Across the Table from Christ

Today we celebrate the Feast Day of Saint James of Jerusalem, Brother of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

I wonder how often James would stare at the night sky and reflect on growing up in Nazareth? I wonder how many times he walked on the Mount of Olives and looked at the Gates of the City where he lived as an adult. Jerusalem was a vibrant city filled with people from everywhere coming and going into the Temple. It will be in this volatile city in his later years where James will die a martyr’s death in 62 CE. 

Before this tragic ending, there is much to say regarding James’ life. The name James has its etymological roots in the name Jacob. Jesus’ brother James doesn’t get much airtime in scripture before the resurrection. The village people name James as one of Jesus’ brothers. ^“Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us?” (Matthew 13:54-55). And John chapter 7 recalls Jesus’ brothers trying to persuade him to attend the Feast of Booths in Jerusalem, which leads to Jesus questioning their faith.

Perhaps when growing up,  James’ practical nature found Jesus’ birth stories to be a bit too much. Did he allow doubt to creep in some days, wondering who Jesus’ biological father was if it was not Joseph? James neither saw nor heard a chorus of angels. He may have been puzzled about the story of the Magi and his parents’ rush to Egypt. James did not receive the special blessing of the Holy Spirit growing up, but he did have Jesus in his home, along with the examples, devotion, and love of their righteous parents. 

In addition to being God incarnate, Jesus was also the firstborn son who would receive the family’s inheritance. Did this, along with their closeness in age, lead James to feel an inner sense of competition with Jesus that often happens with siblings? I imagine other ways their relationship resembles those shared by brothers. How James and Jesus likely exchanged glances across the wooden table where they sat to eat family meals. I think of their lives woven together as they shared in morning and evening chores, and sat next to one another in the synagogue. 

James’ whole family system will spiral out of control once his father dies and Jesus reaches the age of thirty. James would have remembered the forty days his brother had been gone from the family following his baptism in the Jordan River. He would have remembered the way Jesus’ body looked upon his return: emaciated, sunburnt, and weathered. 

James will hear about the wedding feast at Cana, how their mother encouraged Jesus to turn water into wine. This fantastical story is only the beginning. More miracles of healing will come to his ears, and he will see enormous crowds gathering around his brother. So much so, James, his mother, and siblings will implore Jesus to take a break. They ask Jesus if he is out of his mind (Mark 3:20-21). And upon their inquiry, because they are standing on the grounds of “family,” Jesus rebuffs them. “Who are my brothers and sisters?” This remark surely stings James’ heart, because this is how it has always been, really. Who are your real sisters and brothers? This paternal lineage, this announcement of blood kin, has always been in question. He has carried these thoughts for so long. And now the thoughts of the heart are laid bare. 

The severing from family ties continues. For whatever reason, James does not appear during Jesus’ Passion. John the Beloved Disciple will take James’ place at the foot of the Cross next to Mary, Jesus’ mother. James will not hear the words spoken from his dying brother, “Woman, behold your son,” and to John, “Behold your mother” (John 19:26-27). The responsibility of taking care of his mother will be given to another. 

And what of James’ life after the resurrection?

In the first letter to the Corinthians, verse 15:7, Paul testifies that Jesus appeared to James. Of that conversation, few details are known. Though insight may be found within the epistle attributed to him

“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” 
—James 3:17

“The Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.”
—James 5:11 

James, in his new position as leader of the Jerusalem church, will speak to Peter the Galilean and Paul, the former Pharisee. James will join these two men and thousands of others in believing. His testimony introduces everything that will follow in his epistle, “James, a bondservant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (James 1:1).  

At last, James has become a devoted follower of his brother.