Today commemorates James of Jerusalem, the brother of Jesus. Whether brother means a younger full brother, an older step-brother or a cousin is a matter of scholarly debate.

James is mentioned several times in the New Testament. He is also mentioned in a non-Bibilical source, the Antiquities of the Jewish historian Josephus. According to Josephus, James was stoned to death at the instigation of the high priest Ananus.

It troubles me how often people in power use their position to suppress someone who challenges them in some way. Of course that is the story of Jesus and so is at the heart of Christianity. It’s unfortunate that Christians often have learned little from their own history with the result that they have tried to use their own positions of power to impose their beliefs on other people, and sometimes attack other Christians because they don’t practice the faith in the same way. That’s not what Christians should do.

James played a prominent role in a dealing with a problem that arose in the early church about whether Gentiles had to practice circumcision in order to be Christians. James announced that these new Christians should not be troubled by this requirement.

There’s something important to learn from the example of James. Christians aren’t out to trouble people, but to offer them the good news of Jesus. Not everybody will hear and believe, but I think we’ll have greater success if we avoid presenting ourselves as crabby, judgmental, bossy people, but rather as caring, kind, joyful people because Jesus is our Lord.

Read James 2:8 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne