Tuesday, May 3, 2022

 Feast of Saints Philip and James, apostles

(I Corinthians 15:1-8; John 14:6-14)

Today’s readings have been chosen because they name the two apostles we celebrate.  Both apostles are encountered several other times in the New Testament.  Still their legacies are uncertain or at least have caused some confusion.

James is sometimes called “the Less” because of his small stature or relatively young age.  He may have been an almost forgotten apostle – the son of a certain Alpheus.  But he may have been “the brother of the Lord” which traditionally means a relative of Jesus.  If he is the latter, he not only received an appearance of the risen Lord but was the leader of the Jerusalem community.

Philip is one of Jesus’ first disciples called in the gospel of John.  The gospel mentions him on several other occasions such as his misguided request at the Last Supper in today’s gospel reading.  This Philip is not to be confused with the Greek-speaking Philip of the Acts of the Apostles who converted the Ethiopian magistrate.

Both Philip and James show us that Jesus was not a mythic figure, but a human being with relations and a following.  They welcome us into Jesus’ company.  We take Jesus’ body and blood which give an intimacy even greater than that of a blood relative.  We heed his teaching which allows us to know the source and goal of our existence.