July 23, 2012. Prayer Service, Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Matthew 20:20-28


The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.  He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She answered him, "Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in  your kingdom." Jesus said in reply, "You do not know what you are asking.  Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?" They said to him, "We can." He replied,  "My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give, but for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus summoned them and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among  you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a a ransom for many."
The Gospel of the Lord.


James was the first of the apostles to be martyred. Acts 12:2.  He [King Herod] had James, the brother of John, killed with a sword. But John lived on as the guardian of Mary and as the evangelist who wrote the final gospel. John 21:20-23. Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; he was the one who had reclined next to Jesus at the supper and said, "Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?" When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about him?" Jesus said to him, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!"  So the rumor spread in the community that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to  him that he would not die, but, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?"


Mark 3:17.  James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder). Mark 10:35. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, [made the request of Jesus].  James and John were Sons of Thunder because they were outspoken zealots.  And from that, and from this story, we get the flavor  of the zealotry of their mother.


Letter of James:


James 1:17  Every generous act of giving is from above, coming down from the  Father of lights.
James 1:20    let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.
James 1:22    be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.
James 1:27  Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
James 2:8  You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
James 2:14  What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you says you have faith but do not have works?  Can faith save you?  /15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, /16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? /17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
/18 But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.