Saints Philip and James

Today two apostles are celebrated together, and the reason is practical before it is spiritual: their relics were laid to rest on the same day in the Roman basilica of the Holy Apostles, and ever since, the calendar has kept them paired. Philip came from Bethsaida, the same town as Peter and Andrew. In the Gospel of John he is the one who, as soon as he is called, runs to find Nathanael to tell him — and to his friend’s skeptical reply he answers with three words worth a whole treatise: “Come and see.” He is also the one Jesus asks where to buy bread for the crowd, and who does the math in denarii, like the practical man he is. And the one who, at the Last Supper, says: “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” James is called the Less to distinguish him from the other James, John’s brother. Tradition identifies him with James “the brother of the Lord,” meaning a close relative, who led the community in Jerusalem and presided over the council described in Acts. The Letter of James is attributed to him, one of the harshest pages in the New Testament about the rich and about a faith that doesn’t turn into works. The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus records his killing in Jerusalem around 62. Of Philip it is said that he preached in Phrygia and died there; in Hierapolis, in Turkey, archaeologists have excavated what they believe is his tomb. If your name is Philip or James, today is your name day.