Feast of St. Philip & St. James, Apostles

Last Sunday, we celebrated and commemorated Saint Mark the Evangelist, one of the four men who were divinely appointed to record the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was an evangelist, one called out, to proclaim the truth of God's love in sending his only Son for the salvation of the world, the euangelion, the Good News!

Today, we celebrate yet another feast; today, we remember Saints Philip and Saint James, the apostles. From the earliest times, the Church in England has observed certain feast days, primarily associated with the Apostles and the life of Jesus Christ (e.g., Christmas, Easter, Ascension, etc.). And we, the American Church as inheritors and conservators of our inherited tradition, continue to "keep these feasts," so to speak, year by year.

Now, the feast of Saint Philip and James goes back to at least the 300's where we find readings appointed for this feast in the lectionary of St. Jerome, which organizes and lists the Old Testament, New Testament, and Gospel passages to be read in the churches on Sundays and feast days. So, for centuries, the Anglican Church has held feasts to honor and contemplate not only the life of Christ but His Apostles as well, the foundation upon whom (says St. Paul) the household of God is built, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone (Eph 2:20).

Through his prophets and apostles, God laid the foundation. God built the house, every wall, room, and floor on the Cornerstone of Christ Jesus, not with brick and mortar, but with his holy and precious blood and by His innocent suffering and death. Some planted, others watered, but God gave the increase. As Jesus promises the disciples before he ascends to heaven: "I am with you always."

Today is a blessed reminder that in every age, God builds his Church. From the early Church to today, he added stones to the foundation, such as Athanasius, Ambrose, and later Augustine. There was Basil, Bede, Luther, Calvin, and our English Fathers, Wycliff, Cranmer, Ridley, Latimer, and many more.

But the feast of St. Philip and St. James isn't simply a day to thank God for these apostles, and all the saints, both known and unknown, who faithfully proclaimed the Word. Today is also for us, the hearers of the Word, to be (as St. James writes) "doers of the Word." Like Saint Mark, and Philip and James, God's Word has come to us in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ: He speaks and makes saints out of sinners, disciples out of fishermen, and citizens of God's Kingdom out of exiles and strangers from heaven. And Jesus is making a temple of the Holy Spirit out of what once was a den of thieves. Our Lord is doing all of this in the same way he did for Philip and James: by His Word spoken and delivered to you; by his life, laid down for you; by his resurrection from the dead for you.

We know that Philip was one of the first of the twelve apostles called by Christ. Now, we mustn't confuse the apostle with Philip the Evangelist, who was one of the first deacons in the early Church who baptized the Ethiopian eunuch in the desert. Scripture records that in hearing John the Baptist declare Jesus to be the Lamb of God, two of John's disciples immediately followed the Lord who turned and said to them, "What are you seeking?" To which they replied, "Rabbi, where are you staying?" Jesus responded, "Come, and you will see." One of these was Andrew, who ran and told his brother Simon: "We have found the Messiah!"

Then the very next day, Jesus found Philip and said to him, "follow me." And what do you think Philip did? Well, scripture says that he went and "found Nathanael and said to him, "we have found Him whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph... come and see." Come and see. These are the words of an apostle, the very heartbeat of missionary zeal: come and see the Lord! What the evangelists record the apostles proclaim.

This is the great theme of today's feast day: living and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. It's about witnessing the way, the truth, and the life through our very lives by following in the footsteps of the Holy Apostles, Philip, and James: steadfastly walking in the way that leadeth to eternal life (as we have prayed in this morning's Collect).

Saint James is often referred to as "St. James the Less" to distinguish him from the other apostle named James "the Greater," who was the brother of John. It's not that this James was any less important than James the greater but referred to his being younger. In fact, James the Lesser was "the brother of the Lord," through his mother being a relative of Mary, Jesus' mother (so James and Jesus were cousins). According to tradition, James the Less looked so much like Jesus that even Mary sometimes confused the two. This also explains in part why Judas needed to identify Jesus with a kiss when he betrayed Him. We can reason that Christ was quite close with his cousin James because upon His Resurrection, He appeared to James personally before appearing to any of the other apostles (1 Cor 15:7).

This James, whom the early Christians surnamed the Righteous because of his outstanding virtue, authored the New Testament epistle bearing his name. HE was the first to be elected Bishop of the Church in Jerusalem. Clement of Alexandria, writing around 150 AD, puts it thus, "Peter, James, and John, after the Ascension of the Savior, did not claim pre-eminence because the Savior had especially honored them but chose James the Righteous as Bishop of Jerusalem... The Lord entrusted James the Righteous, John, and Peter with higher knowledge. They imparted it to the other apostles, and the other apostles to the seventy..."

