Welcome to the opening matchup of Lent Madness 2020! If you're a veteran of the Saintly Smackdown, we're delighted you're back for another
year of saintly thrills and spills. If you're joining us for the first time, we're especially glad you're along for this wild penitential ride. If you're curious about what this all entails, check out the About Lent Madness tab on the website.
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But mostly, we encourage you to read about the 32 saints participating in this year’s edition of Lent Madness, faithfully cast your (single!) vote on the weekdays of Lent, and add your comments to the great cloud of participating witnesses that gathers as the online Lent Madness community each year. If you're wondering when your favorite saint will be competing - in order to rally your friends and neighbors (creative campaigning is encouraged, voter fraud is not) - you can check out the 2020 Matchup Calendar.
Things kick off with an early 16th century Anglican facing off against a Biblical character as Thomas More clashes with James the Less. We hope you enjoy reading about these two saintly souls, more or less, before casting your very first vote of Lent Madness 2020! We're glad you're all here. Now get to it!
Thomas More
Of all the characters of the English Reformation, few are as remarkable as Sir Thomas More. He was considered a scold yet also a man of quick wit, at once both politically astute and obstinate, and a man who was behind his time even as he lived ahead of it.
Born in 1478, Thomas became a barrister in 1502 and was elected to Parliament in 1504. For a time, Thomas debated becoming a Franciscan or a priest — and ultimately chose neither, pursuing marriage and a legal career instead. While known for his strict piety, including the wearing of a hair shirt, and the daily recitation of the Offices, Thomas delighted in life in London and was eager to engage in argument and debate.
Thomas’s intellect, honesty, and loyalty to his family and king brought him into the service of Henry VIII. During this time, Thomas wrote Utopia, a political essay envisioning an ideal community in which there is no private property, universal religious toleration, and free education for men and women alike.
Thomas was a devoted husband and father, committed to the education of his wife and four daughters to a level far exceeding the standard education of women during that time; his dedication to this task was often noted by his contemporaries.
In 1529, Thomas became Lord Chancellor of England. Thomas was strident in his opposition to the Protestant Reformation, and his support in joining Henry VIII’s attack on Martin Luther earned him the title “defender of the faith” by the Pope. As Henry moved to assert his power as king over the Church in England, Thomas, dedicated to the Roman Church, found himself in opposition to the king he loved. He resigned as chancellor in 1532. When Thomas later refused to take an oath swearing that Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn was true and valid (after the divorce from Catharine of Aragon), he was thrown into the Tower of London. At trial, Thomas defended himself as being true to the church over any king. He was condemned to die and executed in 1535. His final words were that he died for the faith of the Church and was “the king’s good servant, but God’s first.”
Collect for Thomas More
Almighty God, by whose grace and power your holy martyr Thomas More triumphed over suffering and was faithful even to death: Grant us, who now remember him in thanksgiving, to be so faithful in our witness to you in this world, that we may receive with him the crown of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
James the Less
Who was James the Less? Well, it depends on whom you ask. This is because the gospels are replete with Jameses. There’s James the son of Zebedee, James the son of Alpheus, as well as James the brother of Jesus. The confusion is further compounded because the gospel writers don’t always distinguish which James they’re referring to in a passage and the Gospel of Mark only refers to “James the Less” in one passage (Mark 15:40).
Some Roman Catholics believe James the Less refers to James the brother of Jesus, while Anglicans consider James the Less as James the son of Alpheus. Even if we blithely assume the Anglicans are right in saying that James the Less is, indeed, James the son of Alpheus, this biography almost comes to a full stop. The truth is, we know very little about this apostle. Yet perhaps what we know is important enough. James the son of Alpheus was most certainly an apostle as three of the gospels include him in their lists (Mark 3:18; Matthew 10:3; Luke 6:12-16) — and he is also present in a room that is full of apostles in Acts 1:13. Beyond this, however, there’s not much more to go on.
Of course, this has never stopped the wider church from filling in the gaps — as you’ll see, neither will it stop me. Some legends hold that James the son of Alpheaus lived to ninety-six years old and died by crucifixion at the hands of the Jewish authorities in Ostrakine in lower Egypt. His body was then sawed in half. This is dubious for many reasons, including the fact that crucifixion was a favorite execution method of Roman, rather than Jewish, authorities.
