Holy Eucharist for St. James the Greater
Thursday, July 25, 2024, 12:00 PM
Join us to commemorate this feast day with a simple Holy Eucharist in the church at 12:00 p.m. All are welcome.
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James, son of Zebedee, was one of the twelve disciples called by Jesus to stand as a sign of the new community of God being created in Christ. James, together with his brother John and with Simon Peter, form a trio who are often portrayed as a distinctive subgroup within the Twelve. For example, Jesus takes them with him to serve as witnesses to the Transfiguration, and again when he prays before his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane.
James and John's apparently hotheaded nature is shown when they ask Jesus whether they should call fire from heaven down on a village that has rejected them--to which he, predictably, says no (Luke 9:54)--and when they ask Jesus for special places of honor in God's kingdom (Mark 10:35). Perhaps this is why Jesus nicknames them the "Sons of Thunder" (Mark 3:17).
After Jesus' resurrection, James became the first of the Twelve to die as a martyr (Acts 12:2).
St. James is the patron saint of Spain, and the Cathedral of St. James(in Spanish, Santiago) at Compostela has served for centuries as a destination for pilgrims. Today more than 300,000 people walk some or all of the Camino de Santiago each year.
Image: Stained glass from St. Paul's Parish (Roman Catholic), Westerville, OH
Tags: Worship Services