The Brothers .....

Noah (13), Seamus (24), Ian (22)

Brotherly Love

The boys are getting so grown up … and used to living life their own way. Seamus and Ian have been out of the house for 6 and 4 years now and Noah has gotten used to practically having the whole back of the house to himself. Plus, Noah is now a teenager … Seamus and Ian have not experienced close-up the phenomenon of Noah slowly morphing into a young man … with more thoughts, feelings and opinions of his own developing all the time. The boys’ visits together these days are typically short and fun. They are not used to lots of togetherness anymore. Another prayer of mine is that these three confident, independent brothers can face the challenges of so much time together combined with hours of physical endurance and somewhat archaic living conditions … with grace, humility, patience, forbearance, acceptance, forgiveness, joy and fraternal love.

Love my boys.

The Last Time The Fishermen-Apostle Brothers Were Together

Of course James and John were together for many other apostle events … The miracle of the Loaves and Fishes, the Sermon on the Mount, the Last Supper, etc. The last time they were recorded as being together was in the Upper Room waiting for the descent of the Holy Spirit. At that point, traditions tell that John took care of Mary (perhaps in Ephesus) and James traveled to Spain to spread the message of Christ.

Brothers, Fishermen and Apostles

It’s impossible to know Saint James without knowing his brother, Saint John. Their dad, Zebedee, was a fisherman and they were in business with him. They were actually helping him clean some fishing nets when Jesus called them to be apostles (to be “fishers of men”). Without hesitation, they joined him. (Interestingly, Peter and Andrew were also brothers, fishermen and apostles.)

It appears that James and John were especially close to Jesus. They, along with Peter were the only apostles present for a few unique events: The Raising of Jairus’s Daughter, The Transfiguration and they were closer to Jesus than the other apostles at Gethsemane. On one other occasion, it was this trio plus Andrew who accompanied Jesus when he healed Peter’s mother-in-law.