Sunday January 21
I wonder what Zebedee was thinking and saying about Jesus that evening! The enormity of it! His two sons had suddenly abandoned a secure family business (they employed some men) to wander around the country after a homeless preacher. No doubt he was angry and depressed. As the months turned into a year he had to accept that they were not coming back. He probably lost all relish for the work, and old age came quickly upon him; his life was ending in bitter disappointment. For his sons, life was just beginning. But they could have no idea what lay ahead. James would die a martyr's death; John would live into advanced old age, still following the homeless preacher sixty years after Calvary. The Reign of God, the Kingdom of Truth: how it drags us beyond ourselves! Zebedee wanted a secure fishing business, his sons (like all sons) wanted their freedom. Neither he nor they could ever have dreamed that their names would be remembered till the end of time. The Kingdom of Truth has dimensions that go beyond our imagination.
