03 May 2011

03 May 2011, Feast of Saint Philip and Saint James, Apostles

Reading 1
1 Cor 15:1-8


I am reminding you, brothers and sisters,
of the Gospel I preached to you,
which you indeed received and in which you also stand.
Through it you are also being saved,
if you hold fast to the word I preached to you,
unless you believed in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he was buried;
that he was raised on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more
than five hundred brothers and sisters at once,
most of whom are still living,
though some have fallen asleep.
After that he appeared to James,
then to all the Apostles.
Last of all, as to one born abnormally,
he appeared to me.

Ps 19:2-3, 4-5
Responsorial Psalm
R. (5)


Their message goes out through all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day;
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel
Jn 14:6-14


Jesus said to Thomas, “I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you know me, then you will also know my Father.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said to him,
“Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time
and you still do not know me, Philip?
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.
The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,
or else, believe because of the works themselves.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these,
because I am going to the Father.
And whatever you ask in my name, I will do,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.”

Meditation: I Corinthians 15:1-8

Saints James and Philip


I handed on to you … what I also received. (1 Corinthians 15:3)

Have you ever thought how much deeper your faith might be if you had been lucky enough to have lived at the time of the apostles? Walking with Jesus, hearing him speak, seeing him perform miracles would certainly keep your faith alive!

But the apostles, James and Philip among them, didn’t have an easy road. Yes, they saw and heard Jesus, but God didn’t call them just to retell facts or history. They had to internalize, understand, and communicate why those facts are so important to all of us. And even though they had lived with Jesus, sometimes they didn’t understand him all that well (John 14:8-9). It wasn’t enough for them to testify that Jesus worked healings or even that he rose from the dead. They had to pass on how Jesus’ healings revealed his power and showed he was the Messiah. They had to understand and then proclaim how his resurrection saved us from sin and death!

In some ways, we are in a better place than the apostles. We have the blessings of two thousand years of history, theology, and holiness to draw upon. Bookstore shelves are lined with commentaries, biblical dictionaries, and other helpful resources. What’s more, we can see and hear and feel and touch Jesus in deeper ways: in the sacraments, in our prayer, in the Scriptures, and in the loving relationships God has given us.

We are truly blessed! The apostles’ testimony has come to us, and it’s not just historical information. They have given to us the words of life! Even Jesus himself reaches down and touches us, making his truth penetrate our hearts and change our lives! We can all recall times when our faith was stirred and deepened by a memorable worship experience, during a particularly freeing confession, when a Scripture passage has suddenly made sense to us, or when we reached out to help someone else.

And still Jesus is offering us more. So ask him to touch you again today. Invite him to ignite your faith and empower you to share it with others. Be like Philip and James, and give away what you have received!

“Thank you, Lord, that you have made me a witness to your truth. Thank you for touching my heart and bringing the truth to life in me.”

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