Thursday, October 23, 2014
Matthew 13.53-58 (James of Jerusalem)
Today in the Anglican Calendar we remember St. James, whom Matthew in our reading today notes was a brother of Jesus. In fact James was a witness to his resurrection and in time became a leader of the early Church in Jerusalem. Like many others in Jerusalem, he still considered himself Jewish, worshipped in the Temple and tried to follow the law of Moses. Consequently, as the early Church spread out beyond the Jewish people and into the Mediterranean world through the efforts and ministry of Paul, James had difficulty at first in accepting that the Gospel of Jesus was not only to the Jewish people but to all God's people. Ultimately, Paul took himself to Jerusalem, met with James, and won James and other pillars of the Jerusalem Church over: James finally accepted that His brother's life and ministry had been to non Jews as well.Today's reading is an example of that.
We see in James one who overcame his own prejudices to further the good news that Jesus lived and proclaims. May we too be open to the power of reconciliation and in so doing further the process of caring for all .
Archdeacon Ken Cardwell
No comments:
Post a Comment