The Feast of St. James
Sunday, July 26, 2026
St. James Cathedral

Watch this homily! (begins at 39:50)

 
My friends, as part of our week-long celebration of our parish feast, parishioners from all three of our parishes made a “camino,” a “pilgrimage” last Thursday from Immaculate Conception and Christ Our Hope here to St. James. When we arrived we celebrated with a tasty dinner of paella and sangria and some beautiful guitar music. It was a wonderful way to celebrate the patron of our Cathedral parish and of the Archdiocese of Seattle.
 
This little journey together, up the hill from Christ Our Hope and down the hill from Immaculate Conception, reminded us of how important the idea of pilgrimage is in our tradition. Since the early Middle Ages, pilgrims have made the that journey of the Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St. James, from various starting points in Europe, ending at his tomb at Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, in northwestern Spain.
 
There is a very early tradition that tells us that sometime after Pentecost, St. James went to Spain as a missionary to share the Good News of Jesus, and then returned to Jerusalem and was martyred by King Herod around 44 A.D., as we heard in our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Following his death, tradition has it that James’ disciples carried his body on another kind of pilgrimage - to Compostela where he was buried.
 
So, for us as parishioners of the Cathedral Parish of St. James, and as members of the Archdiocese who count St. James as our patron saint, this sense of journey, of pilgrimage, is part of who we are. And that is true of who we are as a parish family on a journey together to become one new parish of St. James. This journey includes the beautiful diversity of churches and worship styles of Immaculate Conception, Christ Our Hope and our Cathedral.
 
Pope Francis once said that, “Pilgrimage is a symbol of life…it makes us think of life as walking, as a path.” And then he urged, “Please do not stand still in life.” (June 6, 2015)
 
As we know from the story of St. James, he did not stand still in his life, either physically or spiritually. When he was called to follow Jesus, along with his brother John and his fellow fishermen, Peter and Andrew, he left everything, including his father and his livelihood to follow Jesus on his way.
 
That physical journey led to a deeper spiritual pilgrimage that had many twists and turns. As we heard in today’s Gospel, right after Jesus describes how they are headed to Jerusalem where he will be handed over and crucified and raised  on the third day, James and John approach Jesus along with their mother who requests places of honor for her sons in Jesus’ Kingdom.
 
This request does not sit well with the other disciples, who are perhaps jealous that the sons of Zebedee beat them to the punch in seeking these important places next to Jesus. This request doesn’t sit so well with Jesus either. It’s clear that James and John and the other Apostles still have a ways to go on the spiritual side of the pilgrimage with him. To put it mildly, they really don’t get it - yet.
 
But we know the end of the story. After going through terrible trials in which they will completely abandon Jesus, they will be reconciled and empowered to spread the Good News and grow their little band of followers to a world wide community of faith. And they will do that by sharing in the cup of suffering that Jesus drinks.
 
They will learn along the way his way of servant leadership. James and the others are true to the journey of discipleship. They do not stand still. They keep moving forward, growing in their own understanding of what it is to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
 
My friends, that is the journey, the pilgrimage that you and I have been called on. We too, in the twenty-first century, are called to open ourselves the way the disciples of the first century were open. We are called to follow Jesus, both in our personal life and as a community of faith.
 
The Lord has called us at this moment in our history to be of service to the City of Seattle, to bring his good news of love and care to all, and in a special way to those who are hurting. And while we might be tempted at times, like James and John, to jockey for position, to want to be seen as the first, the most important parish in our parish family, the Lord’s message is the same as it was two thousand years ago, “whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant.”
 
And just to be clear, I don’t think this is a temptation only for St. James Cathedral Parish. My experience of all three of our parishes is that we are tempted at times, to want to be first, to be noticed, to be seen as very important because of our history and our unique place in the city and the archdiocese. And those words of Jesus ring in our ears, “But it shall not be so among you.”
 
For this temptation is a temptation, I think to give in to the world’s values and to what Pope Francis said is “standing still.” But that’s not who we are. We are a people who have been committed for more than one hundred and twenty years, to be on pilgrimage with the Lord, serving those most in need.
 
We make this journey together as faith-filled and fragile people. But that fragility can be our strength. In our temptation to stand still, to be stuck in the past rather than build on it, we can acknowledge that we need God’s help and the support of each other to continue moving forward.
 
As St. Paul reassures us in today’s second reading, we hold this treasure of the Good News, of the light that Christ wants to bring to the world, in an earthen vessel so “that the surpassing power may be of God, and not from us.”
 
My friends, as our pilgrimage, our journey together with Immaculate Conception and Christ Our Hope continues to unfold over the coming year, may we trust the Lord’s call, and rely on his strength to help us to keep moving together so we can be of service and continue bringing the Good News to the people of Seattle.
 
Last Thursday as we walked together, talked together, ate together and celebrated together, we caught a glimpse of who we are and who we can become. This journey will call us to keep moving, physically, spiritually, and emotionally. This walking together will invite us to go deeper with the Lord and with each other. That is the invitation St. James accepted long ago. May he strengthen us to keep moving.
 
Our God gives us food for this camino. May our communion with the Lord and with each other today nourish us for this journey and for the pilgrimage that leads to new and everlasting life.
 
St. James, pray for us!

Father Gary F. Lazzeroni