The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her, "What do you wish?" She answered him, "Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom." Jesus said in reply, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?" They said to him, "We can." He replied, "My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus summoned them and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."
REFLECTION
“Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
“Follow me”, Jesus said, and he did.
St James was the first of the apostles to be martyred. It was at the hands of Herod Agrippa I. That which Jesus forewarned was now a reality. St James was the first to drink His cup. The rest of the apostles found courage amidst their grief and would eventually also drink the cup of martyrdom. St James was a testimony to his unshakeable faith.
We all have heard of St James, brother of John, son of Zebedee and Salome and first cousin of Jesus. He and his brother both known for their passionate and zealous natures were nicknamed “Sons of Thunder” or Boanerges (Mark 3:17) because they wanted to call down thunder and lightning from heaven to strike down some of their enemies.
He is the Patron Saint of Pilgrims. The Way of St James in Santiago de Compostela, Spain is a network of pilgrimage routes leading to his burial site in the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral.
Can we follow the footsteps of St James, not in the call of a pilgrimage, but can we plunge into the big unknown and follow Jesus leaving all behind, abandoning the family business, with only faith and trust, embracing the unpredictable and the uncertain? Say “yes” and go into the quiet spaces of His being and be willing to be changed forever.
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