Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 3, 2019
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.”
Within the last few days, a large tree just bloomed outside my classroom window. I have been struck by its vibrant purple flowers and its slender branches swaying in the wind alongside the lush greenery surrounding it. Despite teaching in the same room for the past four years, I have found myself earnestly wondering as I stare at the tree, “Is it like this every year? Is this tree always this stunning? Does this brilliant color really emerge every spring?”
Perhaps Jesus may have words for me similar to the ones he uses with Philip in today’s Gospel: “Have I been with you so long a time and you still do not know me?” I forget something as simple as the beauty of the changing seasons, yet I know my lapses in memory are often more serious.
I forget that not just all trees, but all things are made new in the Lord. I forget that Jesus daily wishes to reveal to me hints of his beauty and signs of his presence. I forget that he does not just offer a way, but that he is truly the Way, far superior to any ways I can imagine. I forget that the life he gives is more abundant than the one I so carefully plan.
During this Easter season, let us allow ourselves to be continually surprised by the means through which Christ, crucified and risen, enters into the ordinariness of each day and truly reveals to us the intimacy and glory of the Father.
Prayer
Jesus proclaims, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.” Lord, this Easter mystery emboldened your apostles to preach the power of your resurrection from the dead, even to suffer martyrdom for the sake of your name. Though few if any of us will be asked to die a martyr’s death, help us to share the glory of your cross in how we live for others today, for it is our only hope and the way of our life. Amen!
Saint of the Day
Today is the feast of both St. Philip and St. James the Lesser. Their feast days are commemorated on the same day in honor of the church in Rome named after them, now called the Church of the Twelve Apostles.
St. Philip is listed as among the Twelve Apostles in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke—called "synoptic" because of their textual similarities, from the Greek meaning "seeing together") and is one of the few disciples called by Jesus in the Gospel of John. Philip appears in several important passages in the Gospel of John.
The end of the first chapter of John's Gospel relates Christ calling Philip, who is from Bethsaida, the same town north of the Sea of Galilee where Andrew and Peter are from. Philip, in turn, goes to Nathanael and tells him that Jesus from Nazareth is the Messiah. What good can come from Nazareth? asks Nathanael.
"Come and see," responds Philip.
In the Feeding of the Five Thousand, Christ asks Philip how to obtain enough bread for all these people. The Evangelist says that Christ asked Philip this question to "test him" (Jn 6:6). Poor Philip seems not to pass the test, as he responds, "it would take more than half a year's wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bit!" (Jn 6:7)
Philip and Jesus have exchanges throughout the Gospel of John. Perhaps Philip's prominence in this Gospel inspired other extra-canonical gospel writers. Several early-church texts such as the Letter from Peter to Philip and the Acts of Philip tell more about Philip's life after Christ's Ascension. These texts both paint him as a passionate missionary who spread Christ's Gospel to Syria and Turkey.
Philip is shown with a cross in the paintings above by El Greco and to the right by Rubens because he is believed to have been crucified. But, during his crucifixion, he still preached from the cross, until his very last breath.
St. Philip, apostle and martyr, who invited friends and strangers to "come and see" Christ's salvation—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Philip is in the public domain. Last accessed February 21, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
