Replies

Meditation: 2 Corinthians 4:7-15

Saint James, Apostle

… that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us. (2 Corinthians 4:7)

Pirates stored their treasure in chests bound with chains and heavy padlocks. Banks and casinos store cash in high-security vaults. But God? He has placed his treasure in “earthen vessels” (2 Corinthians 4:7). In us! He doesn’t need chains and locks, laser beams or retina scans, to protect it. He’s God! Whatever we lack in security, whatever weaknesses we bring to the life he has called us to, his power is more than enough to carry us through!

James was an ordinary fisherman. Strong, passionate, and simply educated—how could he ever take on the responsibilities that Jesus wanted to give him? But he did. This common fisherman became the second head of the Jerusalem church. The same James who wanted to call fire down on the Samaritans who had snubbed Jesus became a chief advocate for opening the Church to Gentiles. Scheming James, who connived with his brother John to seek a special seat in Jesus’ kingdom, was the one trusted disciple St. Paul visited on his final trip to Jerusalem.

James wasn’t, at first, most likely to become head of the Church, most willing to include outsiders, or most eager to see others succeed in their ministry. He had no formal training in administration for what God had called him to. (So few of us do!) But God doesn’t depend on what you can do for him. His life and power will work in and through you as you yield to him. Just acknowledge that you need him and are willing to walk with him.

God always begins where your human ability ends. If you think he has called you to reach out to someone you find it difficult to be in the same room with, tell him. He’ll supply the patience and the wisdom you need. If you need to go on loving and serving your family when you’re bone tired, ask him for the strength. And if you’re too scared to do anything at all, tell him. He will help you. Take a step, and watch him take it with you. He’s all-sufficient; give him the chance to show you!

“Lord, I open my heart to you today. I am determined to walk with you. I trust your power to see me through!”

Psalm 126:1-6; Matthew 20:20-28

A Christian Pilgrim

JAMES, THE SON OF ZEBEDEE [MATTHEW 20:20-28]

JESUS told the apostles what kind of leaders He wanted them to be. Like Him, they were to be servants of others, even to the point of giving their lives (Matthew 20:26-28). James was one who responded to Jesus’ call as he decided to set aside his ambitions for earthly glory (Matthew 20:20-21). Like other leaders of the early Church, he learned to die to his own desires and live for the sake of his sisters and brothers, so that “grace” might extend “to more and more people” (2 Corinthians 4:15).

James did indeed “drink the cup” of suffering that Jesus offered him. As a leader of the infant Church in Jerusalem, he faced daily the call to die to his own ideas and desires so that he could minister according to the power of the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, James drank the cup fully, being martyred by Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:1-2).

As Jesus’ disciples today, we too are called to give our lives so that others may know the grace and power of the Holy Spirit within them. Of course, we cannot save people as Jesus did. He is the only one who could give His life as our ransom from sin and death. Nevertheless, whenever we let the cry of the poor pierce our hearts and move us to action, we are giving our lives for the sake of God’s people. Whenever we let the Holy Spirit’s call to holiness and purity move us to repentance, we are giving our lives for the sake of the Church and its witness to Jesus.

The call to lay down our lives for the Lord is so high a calling that we can do it only through the power of the Holy Spirit. Like James and Paul, we are called to put to death our old nature each day and to let the life of Christ shine through us (2 Corinthians 4:11). Every time we allow the demands of the life in the Spirit to penetrate our hearts, we will bear more fruit for the Kingdom of God – not because of our goodness, but because of the life of Christ in us.