The Holy Apostle James, Son of Alpheus
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1 Corinthians 4:9-16; Luke 10:16-21
The Lord gives us today an insight into the sacramental mystery of the Holy Priesthood and spiritual reality of the Sacraments. The holy apostles and on those whom they laid in Holy ordination are consecrated to become Christ-bearers to the world. This is what they now live for as leaders of a Christian community. A community which is called by God to come together regularly to encounter Christ, to be renewed through Sacramental grace and then reflect Him to the world. Through a Sacramental life, each baptized Christian is called to become a Christ-bearer to the world and the priest has a special task to assist the faithful in this spiritual and corporeal pursuit—to lead the community and to be the instrument by which the Lord comes to the people.
The Lord teaches today that ‘he who hears you hears me..’ This not only refers to apostolic preaching, which each priest is called by God to pursue to the best of his ability but also to the mystical reality of the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, where Christ becomes present to the people through the words and gestures of the priest. In the celebration of the Holy Mysteries, the priest becomes the sacramental presence of the Lord. He lends his voice, hands, and body so that the Lord would consecrate the bread and wine and bless the people through him. When we accept apostolic preaching at our local parish we accept Christ. When we attend the local Divine Liturgy, with our whole heart, we are welcoming Christ’s presence and blessing through the local priest. But when we neglect or reject apostolic preaching and neglect attending the Divine Liturgy we reject Christ and the one who sent Him.