St. James, Brother of Our Lord
On October 23, the Orthodox Church commemorates St. James, the brother of the Lord. St. James was, of course, an incredible man and he did many things worthy of honor: He was one of the seventy apostles sent by the Lord.
He shared his inheritance with Jesus.
He wrote the first Liturgy.
He lived in total devotion to the teachings of Jesus, and he died a martyr’s death after being pushed from the roof of the temple and beaten with clubs.
There are plenty of good reasons to celebrate him.
But I’m particularly interested in another aspect of his relationship with Christ: that of being His brother.
What must it have been like to know the boy Jesus and to see Him grow into His identity as the Son of God, Israel’s long-awaited Messiah?
In some ways, it must have been like watching any typical child grow up.
Watching Him take His first steps. Hearing Him mispronounce words in an adorable toddler voice. Listening to Him learn to read.
I wonder if kids ever picked on Jesus, and whether or not His big brother stepped in to set the record straight?
Of course, Jesus was no ordinary boy, so there must have been other times in His growing up that were astonishing.
The whole scenario around His birth. When the Magi arrived with gifts. Hearing His preteen answers in the Temple.
As Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, I can imagine He and St. James grew close to one another, spending time discussing the day’s Torah teaching, reminiscing about things St. Joseph taught them, and simply enjoying one another’s company.
I wonder if they played games together?
While this is all speculative, I still think it bears some level of reflection. St. James could have been identified simply as a disciple of the Lord, but instead, the Church puts him before us as our Lord’s brother.
Rather than contemplating a master-student bond to describe his relationship with Christ, the Church wants us to meditate on their relationship through the most intimate bond in the ancient world - that of a sibling.
The two must have had remarkable affection for one another, mutually enjoying a relationship characterized by deep intimacy and love. St. James must have had an abiding sense of the great honor He had in being able to call Jesus not just his Lord, but his brother.
When Jesus teaches His disciples to pray, He teaches them (and us) that we are to pray to His Father, saying “Our Father.” In teaching us to pray thus, Jesus does something that I think we can frequently forget amidst our adoration and worship of Him as Lord.
That Jesus chooses to relate to us too as our Brother.
By sharing His Father with us, we are given the same honor as St. James: to call ourselves brothers (and sisters) of the Lord.
So what does it mean to be the brother of the Lord?
How can we begin, like St. James, to relate to the Lord and to one another in a manner befitting of this high title?
I think it begins with recognizing that while we are, in fact, the Lord’s brothers and sisters, He is still the Lord, and like St. James, we must devote our lives to the teachings of our Brother.
In his epistle, it is clear that St. James has spent his life meditating on the words of Christ, like mulling over and over on the collection of teachings we call the Sermon on the Mount. At times, his writing practically mirrors what Jesus taught His followers about what it means to live as though the Kingdom were at hand.
To see our Brother as the Lord is an essential task that is before us as His followers today. It seems to me that young people are less interested in whether the Christian faith is true and are more interested in whether the Christian faith is good.
Young people want to see lives that have been transformed by the word of Christ. They need people whose lives have been radically altered by the Lord so that they can see the fruit of the Spirit embodied before their eyes, rather than simply hearing the truth of Christianity defended.
And this brings us to the point of relating to the Lord as our Brother.
When St. James received his inheritance following the death of his father St. Joseph, he chose to share it with Jesus, substantiating their brotherly affection through real sacrifice and loving action.
Being Jesus’ brother cost St. James something, and he gladly accepted the loss as gain for Christ’s sake.
So, too, to live with Jesus as our Brother means that we are called to lives of sacrifice and loving action.
While Jesus no longer walks the earth in the way He did 2000 years ago, He is still present through the Spirit in the lives of His brothers and sisters - the Church.
Indeed, it is as Jesus Himself says: “Inasmuch as you did it to the least of these my brothers, you did it Me” (Matt. 25:40).
To be the brother of the Lord is to be a brother to His brothers.
It means turning toward others, those who bear the Divine Image of Christ with the same level of sacrifice and loving action that was demonstrated by St. James toward Jesus. It means that we must come to know their needs and to do all that is in our power to meet them.
I’ve heard countless stories lately of parishes growing at unprecedented rates due to the many young people who are discovering Orthodoxy through various avenues. While it is exciting to see so many entering our communities, I worry that without being fully connected to other brothers and sisters of the Lord, this will be merely a flash in the pan, and ten years from now we’ll be wondering where everyone has gone.
The time is now for us to begin living as brothers and sisters of the Lord, as those who recognize His Face in the faces of others and who act in sacrificial love in order to welcome people into the Family of God.
So what can you do?
This Sunday, I highly encourage you to sacrifice time with the people with whom you normally connect at Church, and instead to act lovingly toward a stranger.
Approach somebody you don’t know, and strike up a conversation, welcoming them as you would welcome the Lord Himself.
Do not ask if this is their first time visiting an Orthodox Church. Rather, approach them saying, “I don’t think we’ve met yet, allow me to introduce myself.”
Then ask questions about where they’re from. Ask about their family. Ask about them. It’s tempting to want to make the conversation about Orthodoxy itself, but try to shy away from this and instead, make the goal of your interaction the chance to get to know someone on their terms.
As we continue to strive to make our communities Good and Beautiful places where we put connection at the centerstone of all our ministry efforts, it is possible that we will be delighted to find that we are not just learning to be brothers of the Lord, but that we are becoming brothers to one another.