St. James the Great
Appointed Lessons
Jeremiah 45:1-5 * Acts 11:27-12:3 * Matthew 20:20-28 * Psalm 7:1-10
Scripture quotations labeled NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.
The Living Word | Lectionary Preaching Aids
Classic Texts
Francis of Assisi: The Office of Washing Feet
“Those who are placed over others should glory in such an office only as much as they would were they assigned the task of washing the feet of the brothers. And the more they are upset about their office being taken from them than they would be over the loss of the office of washing feet, so much the more do they store up treasures for the peril of their souls.”
Articles
“Jesus does not dwell on the ambition expressed by James and John. Instead, he redirects it: if you want to surpass others and excel, strive for superlative humility, servanthood, and sacrifice. In light of Jesus’ teaching on achievement, who will sit at his side in eternity becomes immaterial. In his wondrous way of turning the world’s values on their heads, Jesus all but teaches that the one who dies with the most scars wins.”
Brandt Montgomery: The Beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ
“As Moses entreated Israel, Jesus entreats us through his call to ‘obey the commandments of the LORD your God … by loving the LORD your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances ….” (Deut. 30:16, 19). We are urged to accept Jesus’s call, thus choosing God, because Jesus is the incarnate image of life and good. In Jesus we see God’s law and life and goodness inextricably bound together.”
