Feast of Saint James, Apostle

http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=233

Lectionary: 605

We hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us…

The above words and those that follow from Saint Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians are an astonishing testimonial to the mystery of grace and the subtlety of Christian wisdom. They conclude with, “So death is at work in us, but life in you.” There is irony in the words, but no sarcasm; there is good-hearted humor and deep faith.

Saint Paul writes with amazing conviction about his own faith and an equal confidence in the faith of his people in Corinth. But this is not to suggest he does not know their frailty, failings and infidelity. He has been horrified to learn they are going to civil courts with law suits against one another; he has torn his hair out over their divisions, as some claimed to be for Apollos and others for Paul and still others for Christ. He knows even their betrayal: they permitted an adulterer to worship with them.

But these sins and the grief he feels over them have only shown him the “surpassing power” of the Gospel. God’s purposes will not be frustrated. In fact the glory of the gospel and its brilliant purity shine all the more clearly through the foolishness of its adherents.

Critics of the Church, of course, don’t understand this. Atheists will point to a thousand scientific proofs why we should not believe in miracles. Some will dabble with the gospel and, discovering the sins of Christians, will give it up. They are like the seed thrown on barren soil; they sprang up with enthusiasm but could not grow roots. They cannot see what the eye of faith sees so clearly.

Some will attend the services for years on end but, when scandal hits too close to home, turn away. This is an enormous sadness and a painful disappointment for us. We understand their distress and feel it in some measure, but we cannot stop trusting in God. In the deepest parts of our troubled hearts God holds us captive in love. We feel the dismay of the disillusioned and we know that we too are earthen vessels, prone to sin and prey to distraction, but the liquid of grace does not drain out of us.

On days like this, the Feast of the Apostle James, we remember the long history of these earthen vessels from the apostolic age till today. We celebrate the everlasting Covenant which God has made with us and, by God’s Holy Spirit, we have kept.