The Feast
of Saints Philip and James
May 3, 2016 6:30am
Readings: I
Corinthians 15.1-8
John
14.6-14
The Scripture tells us that the
apostle Philip is a friend of Andrew and is from a town called Bethsaida.
Jesus invites Philip to follow
him and Philip agrees.
In John’s gospel, Philip often
says what the other 11 are probably thinking.
For example, before the miracle
of the loaves, Philip blurts out: “A full
year’s pay won’t be enough even to give a snack to all these people.”
In today’s passage, Philip asks
Jesus to get to the point:
“Just show us the Father and that will satisfy us.”
Philip was Greek and introduced
many Greek-speaking Jews to Jesus.
Historical tradition says that he
preached the gospel in modern-day Turkey.
Then, there are 2 apostles named
James.
The James we remember today is
believed to be a cousin of Jesus.
He is not the James who was part
of the inner-inner circle of Peter, James and John.
This James is usually referred to
as James the Less.
Imagine being referred to as “the Less” – like Michael the Less.
I don’t think I’d like that.
This James never appears in the
gospels on his own, apart from the Twelve.
He is mentioned by Paul in
today’s first reading.
This James became the leader of
the Jerusalem Church and was kind of a mentor to Saint Paul on his missionary
journeys.
One of the epistles in the New
Testament is attributed to him.
A constant theme of his preaching
was our duty to care for the poor and the sick.
So, Philip and James come to
Jesus with their own strengths and limitations.
And with that, they become part
of the foundation of the Church.
Through them, we come to know the
Jesus they knew.
For that, today we honor them and
invoke their intercession in our prayer.
