St. James was among the first of Jesus’ followers. Brother to John and son of Zebedee he was called ‘son of thunder’. No one knows exactly what that means.
The apostle James was one of Jesus’ inner circle - present at the transfiguration, present in the garden of Gethsemane. When, at the end of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus sends the remaining eleven apostles out into the world, James is among them. He goes to Spain. He was not terribly successful in his mission there and returned to Jerusalem where he was killed by the then Herod in the year 42, becoming the first apostle to be martyred.
The story goes that James’ own disciples took his body by boat to Galicia, Spain and buried him in a forest there. In the 9th century, under miraculous circumstances, his tomb was discovered and Santiago de Compostela was built around it - a place of intense and vibrant devotion and the end point of the Camino pilgrimage.
Two strange and wonderful synchronicities…. I will be preaching tomorrow on what is known as the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) - when Jesus sends his disciples out to baptize and teach in the wider world - and this is when James sets off for Spain. And due to some passport delays and having to start my pilgrimage later than first planned I will end in Santiago de Compostela around St James’ day!
Peace and Love,
Peeka