Commontide
Liturgical Color: Red
The 6th Sunday after Trinity
O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Most liturgical texts are from the Book of Common Prayer (2019) of the Anglican Church in North America.
The New Coverdale Psalter, © 2019 by the Anglican Church in North America. Used by permission.
Apostle and Martyr
Red Letter Day
James the Elder, son of Zebedee and brother of John, was one of the Twelve and the first of them to die for Christ. A Galilean fisherman called from his nets, he belonged with Peter and his brother to the inner circle of three who saw the Transfiguration and the agony in the garden. He once asked for a throne beside Christ in glory and was told instead that he would drink Christ's cup; he drank it first of all the apostles, beheaded in Jerusalem about the year 44.
James and his brother John were sons of Zebedee, fishermen on the Sea of Galilee whom Jesus called from their boat (Mark 1:19–20). Jesus gave them the surname Boanerges, 'Sons of Thunder' (Mark 3:17), perhaps reflecting their temperament — they once proposed calling down fire on a Samaritan village (Luke 9:54). James appears in all four apostolic lists, consistently paired with John and named in the first group of four alongside Peter and Andrew.
James belonged to the privileged inner circle of three. He was present at the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2), at the raising of Jairus's daughter (Mark 5:37), and at Gethsemane (Mark 14:33). When James and John requested seats at Jesus's right and left in glory, Jesus responded: 'The cup that I drink you will drink' (Mark 10:35–40) — words understood by the early Church as a prophecy of their martyrdom.
Acts 12:1–2 records James's death with stark brevity: 'Herod the king laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword.' This is the only apostolic martyrdom recorded in the canonical New Testament. Herod Agrippa I ruled Judea 41–44, dating James's death to this period.
Traditionally, James is said to have preached the Gospel in Spain before returning to Jerusalem, where he was martyred. This tradition, which became the foundation of the great pilgrimage shrine at Santiago de Compostela, is not attested before the 7th century. Eusebius and Jerome, who catalogue apostolic missionary territories, assign no mission to James. A separate tradition, reported by Clement of Alexandria and preserved in Eusebius, records that James's accuser was so moved by his testimony at trial that he himself confessed Christ and was beheaded alongside the apostle.