Yaakov Ben-Zebdi was a fisherman. He was also one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. Yaakov was a son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of John the Apostle. In English we know him as James. He is also called James the Great to distinguish him from James, the son of Alphaeus, who is also known as James the Less.
James and John were apparently from a higher social level than the average fisherman. Their father, who probably lived in or near Bethsaida, could afford hired servants. We know nothing of St. James's early life. We know his brother was John, the beloved disciple, and it would seem that he, James, was probably the elder of the two. Their mother, Salome, became known as one of the pious women who followed Christ and, in the words of Scripture, "ministered unto him of their substance"
It is probable, according to Acts 4:13, that John (and consequently his brother James) had not received the technical training of the rabbinical schools as they were growing up; in this sense they were unlearned and without any official position among their Jewish contemporaries. But, according to the social rank of their parents, they must have been men with an ordinary education, in the common walk of Jewish life. They would have had frequent contact with Greek life, thought and language, which were already widely spread along the shores of the Sea of Galilee.
James is described as one of the first disciples to join Jesus. The Synoptic Gospels state that James and John were with their father by the seashore when Jesus called them to follow him. According to the Gospel of Mark, as Jesus got to know these brothers, he called James and John Boanerges, which means the "Sons of Thunder". Jesus recognized that they were headstrong, hot-tempered, and impulsive; and so they seem to be in two incidents reported in the Gospels. On one occasion, as reported in Luke 9:54 and following, Jesus and the disciples were refused the hospitality of a Samaritan village, and James and John proposed to call down fire from heaven on the offenders. On another occasion, as told in today’s Gospel lection, they asked Jesus for a special place of honour in glory. In Matthew 20:20-23, it is their mother who asks Jesus for this special reward. The reply given was that the place of honour is the place of suffering.
James was one of only three apostles, the others being Peter and John, whom Jesus selected to bear witness to his Transfiguration. James was one of those to witness the healing of Peter's mother-in-law and the raising of the daughter of Jairus, as well one of those to be called aside to watch and pray with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane on the night before his death.
The sons of Zebedee are specifically mentioned, in John 21:2, as present at one of the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus, on the shore of Lake Tiberias; and then, in Acts 1:13, as among those gathered in the upper room after the ascension.
Legend has it that when the Apostles, in their efforts to be obedient to the Great Commission given them by Jesus, divided the known world into missionary zones, the Iberian Peninsula was given to James. There is nothing intrinsically implausible about this: Spain was already a well-established part of the Roman world, and Paul, writing in 56 or 57, as we find in Romans 15, 24 & 28, is clear about his own desire to make a missionary journey to Spain. 7th and 8th century documents refer to the belief that James spent a number of years preaching in Spain before returning to Jerusalem, and martyrdom.
About AD 42, shortly before Passover, as we read in Acts 12, James was beheaded by order of King Herod Agrippa I, who was the grandson of Herod the Great who tried to kill the infant Jesus; he was also the nephew of Herod Antipas who killed John the Baptist and examined Jesus on Good Friday; as well as being the father of Herod Agrippa II who heard the defence of Paul before Festus as we read in Acts 25. James was the first of those chosen Twelve to suffer martyrdom, and the only one whose death is recorded in the New Testament. The Acts of the Apostles records that Agrippa I had James executed by sword.
Legend holds that St. James's remains were carried by boat from Jerusalem to northern Spain where he was buried on the site of what is now the cathedral in the city of Santiago de Compostela, which is the end point of the pilgrimage route known as the Way of St James. This Way of St James has existed for over a thousand years. It was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages during medieval times, and a pilgrimage route on which a plenary indulgence could be earned. Santiago de Compostela was at the time the third most important city in Christendom, after Jerusalem and Rome. Because of the Shrine of St Thomas Becket, Canterbury came in at about 4th position.
The saint was believed to have been buried with two of his own disciples, Athanasius and Theodore. The site of his tomb was forgotten for some 800 years. Early in the 9th century a hermit, Pelayo, was led by a vision to the spot where St James lay buried. The tomb was rediscovered, and the relics authenticated as those of St James by the local bishop. Late 19th and 20th century excavations under the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela have disclosed a Roman-period tomb below the high altar, and a stone inscribed with the names Athanasius and Theodore.
During the Middle Ages, the Way of St James was highly traveled. However, the Black Plague, the Protestant Reformation and political unrest in 16th-century Europe led to its decline. By the 1980s, only a few pilgrims arrived in Santiago annually. Since then however the route has attracted a growing number of modern-day pilgrims from around the globe. In 1985 there were only 690 who visited Santiago. Last year there were 145,877, and it is estimated that this year there will be more than 200,000 pilgrims. As the feast of St James falls on a Sunday this year it is a special year – the Archbishop declares it a Holy Year, and a special Holy Year door is opened in the cathedral through which pilgrims enter.
In the 14th century Goeffrey Chaucer began his Canterbury Tales with “When April with its sweet showers has pierced the drought of March to the root … then people have a strong desire to go on pilgrimages, and pilgrims long to go to foreign shores to distant shrines known in various countries.” Pilgrimage has been a valuable part of the spiritual journey of many people through the Christian centuries. Undertaking a journey with prayer to some especially holy site, or some place that has a special significance for a person or group, is something which God blesses. Often at the destination pilgrims are able to assist at Mass.
As a parish I believe we could go on a pilgrimage to the little Anglican chapel of the Good Shepherd on Robben Island. Fr Gresley, the founding rector of this parish was the curate on Robben Island before coming to Observatory. The original cross on the High Altar was given to the parish by Fr Watkins, the priest who built the chapel on Robben Island. When Fr Gresley wished to give the parish a memento of four and half years of ministry here, he chose the statue of the Good Shepherd, now above the West door of the church. We could go on pilgrimage to the island in thanksgiving for the blessings we receive in this place.
We thank God for the life of St James, and pray that his example of faithfulness may continue to inspire people in our time.
May God bless you in your life of faith this week.
