James the Greater was one of three disciples who were considered members of Jesus’ “inner” circle. In other words, he, along with Peter and John, were Jesus’ closest friends. Now Scripture tells us lots about Peter: he was the impetuous and rash fisherman who was both the first to declare Jesus as Messiah, as well as the one to deny Him three times. It is Peter to whom Jesus gave the keys to the Kingdom of God. Peter was to become the very first leader of the Church of Jesus Christ.
We also know a lot about John. This brother of James was presumably the youngest among the disciples—full of “thunder” at the beginning of his walk with the Lord, but by the end, his heated passion had transformed into a heart on fire for nothing but love. It is John who took the mother of Love into his home, and John alone is the only one among the apostles who was not martyred for the Faith. Scripture offers us many details written about John as well as by John. These words are a treasure to our hearts.
But James the Greater? For someone who was considered one of Jesus’ best friends, we really know very little. Scholars believe he was referred to as “Greater” not because he was any “better” or “holier” than James the Lesser, but for a much more practical reason: he was taller. Like John, James was also a son of Zebedee, also called “Son of Thunder” by Our Lord. Other than the fact that James witnessed the Transfiguration of Jesus and later became the first of the original twelve disciples to be martyred, we know nothing else scripturally about this apostle.
So those are the highlights of James’ life in a nutshell. Would it not have been wonderful to know more? So many missing details—what happened in between these scant recorded events? Who was James, really? What was it about James that made him one of Jesus’ best friends?
Of course, the answer to this question would necessarily involve some speculation. But perhaps there are a few clues we can glean from Scripture to understand more about this apostle James—beginning with his mother. Now, Scripture reveals quite a bit about the mother of Jesus: she was “full of grace” (Lk. 1:28), ready to obey whatever God asked of her, humble, pondering, willing to serve. The Church teaches that the moment John took Mary into his home, she became our mother too. And traditionally speaking, she was the best mother that ever was!
But what about James’ mother? One window into her heart that we are given is from the scene in which she “approached” Jesus, asking that He “command” her two sons to “sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom” (Mt. 20:20-21). What do her actions tell us? James’ mother, Salome, in a sense, is a manipulative woman. But let’s understand: her act of manipulation does not mean that she was a “bad” woman. Certainly, along with her tendency to manipulate would have been many good qualities too. After all, Salome ended up as one of the friends most loyal to Christ as He carried His Cross (see Mt. 27:55-56)—the time when He needed His friends most! Still, we all have our “thorn,” and evidently, manipulation was the thorn with which Salome struggled.
Other than what her actions tell us about her, what do her actions tell us about her sons—especially about James? Well, as the older brother of the two, should James not have been able to stand up to his mother so as to avoid embarrassing them both? Was James really that weak? No, it is hard to imagine that James’ mother “forced” him to come with her to ask Jesus for anything; which tells us that if James went with her, it would have been because he was willing to go. In fact, according to Mark’s account of the scene, it was James himself, along with his brother, who were the ones to make the request of Jesus:
They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” (Mk. 10:37)
Which brings us to the request itself. Whether it was James’ mother who had her sons’ support, or James himself who made the request of Jesus, what does the requested favor tell us about James? It tells us that just as Salome, who was a good woman, struggled with being manipulative, so too did James, who was a good man, struggle with lack of humility.
Let’s recall, James, at this point, had seen the miracles—even performed them himself; he had heard the brilliant responses to the questions asked of Jesus, the profound teachings, the mysterious parables. He had witnessed Jesus transfigured. But unlike Peter, whose awareness of his own personal failings caused him to call out, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man” (Lk. 5:8), we hear of no personal awareness on the part of James. Perhaps we begin to understand what it was about Peter that set him apart from all the others to be the chosen apostle to lead them all. Nothing is more dear to Our Lord’s heart than the virtue of humility.
Lest we be too hard on James, let’s remember, this peek into James’ discipleship which Scripture reveals to us is just one day, one moment of his life, and it takes place long before James’ role as apostle begins. It is true, at this point, James all but ignored the three prophetic warnings Jesus has given about His own impending death, preferring instead to dream about ruling as second-in-command. But this is only how James started out.
At this point, he is still not the man that he is to become. Later, as the first among them to be martyred, he would prove that he could drink the chalice that his Master Himself drank. And judging by the fact that so little mention is made of James throughout the entire New Testament, evidently, he finally did learn the gift that is humility, the one virtue that paved his way to the Kingdom of heaven.
And so, from James we learn that there is never a reason to despair over our frustrating, seemingly interminable vices with which we struggle. In fact, it is the recognition and awareness of our struggle with sin and temptation that opens the door to humility—which is our only path to heaven. As long as we acknowledge our weaknesses and sinfulness in humility and contrition, and keep striving for virtue, we too can be counted among Jesus’ “inner circle.”
Author’s Note: Excerpt from: The Safe Haven: Scriptural Reflections for the Heart and Home (Ordinary Time Weeks 15-21). To purchase, visit Amazon or The Catholic Company, where all other volumes currently in print are also available.
Image from Wikimedia Commons
