The men that Jesus called to walk with him on earth shared a unique opportunity that would never be duplicated. The Kingdom was coming, and they had front-row seats. As we remember James today, the passage from Mark reminds us of his calling. He and his brother recklessly abandoned what they were doing to find a better way. These were also the same apostles who asked to sit at the right and left of Jesus in his Kingdom, Mark 10:35. They had no idea what they were asking. At the time, the fever for Jesus’ celebrity was high, but James would get a position he hadn’t dreamed would be given to him uniquely: in Christian tradition, it is believed that he was he first apostle to be martyred.