James

Called together but always mentioned first,
The older of the sons of Zebedee, the fishing boat owner,
Wanting to be top dog and seated as the right-hand man
But seemingly destined for the second fiddle role.
 
Labelled thunderous, and rumbling with inner turmoil
That explodes in anger when emotions erupt and boil over,
Spoiling all with a mother’s genes and dreams.
 
Called to the inner sanctum with Peter and John,
Witness to the raising to life of a deceased daughter
And then of what’s beyond for the transfigured Christ.
 
Beckoned to a garden to share the anguish of choice,
Expected at Golgotha yet disappearing into nobody,
But now tramping across a continent confident, teaching
Contentment when the first is last even when the end comes first.
  
August 2011
 
On The Way of St James, Estaing, Aveyron, France.
 
Photograph - with St James in Conques, Aveyron, France

 
Click here for further photos On the Way of St James, France (Camino de Santiago de Compostela)

The calling of James and John    Matthew 4: 18 -22; The Sons of Thunder    Mark 3:17; A dispute about who is the greatest   Luke 22: 13-30         A mother asks Jesus to grant a special status to her sons   Matthew 20:20-28; At the raising of the daughter of Jairus   Mark 5: 22-43;       The transfiguration of Christ     Mark 9: 1-10; In the garden of Gethsemane   Mark 14: 32-42; James, on social standing:     James 2: 1-9; James, the first of the disciples of Jesus to be killed   Acts12: 1-2