John 14:6-14

1 Corinthians 15:1-8

Psalm 19:2-3, 4-5

John 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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, throughout the year I contemplate the example of the saints. They were holy men and women who sought to heed your word and accomplish your will. I pray that I too may live a holy life like the saints and be attentive to the action of the Holy Spirit in my life.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Saint Philip the Apostle: Philip was from Bethsaida, a town on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. In the Gospel of John, Philip was the one who introduced Nathanael (Bartholomew) to Jesus of Nazareth. Philip responded to Nathanael's skeptical question, “Can anything good come from Nazareth,” by inviting Nathanael to “come and see” Jesus (John 1:46). In this way, Philip the Apostle “engages us to become closely acquainted with Jesus” (Benedict XVI, September 6, 2006). Only by truly encountering Jesus and dwelling with Jesus can the Apostles proclaim him to all the nations. Like the Apostles, we need to enter into contact with Jesus by listening to him in prayer, responding to him in faith and love, and living in communion with him. This communion enables us to give witness to him and bring ourselves to encounter him and find life. At the sign of the multiplication of the loaves, it was Philip who told Jesus that two hundred days’ wages would not be enough to buy bread for the large crowd (John 6:7). Philip, who has a Greek name meaning “friend of horses,” was also one of the ones who brought the Greeks to speak to Jesus (John 12:20-22). Finally, during the Last Supper, Philip was the one who told Jesus: “Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied” (John 14:8). Philip learned that night that seeing the face of Jesus is to behold the face of the Lord God. Through the Incarnation, “God gave himself a human face, the Face of Jesus, and consequently, from now on, if we truly want to know the Face of God, all we have to do is to contemplate the Face of Jesus! In his Face we truly see who God is and what he looks like!” (Benedict XVI, September 6, 2006). Philip ultimately gave his life for Christ and, after preaching in Greece, was martyred at Hierapolis in Phrygia (Asia Minor).

2. Saint James the Lesser: Two of Jesus’ apostles had the name “James.” Tradition gave them the titles “greater” (older or taller) and “lesser” (younger or shorter) to distinguish them. James the Greater was the son of Zebedee and the brother of John the Apostle and was martyred in A.D. 44. James the Lesser, whom we celebrate today, was the son of Alphaeus. He came from Nazareth and was probably a relative of Jesus. In the Acts of the Apostles, James the Lesser acted as the Bishop of Jerusalem. During the Council of Jerusalem in A.D. 49, he agreed with Peter’s decision and declared that Gentile pagans could be received into the Church without first submitting to circumcision (see Acts 15:13). Today’s First Reading declares that James saw the risen Lord after Peter. Regarding his martyrdom, Flavius Josephus “says that the death of James was decided with an illegal initiative by the High Priest Ananus, a son of the Ananias attested to in the Gospels” (Benedict XVI, June 28, 2006). During the interval between the Roman Procurator Festus and his successor Albinus, James was martyred by being thrown from the terrace of the Temple and then stoned to death. James was likely the author of the Letter included in the New Testament. The Letter holds that our faith cannot be reduced to mere lip service but needs to be expressed in charity and good works. The Letter of James teaches us that “faith must be fulfilled in life, above all, in love of neighbor and especially in dedication to the poor” (Benedict XVI, June 28, 2006). 

3. What Do the Two Apostles Teach Us? Philip teaches us to seek Jesus and find in Jesus, the Face of God. He “teaches us to let ourselves be won over by Jesus, to be with him and also to invite others to share in this indispensable company; and in seeing, finding God, to find true life” (Benedict XVI, September 6, 2006). James teaches us to abandon ourselves to the will of God, who knows what is truly good for us (Benedict XVI, June 28, 2006). The teaching of James on how we are justified does not oppose that of Paul. Paul often speaks about our initial, unmerited justification. Paul teaches that we are justified not by the works of the Old Law, but by faith in Jesus Christ and by God’s grace. James emphasizes the ongoing process of our justification and teaches that we are justified and sanctified not by an empty faith, but by a faith informed by love and manifested in good and charitable works. As Paul says in his Letter to the Galatians, what counts is faith working through love (Galatians 5:6). 

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, help my faith flourish in works of love today. Show me your face so that I may see the Face of the Father. Move my heart to spend time with you and dwell with you so that I may bring others to encounter you.

Living the Word of God: Is there anyone in my family or workplace that I can bring to Jesus through my words and actions? What good works are evidence of my faith in Jesus?