Our creeds remind us that we are an apostolic church, a church founded on the witness and example of the apostles. Being an apostolic church has implications for each of us since we too are called to become apostles, or as Pope Francis puts it missionary disciples. The idea of being an apostle can be daunting since we know all to well our faults and limitations. We turn to St. James as a model. St. James is a pre-eminent apostles, one of the first called and the first to be martyred. Yet the Biblical evidence is that he was remarkably like us. He was a momma’s boy — hiding behind her skirts. He was ambitious, looking for his own prestige. He was boastful, thinking he could do whatever was asked of him. He was quick tempered and violent enough that Jesus called him a “son of thunder.” And in the end his fears led him to desert his leader at the crucial moment. St. James was not an apostle because of his sterling qualities but because of what Jesus could do with him and in him. We are called to be apostles because of how wonderful we are but because of the wonders God can do with the likes of us.
JULY252023
By Church Staff
