Saint James the Greater is one of those apostles who reminds me that Jesus does not call us because we are already finished products.
James and his brother John were given the striking nickname “Sons of Thunder.” The Gospels give us glimpses of why. They could be intense, ambitious, and quick to act. At one point, after a Samaritan village refused to welcome Jesus, James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven. In today’s Gospel, their mother approaches Jesus asking that her sons receive places of honor in his Kingdom.
There is something almost reassuring about seeing the apostles this way. These were not serene, perfectly formed saints from the beginning. James loved Jesus, but his understanding of what it meant to follow him still needed to be purified.
Jesus did not reject that zeal. He redirected it.
When James and John seek places of honor, Jesus asks them a much harder question: “Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
They answer confidently, “We can.”
I wonder how much James understood when he said those words.
Perhaps not very much. But eventually, he would.
Jesus begins teaching them that greatness in his Kingdom looks nothing like worldly greatness. It is not about being noticed, admired, or placed above others. “Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant.” Jesus himself is the model: the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life for others.
James had wanted a place beside Christ in glory. Jesus instead invited him to remain beside Christ in sacrifice.
And James accepted that invitation.
Years later, Acts tells us that King Herod had James killed by the sword. He became the first of the Twelve whose martyrdom is recorded in Scripture. The apostle who once wanted to call down fire upon others ultimately gave his own life for Christ.
That transformation moves me.
We sometimes imagine holiness as becoming less ourselves—as though following Jesus requires our strongest qualities to disappear. But James suggests something different. His passion was not erased. His courage was not diminished. His willingness to act did not vanish.
Those qualities were converted.
The thunder remained, but Christ taught James what it was for.
There are parts of each of us that need the same kind of conversion. Our determination can become stubbornness. Our desire to protect can become control. Our confidence can become pride. Even our good intentions can become a desire to be recognized or proven right.
Jesus does not necessarily ask us to become quieter, weaker, or less passionate. He asks us to let him purify what is strong in us so that it can become a gift.
That process takes time. James walked with Jesus, witnessed his miracles, saw the Transfiguration, listened to his teaching, and still had much to learn. Discipleship formed him slowly.
That gives me hope.
Christ is patient with unfinished disciples. He sees beyond who we are today to the person grace can make us. The question is whether we will keep following him long enough to be changed.
Saint James began as a Son of Thunder seeking a place of honor.
He became a servant willing to drink the cup.
May we have the courage to let Christ do the same transforming work in us.
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