The Holy Spirit desired James' letter to be included in the New Testament and serve all generations of Christians for teaching and inspiration. But the author is not James ... or James.
There are a lot of St. Jameses to keep straight, and while modern scholarship can help us to analyze and re-analyze clues from two millennia ago, there is still much left unknown. The discoveries in Heaven will be truly fascinating!
Still, there is general consensus among experts that the author of the New Testament's Letter of Saint James is not Saint James the Greater celebrated on July 25.
The Ignatius Study Bible (we've recommended it here!) offers a concise introduction to each of the books of the Bible, and its intro to the Letter of St. James explains a few points.
1James the Greater was martyred very early
We know from Acts of the Apostles that St. James the Greater (the one we celebrate today) was martyred very early. "[Herod] had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword. After he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also."
Scholars calculate the date to be AD 44, so just around a decade after Jesus' death, and too soon to have written the letter. It's also interesting to do some tracking of the Herods we have in the Bible, and which one had James killed. It's not Herod the Great (who killed the Holy Innocents) nor the Herod who ridiculed Jesus and became friends with Pilate. The one responsible for James' death is the next Herod in that sad line-up of rulers.
What James the Greater did have time to do, according to tradition, was start evangelizing the Iberian Peninsula (modern-day Spain and Portugal), which is why he is the patron of Spain. Tradition says it is his tomb that rests in the majestic cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, and it is that destination that has led generations of pilgrims to undertake the "Camino." It was also during James' mission to Spain that he was visited by Our Lady, in an act of bilocation, as she hadn't been assumed into Heaven yet.
2The other apostle named James?
The lists of the Apostles found in the Gospels note that there are two named James. We don't know much about the other apostle named James, the son of Alphaeus, called James the Lesser. But scholars don't think he wrote the Bible's Letter of St. James either.
3So then which James?
As the Ignatius Study Bible explains, "scholars through the centuries have given preference to a third figure ... James of Jerusalem, also known as 'the Lord's brother.'" He is referred to as James the Just.
This James was a kinsman of Jesus, a witness of the Resurrection, and tradition assigns him the honor of being the first bishop of Jerusalem. He is thought to have been martyred there in AD 62.
But, the story doesn't end there. The actual author of James might not have been this James himself, but a follower of his, who was writing some years or decades after James' martyrdom. However, this is debated by scholars, and the team at Ignatius does not discount the possibility that James himself wrote the letter before his martyrdom in the early 60s.
4The Holy Spirit
In any case, what we can be absolutely sure of, is that the Holy Spirit desired James' letter to be included in the New Testament and serve all generations of Christians for teaching and inspiration.
So as we celebrate St. James the Greater today, let us take some advice from the Holy Spirit through James 1:11-12, and remember that, whether we are remembered or forgotten, rich or poor, our time on earth is fleeting:
"For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. ... Blessed is the man who endures trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him."
