In Defense of the Mother of Saint James and John
Feast of St. James
Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR
St. Mary of the Assumption Church
Thursday, July 25, 2019
Today we celebrate the feast of St. James, one of the Apostles of Jesus, and one of our Ancestors in faith. This James is the brother of John the Evangelist. The two were called by Jesus as they were in a boat with their father, Zebedee, mending their nets (Mark 1:19-20). James was one of the favored three Apostles who was privileged to witness the Transfiguration, the raising to life of the daughter of Jairus, and the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Today’s Gospel taken from Matthew 20:20-28 tells us that the mother of James and John went to Jesus and asked on behalf of her two sons that they may sit next to him in his Kingdom: “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom.” Now, there are preachers who bash the mother of James and John, and accuse her of being too ambitious; that she wanted high places of authority in the kingdom for her sons. Others lambast her for asking for places of honor for her two sons. But I am here to say that there is nothing wrong with the woman’s move and request. There is absolutely nothing wrong to sit next to Jesus at his Kingdom. I actually commend her for wanting her sons to be close to Jesus. Every mother, every father, every parent should visit Jesus and make the same request for their sons, daughters and grand-children. If I were married and have kids, I will want my children to be close to Jesus, to sit next to him at his Kingdom which of course begins here and now and thereafter. By the way, the Bible did not tell us the name of the mother of James and John. So, for the purpose of this sermon permit me to give her the name, Araceli— a Spanish name which means “Altar of heaven.”
So, for preachers who accuse Araceli for being too ambitious, I ask you, what is wrong with being ambitious for what is good? The greatest life’s ambition should be to sit next to the Lord of life, Jesus Christ. For those who lambast her for wanting places of authority for her sons, I ask you again, “What is wrong in claiming for what belongs to someone?” Didn’t Jesus come in order to raise us to places of authority? Would you prefer your children to sit in places of authority with the ungodly? For those who accuse Araceli for wanting her sons to sit in high places of honor, do you prefer she seeks for places of dishonor for her sons? Even if her intentions were worldly, Jesus is able to purify them and that of her sons. And the fact that we are celebrating the feast of one of her sons— James, means that Jesus did purify those intentions. This woman, this mother should be commended and not demonized. Her request is honorable. Every mother should do what she did.
Friends, no one gets better by staying far from Jesus. No life is reformed, no bad habit is dropped, no wickedness is turned to love and compassion, no repulsive and obnoxious attitude and behavior goes away by staying 100 miles away from Jesus. No life is changed by detachment from Jesus. It is by being close to Jesus, sitting next to him in his Kingdom that we become more like him.
Sweet Jesus, please command that my brothers, sisters, mother, father, grand-mother, relatives, friends and I will sit next to you in your Kingdom. Amen.