According to St. Paul, James witnessed the Resurrection of Christ and a "pillar" of the Church, whom St. Paul consulted about Gospel and missional matters. In Acts chapter fifteen, we see James, the Lord's cousin, play a central role in overseeing the very first council of the Church where he confirmed the decision derived from Apostolic consensus and the seventy elders that the Gentiles need not undergo circumcision to follow Christ, but refrain from their former pagan practices.

James earned the nickname "the Just One." He remained a virgin all his life; he never shaved, never cut his hair, nor did he ever consume alcohol or meat. He never wore anything ostentatious but always a simple linen garment. Since he prostrated himself so much in prayer, he developed callouses on his knees and forehead.

In 62 A.D., the Jewish leaders accused James of breaking the Law and delivered him to the mob. He was taken to the top of the Temple and pressured to deny his claim, before all, that Jesus was the Messiah. Of course, James refused, and instead, he affirmed his belief that Jesus would one day return to judge the world.

So, the Jewish leaders took James to the top of the Temple and threw him off. Though bruised by his fall, tradition holds that he garnered enough strength to kneel in prayer. As he begged God to forgive his executioners, they violently rained stones down upon him. He finally succumbed to death after someone struck him on the head with a club.

The Divine Word came to both Philip and James and radically changed everything. The One sent to save the world sent these men to proclaim and live the Good News with courage, boldness, and steadfastness. In Philip and James are found the two aspects of what it means to "walk steadfastly in the way that leadeth to eternal life:" the inward call to holiness and the outward call of mission. The apostolic mission moves from an inward, holy disposition: a person’s life must match their message. Sometimes we struggle with sins and find virtue hard to attain (we all go through such seasons); we become an instrument out of tune, our discordant lives are not quite on the same page as the Gospel we love so very much. Sometimes we're like Philip, a disciple who's spent a lot of time with Jesus yet struggles to know him; to see Him clearly. And sometimes, our sinful choices cloud our sight.

When our relationship with Jesus suffers such myopathy, we diminish our witnesses for him. We fail to see him and the needs of the lost as well; we fail in fulfilling the great commandment. Yes, like Isaiah, by the fiery coals of grace, we have been made clean, we are justified by grace, yet we're still prone to stumble over the allurements of the world and the old sins that so easily beset. And these impair the apostolic mission to which we have been called.

To set the will on virtuous living isn't legalistic; it's apostolic, which is why the psalmists, prophets, and apostles, in keeping with the Lord himself, continually calls us to holiness. And this we cannot attain without the gracious enablement of the Holy Spirit; we simply cannot of ourselves walk steadfastly in the way that we should.

Therefore, we pray, we ask God to help us, for patience in suffering, for wisdom in this wicked world; for an increase in faith asking without wavering; not as people tossed to and fro like a wave on the sea or driven with the wind. But steadfast, like the blessed man of whom Saint James writes, "endures temptation, [and when] he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him."

It is the blessed man, the One who is at peace with God and self, from which the truth of the Gospel flows like music in the ears of sinners. Is this not King David's testimony, whom the Lord lifted from the pit and "put a new song in his mouth, a song of praise to our God." The Gospel is the song of the holy. It is the melody of a clean conscience, of one walking in the way of the Lord (not perfection) but joyfully seeking to please God by doing all that he asks.

Any Christian who has experienced forgiveness, who pursues daily holiness gladly shares the good news of being delivered from sin, just like David, who thus sings: "I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord. I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation" (Ps 40:9-10).

In Philip, we find the "come and see" of missions and in James, the necessity of remaining steadfast in holiness for the unbridled proclamation of the Gospel. Let us follow in the footsteps of all those saints who have gone before us, who walked in imitation of our Lord. And may our lives always sing the Apostolic message of salvation to any and all with ears to hear it.

Beloved, let us join Philip and James and all the faithful in hearing Jesus' Words, receiving them with joy, and responding with thanksgiving. And now, let us prepare our hearts to "Come and see!" Come to the Lord's Table. Come and see forgiveness. Come and see mercy; see heaven on earth. Come and see His body broken for you; his blood poured out for you. Come and see Jesus, the One who came from heaven for you. Amen+