In the first reading from his First Letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul insists on his status as an apostle, simply because of the goodness which he wished his audience would be open to receiving. The more trustworthy the messenger, the more easily would the message preached be received and interiorized. It is a faith, that if embraced, will bring them salvation and life unending. And the One who IS the Truth, the Way, and the Life, was the One whom changed the heart of Paul, and who has changed our own lives forever.
It is in Jesus’ lengthy and heartfelt Last Supper discourse that Saint Philip, whom we celebrate alongside St James the Less, makes his last appearance in the gospels. He, along with the others are undergoing an intense mixture of feelings. The enemy is right outside the doors now according to Jesus who has told them that this will be their last supper together with him, until they “drink of the fruit of the vine” again with him in paradise. This is shocking to them. So many questions arise: how can this be the last supper it he’s meant to rule forever? Is he going to choose some new apostles? But he speaks of death. How? We thought the messiah could not be conquered. So while they’re thinking about all this and what it could possibly all mean, Jesus directs their attention back to the Father. His greatest passion was his love for the Father. His very life consisted in doing his will. And he models this for us continually throughout the gospels. In other words, he is teaching us to do the same. He always brings it back to the Father.
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6.
This was a response to Thomas’ grumbling about not knowing where the Lord was going, much less the way to get there. Very efficiently, because their time was short, Jesus basically tells the group that the Father is our destination and that the way to enjoy an eternity with Him, is through Jesus. There is no other way.
He is not merely “the preferred way” but he is the only way to the Father. To say he’s the preferred way might be insinuating that there’s other ways, and there isn’t. Is God merciful on account of invincible ignorance that in Jesus Christ alone is salvation possible? Absolutely, but this is totally different from maintaining Jesus is merely the preferred way and we need to be careful with this.
Jesus clarifies this unique and important role he plays in our connection to our loving Father. He says to them,
“If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (14:7)
To know Jesus therefore, is to know the Father and this is where Philip, and perhaps even the others, think that maybe Jesus is offering them another one of his riddles or parables, so he asks on behalf of them all for clarification and he thinks that it could be very simple:
“Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied” (14:8)
Jesus doesn’t get angry at this question. He knows these are difficult things for the apostles and for anyone to comprehend, and so patiently and tenderly, he expounds for Philip and the others:
“Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (14:9)
The Father’s union with Jesus and the Holy Spirit is so intense that as we saw through our reflection on Saint Athanasius, and the Athanasian Creed, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one. Here’s an excerpt of that statement of faith if you’ve never seen it:
“For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, another of the Holy Spirit. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, is One, the Glory equal, the Majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit; the Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated; the father infinite, the Son infinite, and the Holy Spirit infinite; the Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet not three eternals but one eternal, as also not three infinites, nor three uncreated, but one uncreated, and one infinite. So, likewise, the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Spirit almighty; and yet not three almighties but one almighty.”
Therefore brothers and sisters, Philip’s question is another opportunity to reflect on the oneness and unity in the Trinity, and so we are grateful to Philip for his question with which he makes his exit from the gospels in terms of things he is recorded as saying.
When it comes to James, son of Alphaeus, which one of the two Jameses are we talking about? The “Little” or the “Greater”?
The James here associated with St. Philip is St. James the Less, so-called to distinguish him from the other apostle, St. James the Greater, the brother of St. John, the sons of Zebedee, whom Jesus designated as the Sons of Thunder, because of their propensity to losing their temper and their zeal in removing all obstacles to Jesus, even if it meant calling down fire from heaven. We celebrate that James on July 25th. Scholars have noted that the Littler or Greater were applied to denote that (the “Little” one) was shorter in stature or younger than the other.
I’m leaning more towards the latter explanation, simply because I personally have a brother and sister who are older than me, and in Maltese, they call me, “iz-zaghjr”, which literally means, the “little one”. Scholars are pretty certain this is why James was distinguished from the brother of John, James the son of Zebedee, because he was older than he was. And out of the many ways I’ve been blessed in life, I enjoy and treasure the fact that I was born into a Maltese family, for the most part because the Maltese language has a lot of Ancient Aramaic in it, which is the actual language most scholars believe Jesus would have spoken.
So when I celebrate mass in Maltsese, and I hear the readings from Scripture in Maltese, there’s something even more special that happens in that some of the expressions Jesus uses are totally clear in their meaning when using Maltese, and a bit ambiguous for example, in English believe it or not. Maybe one day I’ll elaborate on this, but back to Saint James.
In this case, James the Less is actually considered to be one of the more authoritative apostles given his position as one of the "brethren" or cousins of Our Lord which alone would have been significant. He was the first Bishop of Jerusalem, the city wherein he was martyred. His mortifications and his ascetic life won for him the title of “the Just”—James the Just. In fact, the Epistle of Saint James is attributed to him. It is thought to be of a later date than the Epistles of St. Paul, and was probably written towards A.D. 60.
The author addresses those who wrongly attributed to St. Paul's authoritative teachings that faith without good works was sufficient for salvation. St. James speaks of certain practical matters and insists on the necessity of good works, especially those of charity if faith is to be alive and recognizable to Jesus. “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” Matthew 7:21.
St. Paul, who met Little James at Jerusalem, speaks of the apparition with which he was favored after Christ's Resurrection:
“After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles” 1 Corinthians 15:6-7.
Obviously, these were two men very blessed by God in unique and singular ways to be in such close proximity to the Saviour while he visited us in this world and wrought our Redemption. They had a special opportunity to be eyewitnesses to God’s glory, and to and then be filled with the Holy Spirit and joy, so as to be able to go out and share what they had experienced and how Christ truly loves us so much that he came to bring us true life in its newness and fullness.
My hope is that you who are listening to me right now, have already been living this blessed life as a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that he has moved in your life in amazing, unique and life-changing ways. If you think you’re not there yet, that you’re not experiencing life to the full yet, that’s okay. This is a lifelong journey, and we walk its paths and byways with Him who alone is the way, and who alone can reveal to us the radiance and tenderness of our Eternal Father. There may be some things we still have to let go of, and some other things more important that are waiting for us. But always, prayer is key, if we would like to truly know Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit. Prayer is key, if we wish to experience the tenderness and protection of our Mother. One may ask, “wait, so if I don’t pray, God won’t love me, our Lady won’t be tender with me?” That’s not the right way to look at it. They’re always trying to extend to you many good things, but from our end, it is us who reject these graces for things more mundane. It’s like they’re continually sending us mail that we’re not getting, because we’re not going to pick it up. If you don’t pick up your mail, it just sits there, right? So too, with God’s grace, and his presence, and the presence of the angels and saints. They’re always around reaching out to us, but are they finding an open door, or a closed door? May Saints Philip and Little James, hold you tight in their prayers today and always, so that one day, you too can live in that world of infinite bliss, reserved for those who have truly loved God, with our Queen and Mother Mary, and with all the angels and saints, there to praise and enjoy him forever and ever. Amen.
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