25 July 2019
Feast of Saint James, Apostle
Frodo Baggins, a hobbit of the Shire, is a fictional character in J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Lord of the RingsTrilogy. In the first book of the trilogy, the Fellowship of the Ring, Middle-Earth is threatened by a resurgent evil force, Sauron. The only way to destroy Sauron is to destroy the magical ring that he desired to use to conquer Middle-earth. However, the ring can only be destroyed by throwing it into the fires of Mount Doom, the volcano where it was forged, in the heart of Sauron’s fortress. A team is commissioned to escort the ring safely to this dangerous destination. But, the role of the ring bearer falls to Frodo, the unlikeliest member on a team that includes a prince, a future king, and a wizard. Frodo accepts the job with humility. Throughout the journey, Frodo must constantly fight the temptation to claim the ring for his own and gain its power for himself. Frodo’s heroic journey shows that humble heart and virtuous mind can resist succumbing to the temptations of earthly desire for power.
Many people are quite skeptical with idea of heroism these days because they think that the notion of heroism is an overblown idea. This is true in so far as the popular culture tends to portray heroes as those who can conquer the world with their own power. However, the idea of heroism is not only about conquering the world with power. There is also a notion of humble heroes or servant heroes as they’ve been portrayed in the Christian tradition. St. James, whose feast we celebrate today, is one example of a humble hero. In today’s gospel from the Gospel of Matthew, we hear St. James’ mother, Salome, ask Jesus to put her two sons, James and John, at Jesus’ left and right hand when coming into his glory. In Mark’s Gospel, the earliest gospel, James and John make the request themselves. It is safe to say that James had to deal with temptations for earthly power. In the end, he learns a lesson from Jesus that he must be a servant first. This is a lesson that James learns in the years leading up to his martyrdom. After the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, James was the second martyr mentioned in the book of Acts; his martyrdom took place fairly early in the history of Christianity, perhaps around 42 AD.
All of us deal with the temptations for earthly power and glory. Do you need to ask the Lord for forgiveness for choosing earthly power and glory? Can you ask for the grace to be a servant so as to conquer your desire for glory and honor? Perhaps, you can give thanks for a time when you chose to serve.