Perhaps we should not blame James’s mother for asking Jesus to give her sons the places of honour when he came into his Kingdom. After all, they were, with Peter, part of an inner group who had shared some special moments with Jesus. They had seen and experienced things that even the other disciples had not.

James, with Peter and his brother John had been with Jesus when he had raised a little girl to life. They had seen him transfigured and would be close to him in the garden of Gethsemane. Why then should they not have thrones next to his, one on the right and the other on the left?

James’s mother does not of course know what she is asking. As usual, those who have followed Jesus have not heard and have not understood what will happen to him. It is true Jesus has told the disciples (recorded in the previous chapter of Matthew’s gospel) that, ‘at the renewal of all things’ there will be twelve thrones for the disciples and that they will be part of the final judgment.

Perhaps this has led to the request that James and John should be the most favoured of the disciples and sit on either side of Jesus. However, what they had not heard, and what Jesus has pointed out to them more than once, was that his journey to Jerusalem would end in suffering and in death. Before ‘the renewal of all things’, Jesus must face the agony and humiliation of crucifixion.

It is also clear from the reaction of the other disciples that their concern is not that the brothers and their mother have misunderstood what Jesus is doing. It is rather that the brothers have made a bid for prominence and honour among the twelve and the others find this unacceptable.

And, although Jesus is keen to use the incident to teach his disciples about the nature of servant ministry, there is irony here. There will indeed be a throne, but the throne will be a wooden cross. There will also be two other such ‘thrones’ one on Jesus’ right and the other on his left, but there will be thieves upon them. There will be a cup of suffering and death but Jesus must, in the first instance, drink it alone.

And of course James and John won’t be there when Jesus ‘comes into his glory’ on the cross because, like the other disciples, they will have run away and will be in hiding from the Jews.

It is true that there will be honour and glory but it will come, as Jesus has pointed out to them, again and again, from a life of service to God and to neighbour and from no other source. More than that, it will come, in the first instance, from his own suffering and death, that will bring life-giving freedom and salvation to the whole world. This is a hard lesson for them to hear, and they will only understand it properly when they experience the events of Good Friday and Easter for themselves. And yes, James will drink the cup of suffering and death, but not until Christ has gone before.

As we heard in our reading from the Acts of the Apostles, he will be put to death on the order of King Herod Agrippa and will be the first Apostle to be martyred for the faith. It is claimed that, before he died, St James spread the gospel in Spain. Sadly there is no evidence for this, which is a pity for those, like me, who have visited, and who value, the great shrine of Santiago de Compostela. Perhaps because of this supposed connection, James is often represented in Christian art as a pilgrim with a cockle shell but I think this image of the saint remains important, whether or not he ever went to Spain.

James ultimately learned the truth that to leave all that he had to follow Jesus was to travel a pilgrim road. It was a road that led to Jerusalem, not, as he may have first believed, directly to honour and glory but rather to suffering and to death. It was a way that challenged much of what James knew and understood about his God, his nation and his faith. It was a path that led him to confront his own ambitions and aspirations and to strive to be servant of all. It was a way that led him ultimately to a martyr’s death, giving up life itself for Christ and for the Kingdom of Heaven.

Today we give thanks for the life and work of this pilgrim saint who models for all our churches a way to follow Christ. It is popular again to talk of a ‘pilgrim church’ because we are challenged to journey with ecumenical colleagues into a future that is less clear to us than we might hope. Perhaps our own situation is not so much removed from that facing the mother of James and John. And perhaps we are being reminded again that the way of honour and glory for us as individuals and as a church lies through the death of much that we treasure. James and John wanted glory without pain and honour without true servant-hood. In the end, they experienced the death of most that they held dear on their journey with Christ.

The Celtic church recognised three kinds of martyrdom. White martyrdom was leaving home for the sake of the gospel. Green martyrdom was living a life of confession and penitence, and red martyrdom was dying for Christ. The pilgrim church today is still called to leave the familiar and risk the dangers of an uncertain future. And of course pilgrims have always been penitents because to follow Christ along the way requires a sorrow for our sins and an urge to do better.

James does not offer this church, or other churches dedicated to him, or indeed the church at large an easy future. He offers us all a way of pilgrimage and loss a penitential journey as individuals and as a church to rediscover the mission of God and to see again the true nature of discipleship at the foot of the cross.

Our church is being called to change, to make new connections to a sceptical generation in an ever changing society. Some parts of what we are and what we do will likely die, but new shoots will grow and a new hope will emerge. At such a time and with such a challenge we are called to be a pilgrim people and to follow the pilgrim saint into new experiences of the gospel and into new life.

Amen