St. James the Less/St. James the Greater

 I'm still thinking about the movie I saw last night. There was a very moving scene with Jesus and "Little James" (no spoilers!). In The Chosen, they call the two Jameses "Big James" and "Little James", but I prefer the Catholic tradition where they are usually known as St. James the Greater and St. James the Less. I have often worried that I have conflated the two in my mind, so I want to review them both to make sure I get who is who. Warning: this post will be a bit longer as we discuss two Saints.

James the Less (also known as "the Younger") is identified as such in St. Mark's Gospel (15:40) where his mother, Mary, is identified as being with the group of women looking on at the crucifixion. This Mary is identified as James' mother in a few other passages of the Gospels (Mt 27:56, Mk 16:1, Lk 24:10). James is also identified as the son of Alphaeus (Mt 10:3, Mk 3:18, Lk 6:15, Acts 1:13). So, although this James is elsewhere identified as "the Lord's brother"(Mk 6:3, Mt 13:55, Gal 1:19), it is clear that he was not the son of Mary and Joseph. It is most likely that he was a cousin or other close male relative. There is no separate word for cousin in Hebrew or Aramaic. In these languages, any kinsman or countryman was a "brother."

The Acts of the Apostles shows that James the Less was the first Bishop of Jerusalem and was at the Council of Jerusalem in about 50 AD. He is also believed to be the author of the Epistle of St. James. According to the Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, around the year 62, the Jewish High Prist Ananus handed James over to be stoned to death.

James the Greater was the brother of St. John and the son of Zebedee. He and his brother were fishermen and were called to follow Jesus while mending their nets by the Sea of Galilee. The epithet "Greater" or "Elder" denotes older or taller rather than more important. However, James, John and Peter did form a sort of inner circle of the inner circle of the 12 apostles. These three were the only apostles present for the raising of Jairus' daughter, the Transfiguration and the Agony in the Garden. The two brothers were given the nickname "Sons of Thunder" (Mk 3:17), which may imply that the sons of Zebedee shared a fiery temper. 

After the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, James is believed to have spread the Gospel across the Roman Empire, perhaps traveling as far as the Iberian Peninsula. He returned to Jerusalem a some point as the Acts of the Apostles record that he was killed by King Herod by beheading in 44AD (Acts 12:1-2). He was the first of the Apostles to die. Legend holds that he was not allowed to be buried following his martyrdom, but his remains were taken by some of his followers to Compostela, Spain. 

St. James the Less' feast is celebrated on May 3. St. James the Greater's feast is celebrated on July 25. St. James and St. James, pray for us.