Celebrating St. Philip and St. James

Today is the feast day of St. Philip and St. James. Now, New Testament readers will quickly ask the question, “Which Philip and which James?” Good question. Concerning Philip, the New Testament speaks of two men with that name (actually three, as “Philip the Tetrarch” is mentioned in Luke 1, but lived at the time of Jesus’ birth). There is Philip, one of the twelve disciples mentioned in all four gospels, and then Philip, one of the seven commissioned by the apostles in Acts chapter 6. Concerning James, the New Testament speaks of at least three men by that name. Both James the son of Zebedee (also the brother of John) and James the son of Alpheus are listed as members of the twelve disciples in the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) and Acts, while James the brother of Jesus is mentioned by Paul in both Galatians and 1 Corinthians and several times by Luke in Acts. So, which Philip and which James do we celebrate today?

The Philip we celebrate today is the Philip included in the twelve disciples. While the synoptic gospels and Acts only include Philip’s name in the list(s) of twelve, Philip plays a fairly significant role in John’s gospel. First, in chapter 1, Jesus finds Philip and calls him, saying simply, “Follow me.” After this encounter, Philip goes to Nathanael and tells him that he had found the Messiah, setting up a fascinating exchange between Jesus and Nathanael. Then, in John 6, Jesus asks Philip where they will buy bread to feed the 5,000, thus preparing the disciples for the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. In John 12, after Jesus had come to Jerusalem for the final time, a group of Greeks (i.e., Gentiles) came to Philip and asked if they could see Jesus. When Philip (and Andrew) let Jesus know this, Jesus said, “My hour has come,” almost suggesting that he was waiting for Gentiles to come to him before he laid down his life. Finally, in John 14, on the night before Jesus died, Philip asked Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus responded with a profound statement of his divinity: “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.”

We celebrate Philip along with James, who, in this case, is James, one of the twelve called the “son of Alpheus,” who is also referred to as “James the Less.” This might seem unfair, but, historically, this James, son of Alpheus, has been identified with the James mentioned in Mark 15:40 as “James the younger.” The word younger is the word minor in Greek, which can mean both smaller, younger, or, indeed, less. (This is also true of the “minor” prophets. They weren’t minor in the sense of being less important, but simply shorter.) Assuming that this “younger” James is the same person as James the son of Alpheus, we don’t really know much about him.

We do know, however, that both of these men were called by Jesus, and that they both answered that call. The tradition, in fact, is they both ultimately gave their lives for the sake of the gospel, dying as martyrs. It could be that, as we celebrate these two saints, Philip might teach us that Jesus desires to speak to us and desires to use us in the lives of others, just as Philip told Nathanael about Jesus, and the Greeks sought him out to learn more (interestingly enough, my sermon this Sunday is about the “other” Philip, mentioned in Acts 6, 8, and 21, and how he listened to the Spirit). From James, honestly, it could be that we learn what it means to be “less.” James was called to follow Jesus and ultimately gave his life for his Lord, which required him to put aside his own will and desires for the sake of following Jesus. Maybe James can teach us what it means, to use the words of John the Baptist, that “he must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

So, today we pray, “Almighty God, who gave to your apostles Philip and James grace and strength to bear witness to the truth: Grant that we, being mindful of their victory of faith, may glorify in life and death the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.”