Believe and live
Celebrating Apostles Philip and James
3rd May, 2018 - 1 Cor 15:1-8; Jn 14:6-14
Today we celebrate two great apostles, both of them find a prominent place among the list of apostles and have something memorable about them.
James was the first Bishop of Jerusalem and he along with his brother Jude, was called the brother of Jesus. We find the practical wisdom of James, so imbued with the Spirit of Jesus in his epistle. His insistence on integral living, his predilection for the poor, his advocacy for a life of self-control, are eminently Christian themes that we need to highlight even today.
Philip was a person who brought a lot of people to Jesus, including Nathanael. Philip imbibed the life style of Jesus very quickly as we see him in the Gospels already, speaking like Jesus, using the phrases that Jesus used and reaching out to people as Jesus did and bringing people to Jesus, which Jesus so much loved.
One who believes in me will do things that I do and even more than what i do - this has been the repeated message that Jesus has been giving us these days in the Word. Yes, believing is living. Philip and James, give us this message today: to Beleive in Jesus and live like Jesus, only then can you be worthy of Jesus. Only then will you be able to say (just as Jesus said of his father): 'One who has seen me, has seen Jesus'.