Not Long but Hard
A Homily for the Feast of Saint Philip and Saint James Apostles
The Rev. Marq Toombs+ Curate
The Collect. O Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life; Grant us perfectly to know thy Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life; that, following the steps of thy holy Apostles, Saint Philip and Saint James, we may stedfastly walk in the way that leadeth to eternal life; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle. James 1:1-12; The Gospel. John 14:1-14
The grass withers, the flowers fall, but the word of God stands forever.
“Life is not long, but it’s hard.”
So sings Andrew Peterson in his prayerful song Faith to Be Strong.
On our pilgrimage from Easter to Pentecost and beyond, we are confronted with diverse temptations and trials in the day to day rough and tumble of life. It’s as if the joys of the resurrection are threatened by the struggles of temptation and the sorrows of our moral corruption.
On this Feast of Saints Philip and James we meet two men who, like Jesus, share in our humanity and sympathize with the infirmities of our struggles in the real world.
Saint Philip’s story is not the most dramatic, but it is dynamic. Jesus found him and called him to follow in his steps. In turn, Philip found Nathaniel and called him to come and see the Christ who was promised to come.
Later on, when Jesus saw a large crowd drawing near, he tested and teased Philip: Where are we gonna buy bread to feed all these people? Philip sized up the crowd and did some quick math and said, “Seven months wages wouldn’t be enough money to give everyone even a little bit.” After Jesus, the Bread of Life, multiplied bread and fishes, Philip helped distribute that miraculous food to the people until they were all satisfied. He was a witness to the merciful power and loving glory of Jesus Christ.
A few days before Jesus was arrested, tried, and crucified, some Greeks who had gone to Jerusalem to worship God found Philip and requested to see Jesus. Philip found Andrew and they told Jesus. In response, Jesus said:
The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Now is my soul troubled…Now is the judgment of the world…Now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
When I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to myself — Jews and Greeks, slave and free, subjects and kings.
A few nights later, after Jesus washed his feet and gave him his Body and Blood in the first Eucharist, Jesus laid some heavy words on his disciples. In response, Philip said, “Show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
That’s the last we see or hear from Philip in the Scriptures. But that was not the end of his story.
Tradition tells us that Philip went on to find other people, nearby and far away, to tell them about Jesus Christ. He carried the gospel to Northern Asia and even parts of Russia. Like his Lord and Savior, Philip fought the serpent and laid down his life for others. He lifted up the sacrifice of Christ crucified and showed them the love of the Father. But like his Lord and Savior, Philip was attacked by enemies of the gospel. He was crucified and stoned to death while hanging between heaven and earth.
Philip was tested and tried in his life and ministry. And although he lost his life in this world, he was found by Jesus in the world to come.
Saint James’s story is different. Unlike Philip he did not come and follow Jesus right away. Although he was one of Jesus’s kinsmen, and a first cousin, like other family and friends, there was a time when he was unsure about Jesus and perhaps even concerned about his ministry and teachings. Like others, he might have even wondered if Jesus was crazy, out of mind, or touched in some way.
But in God’s timing, James came to believe the truth about Jesus — that he was more than just a cousin; he was none other than God in the flesh.
Based on the story of the Gospels, I feel confident in saying that James was influenced by his mother to come to faith in Jesus. When Jesus was crucified and hanging on the cross, his mother stood at a distance with her eyes fixed on Jesus. His mother took spices to the tomb on the third day to anoint Jesus’s body and give him a proper burial. James’s mother was one of the women that found the stone rolled away from the tomb. She saw the two angels in dazzling apparel in the tomb where Jesus’s body had been laid. His mother was among the first messengers of the resurrection who told the apostles and others what she had seen and heard at the tomb from the angels.
Not only was James influenced by his mother’s exemplary life and testimony, he was impacted and inspired by none other than the Risen Lord Jesus Christ himself.
According to Saint Paul, after Jesus was raised on the third day, “he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time…Then he appeared to James.”
As Jesus had done with Philip, so he did with James.
The Risen Lord found his kinsmen James, and as a result of this revelation, James was changed and confirmed in the faith of Jesus Christ.
After that James went on to become a leader in the Church. He was the first Bishop of Jerusalem. He led the Jerusalem Council and advised presbyters on how to conduct their ministry among Jews and Gentiles throughout the world.
James even wrote an epistle to all the scattered flock of Christ – which, by the way, reads like a commentary on the Sermon on the Mount.
James was a pillar in the Church. He enjoyed a good reputation with people inside and outside the Church. He even became known as ‘James the Just’ because he was a fair and good man, like a tree planted beside streams of water (Psalm 1).
Alas, in spite of all these good things, James experienced the same kinds of tests and trials that his Lord Jesus Christ did.
A few years before Jesus came in judgment on Jerusalem and destroyed the temple, James was taken to the pinnacle of the temple by his enemies. (The same temple on which the devil had tempted Jesus!) There, Scribes and Pharisees tested and tried James’s faith in Jesus Christ. Then they threw him down to the ground where he lay broken and bruised on the pavement until someone bashed him to death with a fuller’s club — a short, fat, heavy tool that was used to beat cloth and make it thicker and tougher. To this day, James is often depicted with a club in art and icons.
Like Saints Philip and James, our pilgrimage from Easter to Pentecost and beyond, is marked by troubles. We are confronted with diverse temptations and trials in the day to day rough and tumble of life. It’s as if the joys of the resurrection are threatened by the struggles of temptation and the sorrows of worldly corruption.
Now, our tests and trials don’t have to be just like theirs to count. Our temptations and tribulations don’t have to match theirs exactly in order to be reckoned as legitimate.
But our perseverance and patience in the faith of Jesus Christ does.
So, if your heart is troubled over some bad news and you feel on the brink of losing something you care about or someone you love;
if your wisdom and understanding seem foolish or feeble or seem to fall short,
if your joy is hanging by a thread or you feel that it is even fading away,
if your spirit is torn between faith and doubt and unbelief,
if your resources are trending towards zero,
What should you do?
You need to Pray and Press on with Patience!
Ask God for help; Seek things above; Knock on heaven’s door.
And always remember and never forget the promises of Jesus for you:
I will never leave you or forsake you.
I am with you always even until the end of the world.
If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Well, as I said at the start, “Life is not long, but it’s hard.”
So, as you walk in the way that leads to eternal life, may Grace empower you to confront all your divers temptations and trials with joy and peace in the Spirit of Christ.
May the struggles of temptations and the sorrows of worldly corruption be overcome by the joys of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead in your life.
“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial,
for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life,
which God has promised to those who love him.”
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
