Vets, tanners, furriers, equestrians, pharmacists, Seattle and Spain. These are a few things of which, according to Wikipedia, St James the Son of Zebedee is the patron saint. But for my money (and, granted, I don’t really believe in the underlying premise for having patron saints in the first place) there’s another thing St James should lend his patronage to.

People asking the question “What might have been?”

If we only had the gospels to go on, you would naturally assume that James was being prepared for great things. In Mark, he is one of the first disciples to be called by Jesus alongside Peter, Andrew, and his brother, John. In fact, James is actually mentioned before John is (Mark 1:19-20). When Jesus selects twelve of his disciples to become his apostles, James is second on the team sheet (not for the last time, Mark calls John “John the brother of James”, Mark 3:13-19). On all the other occasions when the New Testament lists the twelve Apostles, James comes in third (twice behind Andrew, once behind John).

This doesn’t seem to be an accidental feature of the way the list of apostles was memorised in the early church. At key moments, Jesus singles out Peter, James and John (in that order!) to witness things even the other Apostles didn’t get to see. Of the disciples, only Peter, James and John see Jairus’ daughter raised from the dead (Mark 5:37). Later on it is only Peter, James and John who witnessed the transfiguration (Mark 9:2). On the night when he was betrayed, the other nine apostles are told to wait somewhere near the entrance to the garden of Gethsemane. Peter, James and John are invited in to pray with him, and witness something of his agony there (even if they did fail to remain awake, Mark 14:32-34).

So any reader of the Gospels would naturally assume that James was going to be one of the greatest figures in early Christianity. Just think what the other two in that trio went on to do. Peter and John are key witnesses to the resurrection. During one of the resurrection appearances, Jesus restored Peter to his role as the leader of the apostles, while John’s long (if not indefinite) ministry is hinted at. (John 21:15-23) Peter takes the lead in appointing a replacement for Judas and preaching at Pentecost. From an early date, Peter and John are recognisably “pillars” of the church in Jerusalem (Gal 2:9). It would take too long to point out all the crucial moments Peter and John are involved with in Acts.

In terms of their impact on the contents of Scripture, Peter’s witness gave us Mark’s Gospel, the first to be written. It is impossible to imagine the synoptic tradition (Matthew, Mark and Luke) without the framework of Peter’s influence. John’s Gospel completes and perfects the quartet of portraits of Jesus we are given in Scripture. Without Peter and John, what would our knowledge of Jesus’ life even look like?

On top of that, five letters between them, including some of the most glorious passages in the whole New Testament. “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” 1 Peter 2:9, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” 1 Peter 2:24 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he might exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7 “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:8-9 “If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. “ 1 John 2:1b-2. “God is love… In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:8ff&10 Can you imagine the incomparable loss if we didn’t have Peter and John’s letters?

And then there’s Revelation. Just as the apostolic age is drawing to a close, Jesus reveals himself to John one last time, giving us a book of awe-inspiring wonder and mind-boggling mystery. For all the puzzles involved in interpreting it, its vision has empowered Christians to persevere, conquer, and hope for nearly 2000 years.

But we don’t have a Gospel according to St James, or any letters from his hand. Acts doesn’t tell us anything in particular about what he did, beyond generic references to things the Apostles did as a group. He didn’t go on to be one of the pillars of the church. Because less than half way through the Book of Acts, James is put to death by Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:2).

James is the Apostle who leaves me wondering what might have been. From a merely human perspective, it all seems such a waste. Surely God could have put James’ unique witness to greater use? Surely the church could have benefitted from the insight James could have added to Scripture if he had lived a little longer? It all seems a bit unfair. Why did God rescue Peter but not James? (Acts 12:3-19) Isn’t it a cruel irony that the third pillar of the Church, who wasn’t even a believer during the Gospels, was also called James? Even Luke’s account in Acts is rather perfunctory. Couldn’t James have had one last stirring speech or a heroic description of his death?

In the end, these questions are vain. James’ death is part of what this week’s BCP collect calls “God’s never failing providence which orders all things in heaven and on Earth”. In his inscrutable wisdom, God saw that we did not need a Gospel of James, or even an account of his death. We imagine and, perhaps, long for what might have been, but we accept with gratitude what God has given.

James did not leave us a book, but he did leave us the testimony of his death. In one of his less glowing moments, Jesus prophesied that James would share in Jesus’ cup and in his baptism. James’ death shows us what that means. Sometimes, bright potential comes to nothing. Years of preparation are seemingly wasted. Providence comes which we cannot understand. Seemingly senseless things happen. Often, the sacrifice we make for Christ – even laying down our own life – will not look heroic, or be accompanied with a stirring speech, or even have much of an obvious impact for good. But we are united to Christ, whose seemingly senseless death was the salvation of the world.

James has a lot to teach us in Scripture – not least the lessons learned by a Son of Thunder whose misplaced zeal is reoriented towards God’s saving compassion (Luke 9:51-56) and whose pride and ambition are reshaped by the humility of Christ’s death (Mark 10:35-45). But today I think about what-might-have-beens. Some high hopes I had that came to nothing. A couple of ministers whose lives ended prematurely. Things I don’t understand. St James, who on any worldly view was called before his time, helps me to believe that God’s never failing providence will one day make glorious sense of all things, through the death of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Grant, O merciful God, that as thine holy Apostle Saint James, leaving his father and all that he had, without delay was obedient unto the calling of thy Son Jesus Christ, and followed him; so we, forsaking all worldly and carnal affections, may be evermore ready to follow thy holy commandments; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.