Wednesday May 3, 2023

1 Corinthians 15:1-8

On this May 3 we celebrate the feast day of St. James and Phillip. Listen to this line from Corinthians “then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles;” So who is James and why is he mentioned. James was the bishop of Jerusalem. Remember the Jerusalem church was the mother church. When Peter and Paul got into their fight over pork chops and circumcision, it was James who called them to Jerusalem to settle this matter. Church historians will tell you that the first council of the church was held in Jerusalem and James presided over it. He is called in extra biblical sources as “James the brother of Jesus who was called the Christ. Now this makes us Catholics very uncomfortable because we think it puts into question the immaculate conception. We say actually James was Jesus cousin not his brother. The early church was not bothered that Jesus had brothers and sisters. Anyway I don’t want to start a fight here, you can refer to him as cousin.

If you want to know how Jesus thought, how he was raised then read the letter of James. This is someone who grew up in the same house with our Lord. His letter is so practical that every believer should read it. “If someone is hungry and you say I will pray for you, what good is your prayer?” Listen, read the book of James.