Jesus called them the “sons of thunder.”
Boisterous, bold, and brave, the Apostles James and John earned this dramatic nickname from Our Lord through their (occasionally misplaced) zeal and passion.
James and his brother John were the sons of Zebedee. Although fishermen by trade, these brothers unhesitatingly cast aside their nets when Our Lord invited them to become “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:18-22). This immediate, zealous reaction to drop everything to follow Christ is indicative of how these two brothers lived: bravely and boldly.
Just as their zeal led them to cast aside their fishing nets, their fiery spirits could sometimes lead to extreme reactions. Their bold actions inspired Jesus to call them “Boanerges” or “the Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17).
These instances of their “thunderous” personalities occur throughout the Gospels. When James and John heard a man casting out devils in Jesus’ Name, they “forbade him to do it” (Luke 9:49). Later in that same chapter, when the Samaritans give Jesus a cold reception, James and John are furious. They ask, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”
In both occurrences, Our Lord rebukes them and demonstrates to these brothers the simple humility required to live out the message of the Messiah. Their faith and friendship with Our Lord helped form them into zealous yet humble disciples of Christ.
To the Hebrew people, thunder was the voice of God. It was powerful and terrifying. Though it could mean destruction, it also meant rain that caused life to flourish. Thunder still brings to mind great and mysterious strength. How appropriate for these two beloved saints, who became the voice of God, to receive the nickname Sons of Thunder!
A fiery personality under the mastery of reason and temperance—and in the service of beauty and truth—is a powerful instrument when directed properly. These same qualities, when uncontrolled or poorly directed, are a means of destruction.
Burning zeal must be tempered by prudence, maturity, and discretion. These come with spiritual growth over time. In giving James and John the nickname the Sons of Thunder, Jesus foreshadowed their roles and honored their lives.
James, whose feast is celebrated today, July 25th, transformed this energy into thunderous piety, zeal for evangelism, and even into radical humility. He became the first Apostle to obediently embrace martyrdom, when King Herod ordered him to be killed by the sword.
Saint James the Greater by Guido Reni
As we celebrate St. James, let us be inspired by his thunderous love and live boldly for Christ as he did. In our own modern lives, we can be plagued by a sense of purposelessness, leading us to feel depleted, burnt out, and unable to act with the vivacious energy exemplified by St. James. Although lesser-known today, this burden has been identified since antiquity as the “noonday devil,” acedia, or sloth. Read more about our culture’s struggle with acedia in the powerful book, The Noonday Devil: Acedia, The Unnamed Evil of Our Times by Benedictine abbot Jean-Charles Nault.
Reclaim your own sense of purpose and thunderous zeal for life and the Gospel with a copy of this transformative book! Get yours at the Catholic Company today!
