You were the first bishop of Jerusalem,
And were known as James the Just,
Since you were a relative of Jesus,
People knew that you they could trust;
Your knees thickened like a camel’s,
From all your time kneeling in prayer,
You had a long beard and lots of hair,
And you always treated people fair.
The Jewish leaders failed with St. Paul,
So they turned their ire towards you,
Their raging revenge was out of control,
And their delirious desire grew;
They wanted to crush the New Way,
So they pursued you like angry apes,
Christians were sprouting up everywhere,
Like vineyards full of plenteous grapes.
You bravely refused to reject the Christ,
So they threw you from the temple’s pinnacle,
Their grotesque expressions were ghastly,
As they chose to be stubbornly cynical;
Then they hurled jagged stones at you,
And with a club they broke your bones,
But you uttered prayers for your attackers,
In between your painful groans.