Reflection for WEDNESDAY, Feast of Saints Philip & James

By

 Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Director, Social Action Movement, Don Bosco Bidar 

 Meditative Reading of Today's WORD of GOD 

 John 14: 6 -14 

To have seen me is to have seen the father


Jesus said to Thomas:

‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.

No one can come to the Father except through me.

If you know me, you know my Father too.

From this moment you know him and have seen him.’

Philip said, ‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.’

  ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip,’ said Jesus to him ‘and you still do not know me?

‘To have seen me is to have seen the Father,

so how can you say, “Let us see the Father”?

Do you not believe

that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?

The words I say to you I do not speak as from myself:

it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work.

You must believe me when I say

that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;

believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason.

I tell you most solemnly,

whoever believes in me

will perform the same works as I do myself,

he will perform even greater works,

because I am going to the Father.

Whatever you ask for in my name I will do,

so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

If you ask for anything in my name,

I will do it.’

Reflection on the readings 

Early CHURCH Leaders

It is Interesting to Compare the Personalities of These 2 Prominent Apostles, insofar as the Gospels & Acts Give Us Information about Them. 

James of Jerusalem (Not the Son of Zebedee & Brother of John) is rarely mentioned in the Gospels, & isn’t part of the inner circle. James Presiding over the Apostolic Council (Acts 15 ). When He Spoke, People Listened, & His Views Carried Weight. James was a Man of Great Dignity whom the Early CHURCH Nicknamed “James the Just.” 

Saint Philip has a somewhat Higher Profile in the Gospel, even though He hardly Features at all in the Acts of the Apostles. He is Listed Alongside Bartholomew Among the 12 in Each of the Synoptic Gospels, but It is the 4th Evangelist, John, who Gives Us Some Specific, Sympathetic Stories about Philip. 

He was Among the 1st Disciples to be “Found” by JESUS & to Hear the Call, “Follow ME.” Philip in His Turn “Finds” Nathanael (or Bartholomew) & Commends JESUS to His Friend as “The One about whom Moses in the Law & Also the Prophets Wrote”; & then Repeats to His Friend the Same Words Used by JESUS to Invite People into His Company, “Come & See!” (Jn 1: 46). 

We may Regard Him as Person-Centred & with a Disposition Towards Sharing what He has Found; a Man to Spread GOD'S Blessings in a Generous Way. 

The Words of Philip to JESUS in Today’s Gospel, “LORD, let Us See the FATHER & We shall be Satisfied,” might well Resonate with Us. Perhaps We too Sense that We will Really only be Satisfied when We See GOD, or, in Other Words, when We are in Heaven. Yet JESUS Replies to Philip that GOD the FATHER whom He Longs to See He Already Sees in JESUS, “To have Seen ME is to have Seen the FATHER.” In Those Words, JESUS is letting Us All Know that HE has Already Begun to Satisfy Our Deepest Longings, Our Longing for GOD.

JESUS has Shown Us the Face of GOD in HIMSELF, in HIS Life, Death & Resurrection. As We Grow in Our Relationship with JESUS We will Already Begin to See the Face of GOD & the Heaven for which We Long will Become a Present Reality, to Some Extent. 

JESUS is Reminding Philip & All of Us that We have Already been Given a Great Deal. What We Need to Do is to Appreciate what We have been Given, to Experience the Presence of GOD in the Person of JESUS Who is With Us Always Until the End of Time; HE is With Us in HIS WORD, in the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, & in Each Other.


Good Morning 

Have an awesome day 

Happy Feast to U All

GOD Bless Us All Today Alleluia