Monday, May 2, 2011

Saints Philip and James, 03-05-11, Tuesday

1 Corinthians 15:1-8 / John 14:6-14           (2018)

The feast of these two apostles St. Philip and St. James is celebrated together because of the church dedicated to them in Rome (which is now called the Church of the Twelve Apostles).

What we can see from the scriptures is that St. Philip was a sincere and straight-forward person.

It was he who told Nathanael that he had found the Messiah and told him to came and see for himself (Jn1:45)

Yet it was also the same Philip who asked Jesus to let him see God the Father so that he will be satisfied.

James (the Lesser) was a relative of Jesus and as bishop of Jerusalem, he and St.Peter settled the issue about accepting non-Jews into the faith without having to undergo circumcision.

So in St. Philip and St. James, we see the two aspects of the Church - the missionary aspect and the community aspect.

St. Philip brought others to Jesus, and St. James acted in union with the community to make a decision.

In these two saints, we also see the Church in these aspects of her growth and journey in faith as we continue to bear witness to Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

We as Church also need to grow into a deeper understanding as missionary and also as community.

When we truly experience Jesus as our Way, Truth and Life, then we will indeed be a missionary and community Church.