But since I’m already giving space to dubious claims, I want to offer a new one, entirely of my own creation, and equally bereft of any evidence. In Mexican Spanish, we add a diminutive to people we feel an incredible amount of affection for, to those we love and adore. Mexican Spanish contrasts with America’s obsession with “bigger is better” by linguistically shrinking everyone we love to make them cuter and sweeter and more adorable still. I’d love to believe that “the less” is, in fact, a diminutive rooted in affection. If so, then Mark 15:40 is talking about James the little guy, James the adorable apostle, James the cherished one. Which James, exactly, this passage refers to remains a mystery, but to my mind that’s still a James worth voting for.
Collect for James the Less
Almighty God, who gave to your apostle James grace and strength to bear witness to the truth: Grant that we, being mindful of his victory of faith, may glorify in life and death the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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311 comments on “Thomas More vs. James the Less”
More, for sure.
I, too, voted for James but, sadly, I don’t think he’s going to win.
Thomas More’s “opposition to the Protestant Reformation” is more about allegiance to his religion then allegiance to God. For me that disqualified him. I went with James the less.
Today I am persuaded by Thomas More's commitment to the education of women (having put out of my mind the scene in Wolf Hall where Thomas is reading the New Testament in Greek as a man is tortured before him). Lovely as the affectionate write up for James was there was too little to base a vote on.
I swooped down here since I couldn't vote earlier. Seems that the cliff notes in the blurb for Tom indicates that " universal religious tolerance" was part of Utopia. Seems like Tom was a gigantic hypocrite. Maybe I should read Utopia, or vote for Less.
How many of us would have reacted the way Thomas did?
Today I wanted to vote for Thomas More because I want Thomas More to win
I voted early.. easy! Looking forward to more
Good luck everyone
While leaning towards More, I voted for Less. The creativity and spirit of the writer won me over. Less is more.
While the romanticized and "dubious" version of "Less" being the more beloved or well-loved makes for interesting reading, let's be clear. The appellation refers to the fact that this James was YOUNGER than the other apostle. This becomes very clear if read in the original Greek.
I love the Mexican concept that is 180° opposite to US capitalistic belief that Bigger is Better and that one always needs MORE. As Jesus said "Whatever you did for the LEAST (Less) of these you did for Me"
Since I was young I have always been a fan of More Admiring him for his conviction to faith and family.
I find I cannot vote for More, even as I can admire much that he did. In memory of the most important James in my life (lovingly called "Seamus"), I cast my vote firmly for James the Less.
My reasons as well!
James the less, apostle of Jesus,
Much loved, gentle, kind and good.
Less is more!! ❤
Less is better
This is my 1st Lenten tournament madness. My sister is an Episcopal priest in St. Louis. We were talking about Lent and she said she never gives anything up for Lent.She adds something on. In her case more reading material of a spiritual nature.She convinced me to do the same. So in that vein I also added"MORE"reading material and voted for him.
Besides it's March madness and I am a huge basketball fan.I live in Kentucky.Where else can you have The SEC(conference and Supreme Executive Committee) It was a sign from above that I do this.My sister also told me the puns were hilarious. Low brow humor to be sure but soooo very funny. Keep up the good work.
I live in St Louis. At which church is your sister?
My sister is the bishop's assistant for the diocese. I believe they call the a Canon to the Ordinary, Though there is nothing ordinary about my sister. She was at Emmanuel Webster Grove and also Grace Kirkwood as an assistant rector.
Yes, Doris is the interim Canon to the Ordinary. She's been a friend since I moved to St. Louis.
James the Less has my heart; but Thomas More tipped the scales, for me, when he took his stand for our Lord G-d Almighty..., even unto death!
At this hour of the night and after so many incredible comments and teachings, my little musings hardly matter but I shall add them to the mix anyway.
I was tempted to vote for James the Underdog, but mused a while before doing so. Then, it struck me that all this not knowing exactly who he was is so much like our everyday lives. We drown in information, but still don't really know "where it's at" (whatever "it" may be). So a tip of the hat - and a vote - to all the Jameses and all the uncertainties of life, and to the grace of God that sees us through it all.
