A few years ago (well, a few decades ago…) there was a Gatorade ad campaign with the slogan “Be Like Mike.” (I won’t sing you the jingle because it will become an ear worm for the rest of the day.) The logic of the commercial: since Michael Jordan was, arguably, the greatest basketball player of all time people should want to be like him. I must confess that I never imagined that any amount of Gatorade would enable me to jump, shoot, rebound, block, guard, pass, dribble like Mike. Still, it was nice to think I was at least like Mike in drinking Gatorade. The idea of holding up a hero, a champion, an idol to imitate is part of what lies behind the Catholic custom of having patron saints. We want to be like the saints in their dedication to God and their devotion to the people of God. The great thing about the saints is that they are remarkably diverse. Some are sweet and some are hard-nosed. Some are energizer bunnies and some are quiet reflectors. Some seem to be naturally good and others struggle to keep the commandments. Some seem half-way to heaven already and others plunge themselves into the caldron of history, politics, society. No matter what we are like, there is a saint somewhere whom we can imitate.
Today, of course, we are here because we want to “be like James,” St. James the Greater, that is. We are being challenged to become as he was, an apostle – those who share the good news of Jesus in the providence of their everyday life. Pope Francis says we are called to be missionary disciples. In Renew My Church they say that we are supposed to be evangelizers. But no matter what the term the idea is the same. We have news too good to hold onto, news that is too good not to share. The good news of Jesus is what people are searching for even if they don’t know it. It is the role of the apostle, missionary disciple, evangelizer to bring that good news to them. What does that means for me? How I am supposed to do that? We make excuses: “I don’t know the Bible very well. I’ve heard that religion and politics are the two things you should ever talk about. Don’t expect me to stand on the street corner or go knocking on doors handing our religious tracts.” So given my limitations, how am I supposed to be an apostle, a missionary disciple, an evangelizer? This is where St. James comes in. Let’s look at who he was and what he did to shape our own calling to “be like James.”
The Bible doesn’t say very much about St. James but what it does say is instructive in forming our own apostolic identity. Our readings for today don’t mention the scene where we meet James for the first time — the call of Jesus. He was simply going about his business, doing his job, toting that barge and lifting that bale when Jesus asked James and his brother, John, to follow him. There was something about Jesus which attracted him, which intrigued him, which made him want to learn more so he did so, he followed Jesus. That serves as a reminder that we first must encounter Jesus — before becoming apostles we must be disciples. To be a disciple is to be a learner. Before supposing that we can share the good news we must understand what the good news means. James spent three years in the school of Jesus, watching what he did, listening to what he said, reflecting on what he experienced. In that process he learned what the good news meant. We too must be disciples, learners. We must understand who Jesus is for us, answer the question “Who do you say that I am?” that Jesus posed to those first apostles. As the old Latin students put it put it, nemo dat quod non got. You can’t give what you don’t have.
One thing the Bible does make clear about St. James is that he was not plaster saint, but a flesh and blood human being. As the gospel text for today demonstrates he was ambitious, jealous of others’ status, boastful, and something of a momma’s boy. There is another text in St. Luke where he tells Jesus he wants to call down fire from heaven on those he feels have dissed them. So he was also an angry hot head, vengeful, unforgiving. In other words, James was remarkably like us, having all of the faults and failings that we have. His personality did not disqualify him from being an apostle. Jesus took him as he was and worked with his particular set of gifts and limitations in calling him to the apostolic life. That is our story as well. We aren’t given a pass from our vocation as apostles because of the quirks of our personality. St. Paul calls us “earthen vessels,” fragile but still capable of carrying good news. In fact, that Jesus wants us to be apostles is, perhaps, one of the best ways we can spread the faith. People can look at us and say, If Jesus wants the likes of them, there must be hope for me too.
Finally, as the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles relates, St. James gave his life for the faith. While we will probably not be called to face “the sword” as James did, we live out our vocation as apostles by giving our all as he did. We give our all by looking not to be served but to serve. We give our all not thinking about what will I get but what can I give. We give our all not worrying over what’s in it for me but what’s in it for we. That is how we become apostles. That is how we bring good news into the world. That is how we can “be like James.”
