Ever been to a French restaurant and seen coquille St. Jacques on the menu? If you're clever enough to order them, you'll be getting scallops. A literal translation, however, renders it something like "a Saint James shellfish," which is where theology and food meet today, on this feast of St. James the Apostle (transferred from Sunday).
I'm told that scallops became associated with St. James in the Middle Ages, when, according to lore, he rescued a drowning knight who was covered in shells! I've heard it suggested too that pilgrims walking the Way of St. James in Compostela, Spain would keep scallop shells in their pockets as a symbol that they were seeking a cure for infertility.
Whatever the historiography, St. James, is in fact commonly associated with that delicious little mollusk! But the most important part of St. James' story lies not in French food, but in his zeal for the gospel and subsequent martyrdom, himself being the first of the Twelve to die for the faith (Acts 12).
O gracious God, we remember before thee this day thy servant and apostle James, first among the Twelve to suffer martyrdom for the Name of Jesus Christ; and we pray that thou wilt pour out upon the leaders of thy Church that spirit of self-denying service by which alone they may have true authority among thy people; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
P.S. I wonder what we're having for dinner?
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