Yes, More was a doer of bad things. But so was Paul of Tarsus and look where we put today! Both men have become great Christian saints even though both had a very un-Christian past. Further, it is hard to vote for a man whose very identity is obscure. If James was known to be the James who convened the Council of Jerusalem, I would be impressed. In fact, personally grateful in light of what was decided at that Council. But Thomas More finished his race in great style and he gets my vote.
More was far from perfect, but he was a serious Christian, stuck to his principles, had enlightened ideas about a number of topics, wrote beautifully, and died nobly as a martyr. James may have been all those things in his time as well, but we really know nothing about him except his name and his patronymic. So for me it has to be More not Less.
Yeah! Communism wins! Works are not important. Faith? Very telling.
James doesn’t move me, whomever he may be. More, despite his faults, was willing to die on the same hill he created for others. He was at least consistent.
Oh, No! Faith, RIP.
Is anyone else having the problem of not being allowed to vote? I am being shown only the vote totals but not the Vote button.
I'm going with James.
Less is more this Lenten season - speak truth to power boldly in whatever small way you can!
I don't know whether the members of the SEC read these comments, but I hope they'll see this one. I was frankly shocked that the entry on Thomas More failed to mention his cruel, bloody, and zealous persecution of Protestants. The celebrity blogger failed to give us a complete picture here; surely that's a part of the job, for better or for worse. When More comes up again in the Saintly Sixteen, can we please have that information in his entry? I enjoyed the humor of "More or Less," but there's not much that's humorous in maintaining not one but two spaces at one's home devoted to the torture of one's fellow human beings. It will be a travesty if that monster wins the Golden Halo.
Blessings & Shalom Sarah...
"Saul of Tarsus..., his cruel, bloody, and zealous persecution of Christians." Does not Thomas More rate the same forgiveness as extended to Apostle Paul??? Was More's ultimate stand for the one and only true G-d, Abba YHWH, for nought??? It is so wonderful for "all" Believers that G-d, Abba YHWH, looks on our hearts [motives]..., not the outward like man does.... Just a thought.
Thomas More never repented of his evil deeds against other members of the Body of Christ; he was smugly certain that their horrific sufferings were God's will. What kind of monster maintains not one but two areas dedicated to carefully calibrated suffering of others in his own home? When torture failed to make them apostate, he always attended their public martyrdoms by burning alive; who does that, besides a sadistic fanatic? I doubt that Saul of Tarsus was in More's category of evil, but at least he repented of his persecutions. The hypocritical More seems to have rejoiced in his ghastly deeds until the end. There are a lot of very good reasons that he was not canonized until 1935, 400 years after his execution. One is that he was, manifestly, unworthy of sainthood.
Touche, Bryan...
But in the greater scheme of things, horrific is horrific..., be it Saul of Tarsus [who, yes, also reveled in his atrocities!
We have the Bible [the Holy Spirit inspired Word of G-d]] that continues to follow the life of Apostle Paul.
I am just offering another point of view..., as morally right as we 'humans' feel we can be, bottom-line, no one knows our hearts [motives] better than Abba YHWH - no one! And ACCEPT for the Grace of G-d..., More's horrific way could be attributed to any of us; yet when the "chips were down" the man, More, chose G-d [sort of like the thief on the cross who asked Christ Jesus to remember him] - that was literally that man's 24th hour..., & at his last second our Christ Jesus granted him Salvation. More is no different than the thief on the cross..., & we are no different than More! Intolerance is Intolerance, any way it is sliced....
For a lot of reasons, I cast my vote for James the Less
I vote for Thomas More! He was a man of conscience, willing to stand up to Henry VIII when most of his contemporaries towed the line to save themselves. Hillary Mantel's "Wolf Hall" is a work of fiction which tries to paint Cromwell as a hero, so it is bound to be biased. For me More is the hero who gets my vote! ❎
Actually, Mantel's work is based on carefully researched history; I learned all that about More as an undergraduate in an advanced course on Tudor history. She's not making it up. It's "A Man for All Seasons" that's dipped in fiction. (And, of course, all the great dialogue that people have been quoting was made up.)
If you're okay with voting for a man who really did maintain his own torture chambers and regularly attend burnings, that's your business. But please don't pretend that facts aren't facts because you find them inconvenient. Sometimes beloved preconceptions are wrong. This is one of those times.