Dear People of St. James’,
This Sunday, we bring the whole St. James’ community together for one big festive Eucharist at 9 am, followed by fun, food, and games. Come prepared to laugh, to play, and to connect with someone new.
Originally named the Church of the Advent, at some point, our congregation made the choice to change its name to St. James’. There are many Jameses in scripture and Christian tradition, but our congregation is named for James the Apostle, son of Zebedee. According to scripture, James was part of the inner circle among the disciples. He was a witness to key events in Jesus’ ministry that speak to Jesus’ identity: the transfiguration, and the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law and Jairus’ daughter. He was asked to watch and pray with Jesus on that fateful night in Gethsemane. Scripture hints that he might have been a little status-seeking and impulsive. He and his brother John, named “the sons of thunder”, whatever that means, seek places of honor in Jesus’ kingdom. When Jesus is sent on down the road after not being received in a Samaritan village, the sons of thunder ask if they should call down fire from heaven on those who rejected him. James is a disciple who had to learn how to be a disciple, how to handle power and authority, before he could become an apostle.
Church tradition has it that, following the resurrection, James would travel to the ends of the Roman empire to Spain with the gospel of Jesus. He would later die a martyr’s death at the hands of the powers that had tried to stifle the good news.
Whenever we gather to celebrate the feast of St. James, we are invited to walk in his footsteps: to speak to God’s healing power in our lives, to repent of how we mishandle our power and authority and to seek a better way, and to go out to the edges of our world to share good news that cannot be stifled. May this St. James’ Day teach our hearts to walk in the way of love.
Rev. Eileen
