Saint James the Greater

Today is the Feast of Saint James the Greater, the son of Zebedee and brother of John, one of the “Sons of Thunder.” In the course of writing this post, I felt that James is often overshadowed by his brother, the disciple whom Jesus loved. Nevertheless, James was, with his brother, one of the first disciples called, and one of Jesus’ closest confidants. James tends to be given pride of place when the sons of Zebedee are named. His title “the Greater” is a Latin usage, intended to express that he was older than James, the son of Alphaeus.

The Gospel for today is Matthew 20:20-28, and I offer my own translation, starting a few verses early to provide context. 

Behold, we are going to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and they will hand him over to the Gentiles for mocking and whipping and to be crucified and on the third day be raised. Then came to him the mother of the sons of Zebedee with her sons, prostrate and asking something from him.

He asked her, “What do you want?” 

She says to him, “say that these two sons of mine will sit, one on the right, and one on your left in your Kingdom.”

Jesus answered and said to her, “You do not know what you are asking, can you drink the cup which I am about to drink?”

They tell him, “We can.”

He tells them “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right and at my left is not mine to give, but for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” 

Having heard this, the ten were angry about the brothers. 

Jesus, having called to them, said “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and the great ones overpower them. It is not that way among you, but whoever should wish to become great among you will be your servant, and whoever should wish to be first among you will be your slave. As the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:18-28, my translation). 

Jesus has just given a prophecy of his suffering, death, and resurrection, which are fast approaching. Against this backdrop, the approach of James and John’s mother, Salome, might feel jarring. It is Salome about whom I would like to make an initial observation, specifically about her posture when she addresses Jesus. 

The word for what Salome is doing is proskynein, which Pope Benedict XVI, in his The Spirit of the Liturgy, observes is “the classical word for adoration on one’s knees.” He further notes that proskynein is often translated “worship,” as was my first instinct on seeing it in this passage. Pope Benedict observes “the spiritual and bodily meanings of proskynein are really inseparable. The bodily gesture itself is the bearer of the spiritual meaning, which is precisely that of worship.” He states that this is fitting, given our nature as body and soul. 

It is interesting to note that the grammatical gender of the word in Matthew 20:20 specifies that Salome is the only one in the posture of adoration, suggesting that her sons are standing. This is perhaps indicative of the fundamental error of their outlook, which Jesus corrects.

When Jesus responds "You do not know what you are asking, can you drink the cup which I am about to drink?” He uses the plural form of “you,” sensing James and John’s involvement in Salome’s request. I have chosen to translate mellein as “am about to” to emphasize the imminence of Jesus’ suffering and death. Jesus uses the anger arising from the brothers’ request to teach them the nature of authority in the Church, that it should not be used to dominate, but to serve, modeled on Jesus’ own service.

Saint James would indeed drink from Jesus’ cup in 44 A.D., when Herod put him to the sword, making him the first of the Apostles to be martyred. 

Saint James, pray for us.