Believe and Live!

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

May 3, 2023: Celebrating Apostles Philip and James

1 Corinthians 15:1-8; John 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. That is why he was used by the Holy Spirit to bring persons like the Ethiopian Minister who was brought to understand and believe in the Goodnews.

One who believes in me will do things that I do and even more than what I do, promised Jesus. These apostles, just as the entire community of the first Chrisians, give us a powerful message to consider: believing is living. They challenge us to beleive in Jesus and live like Jesus... that is the only way, that we can be worthy of Jesus. When we live by this integrity, we would be in a position to say as Jesus said of his father - the one who has seen me, has seen the One who has sent me!