James, the Less, Apostle (Remembrance Day May 1)

"James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting...If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all men liberally...." James 1:1, 5a

There is a tendency in any religion that professes to be founded at least partly in the supernatural sphere, to place an emphasis on other-worldliness. This often leads to severe asceticism as this world, our bodies and appetites, and indeed anything material is somehow seen as inferior and the source of great evil,. On the other hand, anything truly spiritual is seen as preferred and the target of our higher aspirations. Thus virginity is seen as a higher state of life=s calling than marriage, fasting is preferred to feasting, a priest is accounted closer to God than a farmer, and physical needs are neglected in favor of the search for spiritual ecstasy. But God dispelled the notion of any separation between things natural and things spiritual when He chose to ordain the restoration of our world via the Incarnation of His Son. This forever joined that which was the very fullness of the Godhead to that which was the very crown of God=s physical creation, humanity. This set Christianity apart from the religions of their time. It was not indoctrination into some hidden mystic wisdom, or the seeking of some high and lofty philosophy. It was nothing less than the restoration of the day to day stuff that life in our world is made up of by the Word of God dwelling among us. As such it is a very practical Areligion@ and is meant to be lived, not studied. The Scripture is clear that our world will continue to prefer its own wisdom because to them the sending of the Son of God to our world, not to bring in some new heavenly order but to die in shame upon the cross, appears nothing less than foolishness (see I Corinthians 1:18-25). But there are those men who recognize that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and who would gladly be counted foolish in the sight of the world to gain the kingdom. They are willing to spend themselves in the service of Jesus Christ putting faithful, consistent obedience and action to an unswerving faith in the promise of God. Such a man was James, called “the Less”, but proven to be a righteous man whose fervent prayers availed much.

The simplest place to start is in the apostolic lists contained in the synoptic gospels. All four lists (Matthew 10:2-5, Mark 3:14-19, Luke 6:13-16 and Acts 1:13) identify the apostle James as the Son of Alphaeus and consistently list him ninth in their order. He derives his descriptive title "the Less" from a passage in Mark 15:40 when Mark lists the women present at the crucifixion of Jesus stating that "There were also women looking on afar off, among whom were Mary Magdalene; and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joseph; and Salome..." When this scripture is compared to Matthew 27:56, Mark 16:1 and Luke 24:10 we find a remarkable agreement in the listing of the women present. It is when we add John 19:25 that a problem is introduced. John describes the women in this manner, "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.” The conclusions that can be drawn from these scriptures and other evidence is that Mary was the mother of James the Less (apostle); that this Mary was the sister of Mary (mother of Jesus) and wife of Clopas; and that Clopas and Alphaeus are the same person. Other evidence favors the further conclusion that James was therefore the Abrother@ of the Lord, the brother of Jude the apostle, the head of the Church at Jerusalem, and the author of the Epistle of James. James never seems to have suffered from the identify crisis modern commentators try to give him as they try to sort among the various James= encountered in the New Testament. He is content to describe himself as "a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ."

If we hold to the conclusions written above, it is instructive to read the scriptures which then apply to James. Paul classifies James as the "Lord's brother" in Galatians 1:19 as he describes his trip to Jerusalem to confer with the disciples after his conversion and his preparation for ministry. Further on in Galatians 2:9 he classes James with Peter and John and calls them "pillars" of the church. From these three men Paul received the Church's recognition of his call to preach to the Gentiles. Paul further proclaims James to specifically be (singled-out) an eye-witness to the resurrection of the Lord in I Corinthians 15:5-7 "After that He (Jesus) was seen of James; then of all the apostles." It is likely that James' position as the head of the Jerusalem congregation required an eye-witness testimony to the risen Christ. The final passage is found in Acts 15:13-29. Persecution is widespread, Herod has already killed James the elder (brother of John) and has imprisoned Peter to please the Jews, Peter was miraculously released, told messengers to tell James of his release, and then "departed and went into another place." (Acts 12:1-19) The care and direction of the Jerusalem church was entrusted to James and it is recorded that he presided over the council of Jerusalem. After all sides are heard concerning the controversy of the requirements for Gentile believers, he brings the final judgment of the council and directs letters to be written to the local churches concerning the decision. He then disappears from further scriptural historical narrative, and from this point we must turn to other writings.

Eusebius in his History of the Church, Book 2 Chapter 23 quotes from Hegesippus who wrote in his fifth book of commentaries the following description of James. "James, the brother of the Lord, who, as there were many of this name, was surnamed the Just by all, from the days of our Lord until now, received the government of the church with the apostles. This apostle was consecrated from his mother's womb. He drank neither wine nor fermented liquors, and abstained from animal food. A razor never came upon his head, he never anointed himself with oil and he did not use the public baths. He alone was allowed to enter the sanctuary. He never wore woolen but linen garments. He was in the habit of entering the temple alone and was often found upon his bended knees and interceding for the forgiveness of the people; so that his knees became as hard as camel's in consequence of his habitual supplication and kneeling before God." Hegesippus further recounts his martyrdom. James was accused by the Scribes and Pharisees of blasphemy, thrown down from one of the temple wings, and then stoned and beaten. As he suffered he prayed the prayer of Christ from the cross, "I entreat you O Lord God and Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." As cooler heads tried to stop the beating a fuller ran forward with his fuller's club and crushed his head.

What further can be said of James? He chose to remain in one of the most resistant mission fields facing the church -- Jerusalem, the center of the Sanhedrin's power and influence. He was known for both his piety and his just dealings and was blameless in his behavior before God and men. He left behind his testament, the epistle that bears his name, written to the Christian Jews scattered throughout the Roman Empire. And in that testament he exhorts them to faith, perseverance in trial, application of the word of God to daily life, justice and mercy towards widows and orphans, equity in their dealings with all men, faith put into meaningful action, consistency in daily behavior, humility before and dependence upon God, submission to His will, fervent prayer and a real expectation of the Lord's appearing. This is exactly the practical "religion" that incarnates divinity into every day life and has the power to "convert the sinner....save a soul from death and....cover a multitude of sins." (James 5:20) It is for that reason that James could boast of his Christianity in this way, "I will show you my faith (or substitute my Lord, His Kingdom, the grace and mercy of God, the sureness of His promise) by my works (that is, by the way I live out my daily life before you)." Like James may we also be fervent in prayer, steadfast in the promise of God, and extending our hands to those who need justice, mercy, forgiveness and grace.