The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, the Feast of Saints Philip and James, Apostles, invite us to consider the indications that we are learning and living love in our relationships with the people we encounter daily.
The reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians centers the Gospel Teaching in the Life of Christ.
* [15:1–11] Paul recalls the tradition (1 Cor 15:3–7), which he can presuppose as common ground and which provides a starting point for his argument. This is the fundamental content of all Christian preaching and belief (1 Cor 15:1–2, 11).
* [15:3–7] The language by which Paul expresses the essence of the “gospel” (1 Cor 15:1) is not his own but is drawn from older credal formulas. This credo highlights Jesus’ death for our sins (confirmed by his burial) and Jesus’ resurrection (confirmed by his appearances) and presents both of them as fulfillment of prophecy. In accordance with the scriptures: conformity of Jesus’ passion with the scriptures is asserted in Mt 16:1; Lk 24:25–27, 32, 44–46. Application of some Old Testament texts (Ps 2:7; 16:8–11) to his resurrection is illustrated by Acts 2:27–31; 13:29–39; and Is 52:13–53:12 and Hos 6:2 may also have been envisaged.
* [15:9–11] A persecutor may have appeared disqualified (ouk…hikanos) from apostleship, but in fact God’s grace has qualified him. Cf. the remarks in 2 Corinthians about his qualifications (2 Cor 2:16; 3:5) and his greater labors (2 Cor 11:23). These verses are parenthetical, but a nerve has been touched (the references to his abnormal birth and his activity as a persecutor may echo taunts from Paul’s opponents), and he is instinctively moved to self-defense. (1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 15 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 19 bespeaks the power and wisdom of the Creator.
* [Psalm 19] The heavenly elements of the world, now beautifully arranged, bespeak the power and wisdom of their creator (Ps 19:2–7). The creator’s wisdom is available to human beings in the law (Ps 19:8–11), toward which the psalmist prays to be open (Ps 19:12–14). The themes of light and speech unify the poem.
* [19:4] No speech, no words: the regular functioning of the heavens and the alternation of day and night inform human beings without words of the creator’s power and wisdom. (Psalms, PSALM 19 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of John, the Last Supper Discourses proclaim the Father as revealed in the works and person of Jesus.
* [14:6] The truth: in John, the divinely revealed reality of the Father manifested in the person and works of Jesus. The possession of truth confers knowledge and liberation from sin (Jn 8:32).
* [14:7] An alternative reading, “If you knew me, then you would have known my Father also,” would be a rebuke, as in Jn 8:19.
* [14:8] Show us the Father: Philip is pictured asking for a theophany like Ex 24:9–10; 33:18. (John, CHAPTER 14 | USCCB, n.d.)
Suzanne Braddock comments that so much truth lies in the readings for this feast, truth that could be used as a perfect summary of all Christian teaching.
What is our relationship to this Christ, this resurrected Jesus? Is he someone “out there”, someone we look up to in the sky in hopes of having our prayers heard? Or is he as close as the air we breathe? The neighbor in need? The migrant, the suffering. The beggar on the street.
“And whatever you ask in my name, I will do.”
“I am The Way and the Truth and the Life.”
Let us pray for the Holy Father and fullness of grace as we elect a successor to Peter and Francis. (Braddock, 2025)
Don Schwager quotes “All nature serves for our instruction,” by Leo the Great, 400-461 A.D.
"All nature serves the Word of God for our instruction. Through all the turning points of the year, as if through the four Gospels, we learn from the unceasing trumpet both what we should preach and what we should do... What is there through which the truth does not speak to us? Its voice is heard in the day, it is heard in the night, and the beauty of all things, established by the work of one God, does not cease to put into the ears of our hearts a ruling order, to let us see the 'invisible things of God through those which have been made intelligible to us,' and it is subject not to the creatures but to the Creator of all things." (excerpt from Sermon 19,2) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 comments that along with the other apostles, Philip and James devoted themselves to passing on what they had witnessed firsthand and what the Holy Spirit had written on their hearts: Jesus’ teaching, his miracles, the power of his love, and, ultimately, his death and resurrection. And that’s what they gave to Paul and members of the Church’s next generation.
The “backstories” of apostles like Philip and James may be lesser known, but their legacy—the gospel message, the Scriptures, the Church, the very faith that you profess—is far from obscure. And thank God for that!
“Jesus, thank you for setting us on the foundation of Philip and James—and all the other apostles!” (Meditation on 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler identifies the kerygma in the letter to the Corinthians and how it resonates with the Songs of the Suffering Servant, Micah, and Jonah. Paul was very gutsy in proclaiming the revelation of Jesus' Resurrection was witnessed by 500 people. Friar Jude notes that Jesus' relationship with the Father is the model of our understanding of God as a loving parent who gives what we truly need.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares a practice from his years of leading retreats in wilderness settings.
Beholding happens when we stop trying to “hold” and allow ourselves to “be held” by the other. We are completely enchanted by something outside and beyond ourselves. Maybe we should speak of “behelding” because, in that moment, we are being held more than really holding, explaining, or understanding anything by ourselves. We feel ourselves being addressed more than addressing something else. This radically changes our situation and perspective.
I invite you to “behold” some things! We will seldom be disappointed. Look at a tree, for example, until you see it in its “absolute truth” as one instance of the eternal self-emptying of God into creation. When we behold the tree in this way, we move beyond its mere “relative truth” as either a beech or an elm, big or small, useful or useless, healthy or dying, ours or not ours, hardwood or soft wood, etc. We are allowing the tree to reveal its inherent dignity, as it is, without our interference. It becomes an epiphany and the walls of our world begin to expand. (Rohr, n.d.)
We ponder the gratitude we have for the relationship we have with those close to us and request the help of the Spirit to maintain and strengthen the Love that sustains Life.
References
Braddock, S. (2025, May 3). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved May 3, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/050325.html
John, CHAPTER 14 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 3, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/14?6
Meditation on 1 Corinthians 15:1-8. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved May 3, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/05/03/1266455/
1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 15 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 3, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/15?1
Psalms, PSALM 19 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 3, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/19?2
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Nature Through New Eyes: Weekly Summary. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 3, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/nature-through-new-eyes-weekly-summary/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Lord, Show Us the Father. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 3, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=may3a
No comments:
Post a Comment