first apostle to be martyred.  Whatever his moment of weakness was that was depicted in today’s gospel, is totally insignificant when measured against the fact that he gave his own life for Christ.
Jesus went on to tell his disciples in today’s gospel that, “whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”.
Saint James went on to do just that.  Whatever weaknesses he might have had, in the long run they did not rule his life.  Jesus Christ did.  Saint James listened to Jesus and followed in his footsteps, however faltering they may have been.  In fact, his entire life’s journey may have been imperfect in many ways but one thing is clear, he loved Jesus enough to give his own life for him and that is what made him a saint.  We would do well to remember this, and maybe have a little patience with our own shortcomings, and those with whom we live and work with as well.  Jesus can help us to overcome these human weaknesses, if we just remain open to his grace.  That actually glorifies the Lord more, than our own personal perfection, because Christ becomes the one who shines through us.