Apostles Window: St. James (the greater)

 

St. James the Greater:  
"Every good gift is from above" James 1:17

The second window, paired with the first in terms of color (blue), is of St. James the Greater, so named to differentiate him from the other James who was also an apostle.  It might be that he was older, taller, or became a disciple earlier than the other James; it does not mean he was in any way better.  

This James is the brother of John, a son of Zebedee, famously called by Jesus to leave boat and father behind to become a "fisher of men."  Tradition says his mother is Mary Salome, sister to Jesus' mother, making him one of Jesus' cousins.  Jesus nicknamed him (and his brother John) "sons of thunder" because of their enthusiastic partisanship.

James was martyred in Jerusalem in AD 44, the first of the apostles to face martyrdom.  One tradition says that he had traveled to Spain prior to his martyrdom, and his followers took his body back to Spain; another tradition says that his followers took his body in a rudderless boat, and they buried his body when the boat reached land, again in Spain, in Galicia.

His remains were discovered in the 9th century, and a church was built there, the destination of many pilgrims over the centuries to come.  

Therefore, James wears a pilgrim's hat with a scallop shell on the brim, the badge of a  pilgrim to Santiago de Compostela.  He carries a pilgrim's staff with a hook at the tip to hang a water gourd, the medieval version of today's water bottle.

The pilgrimage to his grave site became one of the most popular pilgrimages in Western Europe, beginning in the 9th century.  Called "The Way of St. James," the pilgrimage still draws travelers today.  In 2018, 327,378 pilgrims registered as having completed the final 62 mile walk.

James is the patron saint of Spain; his feast day is July 25 in the church calendar.

The text used for this panel, "Every good gift is from above," comes from the Epistle of St. James.  Bible scholars indicate that James the Greater is not the author of this letter; it's much more likely that another James (perhaps James the Lesser, or James, the brother of Jesus) wrote it.  One good reason to make this assumption is the fact that James the Greater was martyred so early in the life of the church, and scholars believe that this letter was written later than AD 44.  

The use of the passage from James 1:17 underlines for me the confusion among scholars and various writers regarding which James is which; a passage from one of the gospels regarding James the brother of John and son of Zebedee might have been a safer, more accurate choice.

Prayer (from the Lutheran Book of Worship):

O gracious God, we remember before you today your servant and apostle James, first among the Twelve to suffer martyrdom for the name of Jesus Christ.  Pour out upon the leaders of your Church that spirit of self-denying service which is the true mark of authority among your people.  Amen.