SAY WHAT YOU BELIEVE

Homily for the Feast of St. James the Apostle
July 25, 2025, 2 Corinthians 4:7–15; Matthew 20:20–28
(See below for Filipino version.)

“I believed, and so I spoke.”
These words from St. Paul in today’s first reading are a quotation from the Book of Psalms—Psalm 116:10. In English: “I believed, therefore I spoke.” It sounds somewhat similar to a famous line by the French philosopher René Descartes: “Cogito, ergo sum” — “I think, therefore I am.” But for St. Paul, it’s different: “Credo, ergo loquor.” “I believe, therefore I speak.” Or in simpler words: “I stand by what I say.” It means: “I am ready to stake my life on the words I proclaim.”
This is also what Jesus is trying to teach the sons of Zebedee—James and John—in today’s Gospel. Honestly, I sometimes wonder why this particular Gospel passage is chosen for the feast of the Apostle James. It’s a bit embarrassing, to be honest. Because, in Matthew’s version, it wasn’t even the two brothers who brought their request to Jesus—it was their mother.
In Filipino we call that: “Nanghihiram ng bibig”—borrowing someone else’s mouth to speak for you. And what was she asking? She wanted her sons to be given seats of power—one at the left and one at the right of Jesus in his kingdom. If we try to “read between the lines,” Jesus’ response to them might go something like this: “Brothers, you don’t need to borrow someone else’s mouth. If that’s what you want, just say so yourselves. And this is my answer to you: You don’t know what you are asking for… Can you handle the consequences when the time comes?”
And they answered, “Yes, we can.”
Jesus sounds very much like a teacher here, addressing the two youngest members of his community of disciples. He is teaching them how to speak rightly. That if they want people to believe in the Good News they are proclaiming, they have to stand by what they say. That if they are not ready to stake their lives on it, they might as well not say it at all.
That’s why Paul says in the first