Monday, July 25, 2022

 Feast of Saint James, Apostle

(II Corinthians 4:7-15; Matthew 20:20-28)

In today’s gospel Jesus predicts the martyrdom of James.  In fact, the Acts of the Apostles relates that James becomes the first of the twelve to give his life in testimony to Christ.  The reading from St. Paul can be considered a commentary on James’ sacrifice.

Paul writes from personal experience.  He was afflicted in every way – beatings, insults, shipwrecks, the ardor of travel, etc.  But he never gave up.  The person of Jesus influenced him as well as James and many, many Christians martyrs over twenty centuries.  Jesus’ teaching moved them to evangelize others.  And the Holy Spirit conveying God’s love inspired them to make the ultimate sacrifice.

We are the beneficiaries of their efforts.  Sometimes we have difficulty appreciating our legacy.  We live in a society of individuals.  Married couples often don’t share the same bank account, much less the same email address.  To say that we belong to the Church of the Apostles may sound like a shallow claim.  Nevertheless, following the teachings of the apostles, we realize that our future is not limited.  Rather, like them, our destiny is the glory of Christ risen from the dead.