30 April 2027 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Latin Rite · Syro-Malabar Rite · മലയാളം
“For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45
Today our Church keeps the feast of Mar Yaqob Shleeha, St James the son of Zebedee, the brother of St John. (He is not to be confused with the other apostle James, the son of Alphaeus.) The Byzantine Churches also honour him on this day; in the Latin Church his feast falls in July. James was a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee who left his boat, his nets and his father to follow Jesus. With Peter and John he formed the inner circle of the Twelve: he saw the daughter of Jairus raised, he saw the Lord transfigured on the mountain, and he was taken close to him in the agony of Gethsemane. Jesus gave the two brothers a nickname, “Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder,” perhaps for their fiery temper. And he was the first of the apostles to die for Christ: the Acts of the Apostles records, in a single line, that King Herod “had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword.” Our Church calls him Shleeha, the Syriac word for apostle, one who is sent.
The Gospel shows James before he understood. He and John come to Jesus with a bold request: “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you... Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” They are thinking of thrones. Jesus answers gently: “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They say at once, “We are able.” And Jesus says, “The cup that I drink you will drink.” St John Chrysostom notes that the Lord did not scold them, but led them gently from the thought of honour to the thought of the cup, from the throne to the share in his sufferings (Homilies on Matthew 65, in substance). The other ten are angry, and Jesus gathers them all: among the nations, rulers “lord it over them,” “But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” James learned the lesson. A little more than ten years after the Resurrection he drank the cup. Clement of Alexandria, as Eusebius records, tells that the man who brought James to trial was so moved by his witness that he confessed himself a Christian; as they were led out together, he asked James to forgive him, and James said, “Peace be with you,” and kissed him; and both were beheaded (Church History II.9, in substance).
St Paul's words to the Galatians show what the cup and the service look like in an ordinary parish. “My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness.” Not gossip, not public shaming, but gentle restoring, as James restored his accuser with a kiss. “Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Each of us “must carry their own loads,” and yet we help carry each other's. And Paul adds the farmer's law: “you reap whatever you sow... So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.” In Kerala many parishes and families bear the name of St James, and many pilgrims know the long road to his shrine at Compostela in Spain, where by an old tradition his relics are venerated. The road that matters most, though, is the one from the throne we would like to the cup we are given. Today, serve someone who cannot repay you; gently restore someone who has fallen; and carry one burden that is not your own. That is to drink the Lord's cup and to share his glory.
Theme: “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
On the feast of Mar Yaqob Shleeha: the cup instead of the throne, greatness as service, and the burdens we carry for one another.
“I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord” Psalm 116:13
“About that time King Herod laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword.” Acts 12:1–2
Apply: Accept one hardship today without complaint, as a small share in the Lord's cup.
“The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.” Isaiah 53:11
“So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” John 13:14
Apply: Do one hidden act of service today for someone who cannot repay you.
“But Moses’ hands grew weary; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side” Exodus 17:12
“Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.” 1 John 3:18
Apply: Take on one burden of someone at home or at work this week without being asked.
James asked for a throne and was given a cup; drinking it, he found the true glory.
In the kingdom of the risen Lord, greatness is service and the first place belongs to the servant of all.
Take-home resolution: Choose the cup over the throne: serve quietly, restore gently, carry another's burden, and do not grow weary in doing good.
Dear friends, Christ is risen! Today our Church honours Mar Yaqob Shleeha, St James the son of Zebedee, brother of John, one of the three closest disciples of Jesus. He saw the Transfiguration and was near the Lord in Gethsemane. And Acts tells us that King Herod had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword (Acts 12:2): he was the first of the Twelve to give his life.
But in today's Gospel James has not yet understood. He and John ask: grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory. Jesus answers: you do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink? (Mark 10:37–38). They want thrones; he offers them his cup.
Then Jesus teaches all of us: whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant... For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many (Mark 10:43–45). James learned. An ancient account says he forgave the man who accused him with the words: peace be with you.
St Paul shows us how to live this: restore the fallen in a spirit of gentleness; bear one another's burdens; and let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up (Galatians 6:1–2, 9). Today let us serve someone who cannot repay us. That is the cup, and that is the glory. Amen.
Children, Christ is risen! Today is the feast of St James, a fisherman who followed Jesus. Jesus called James and his brother John sons of thunder, because they were so loud and full of energy! Once they asked Jesus for the best seats. Jesus said: the greatest is the one who helps others. Jesus himself came to serve us. This week, be like St James after he learned: help at home without being asked, and you will be great in God's eyes!
Lord Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, you came not to be served but to serve and to give your life as a ransom for many. You called Mar Yaqob from his boat and nets, bore with his ambition, and taught him to drink your cup; he became the first of your apostles to give his life for you. By his prayers deliver us from the desire to sit in the first places, and make us servants of one another. Teach us to restore those who fall with gentleness, to bear one another's burdens, and never to grow weary in doing good. Bring us at last to share your glory. You live and reign for ever. Amen.