Jul 25 2019 Mark 1:14-20 - Commemoration of James

Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

Today the church calendar commemorates James, one of the twelve original disciples, brother of John, referred to as one of the sons of thunder. James is right there at the transfiguration, when Jesus appears all lit up. He witnessed many healing miracles of Jesus, was there with him in the garden of Gethsemane the night before Jesus was executed. James was in the inner circle.

You’d think that would get you better insight, or a better outcome – to be one of the closest to this man-God. But James is also the one who wanted Jesus to destroy the people of Samaria, after they were refused hospitality there. Jesus nixed that idea. James and his brother John also asked Jesus for a special place in the kingdom, you know, because they were Jesus’ favorite. Jesus nixed that idea too.

So being in the inner sanctum didn’t get James more insight. He didn’t understand things better. He seemed to think that it would. We all do. When we work harder, pray harder, spend more time in church, we think we’re somehow closer or better. What a risk that is! If James got it wrong with Jesus right there, it’s highly likely I do too. 

James, son of Zebedee, is the first disciple martyred for his faith. So not only did he not have a special place in the inner circle, he was the first to die.

This morning I’m thinking about what there is to learn about my faith from James. First, I believe, it’s too easy to create a false sense of inner-circle-ness, in our modern world. If you’re in upper echelons of whatever institution, it’s easy to think you’re on the inside track. But that inherently presumes there’s an outer circle; there’s an inherent judgement about who’s in and out, when I think about having the inside track. God does not care who’s inside and who’s outside, except perhaps to demand that those on the inside break those boundaries. 

The second thing I think is that discipleship obviously not easy. If I were to stand up for everything I know to be right in the sight of God, my life would look very different. I don’t know if I’d be martyred, but I’d probably be a pain to be around, and likely arrested.  

Yesterday, I was involved in a conversation that pushed me beyond my comfort. I was in a meeting talking about the great challenge of getting people who are traditionally underrepresented in church governance groups in those places. Some were arguing the institution is getting better at having everyone looking out for the underrepresented and that we don't necessarily need to have those people sitting on a board; the structures aren't conducive to people who have different work schedules than the predominant culture. Besides, it's not necessarily fair to have a token underrepresented person at the table.  While that's true, I argued we need to look at those structures that inherently and unintentionally create insiders and outsiders.  I mention this not because I was a spectacular orator or right. It was a growing edge for me, to speak up arguing for what I believed to be right. 

Today, I want to think of James any time I get an inkling of thinking I’m on the inside track. I want to remember that there is no such thing to God. I want to remember that discipleship, if done with integrity, has a great cost. I want to continue to push me into that space of discipleship beyond my current comfort – but just short of martyrdom.