Apostle, son of thunder, bearer of hope

James. No wonder this name is so popular in Judaism. After all, he is descended from the progenitor of the people of Israel: Ja’akov in Hebrew, James in English.

The name appears four times. There is James with the epithet “the just”. He rejects the mission of his brother Jesus, but becomes one of the three pillars of the early church in Jerusalem after Jesus’ resurrection. But he is not the one we will be talking about here.

Then there is James, the son of Alphaeus, who appears in all four rosters of Jesus’ Apostles. Little more is known about him than that he was a witness to Jesus’ ascension and the events at Pentecost. And then there is the James who is labelled “the Less” or “the Younger”. All we know about him is that his mother, Mary, was with him at the crucifixion of Jesus and at the tomb. But we are not talking about these two either.

Fishers of men from the beginning

We are talking about the James whose name day is on 25 July, and this has been the case in the Western Church since the eighth century. The liturgical calendars of the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican, Lutheran, and some other Protestant churches commemorate James the Great, who was also called James the Elder, on 25 July.

This James was the son of Zebedee the fisherman. He and his younger brother, John, were mending fishing nets on the shores of Lake Galilee when Jesus came by and invited them to join Him. They followed Him. Right after the brothers Peter and Andrew, they were among the first disciples to be called by Jesus.

Somehow the two of them earned the nickname Boanerges, meaning the “Sons of Thunder”. Scholars disagree as to whether this is due to their fervency, or their over-eagerness at times, or because of the fact that Jesus takes them along on very special occasions.

Jesus’ closest friends

Either way, James, like John, is prepared to die with Jesus. In return, however, they want to sit with Jesus on His right and left in His kingdom and reign with Him. ‌Christ denied them this as well as their offer to have fire come down from heaven on a village of Samaritans who rejected Jesus and refused to welcome Him.

Yet, together with Peter, the two sons of Zebedee are Jesus’ closest friends and form the inner circle. These are the only three disciples Jesus takes with Him when He raises Jairus’ daughter from the dead or when He prays in the Garden of Gethsemane or when He is transfigured on the mountain. And so the trio traditionally represents the Christian virtues of faith (Peter), love (John), and hope (James).

Apostle James was definitely the first in one respect: to die a martyr’s death. This is reported in the Acts of the Apostles and by the church father Eusebius: King Herod Agrippa I unleashed a campaign against the Christians in the year 44. He had Peter thrown into prison and James beheaded.

A pilgrims’ way that carries His name

What happens before and after is the subject of legends that ultimately point to north-western Spain, to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Since the eleventh century, Christians from all over Europe have been making pilgrimages on the Camino de Santiago to the Apostle’s alleged final resting place. In English it is called the Way of St James.

In 1993, UNESCO declared a total of 1,800 buildings on this route a World Heritage Site. Celebrity pilgrims include the US singer Shirley MacLaine, the Brazilian writer Paul Coelho, and the Dutch writer Cees Noteboom, as well as the German entertainer Hape Kerkeling, whose book (I’m Off Then) about his self-discovery trip triggered a veritable run on the Way of St James.

New Apostolic Christians have also embarked on this journey: like the Priest, who found the journey an opportunity to deepen his relationship with God, or the family who cycled the route to raise money for a good cause.

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