Sermon for the Feast of St. Philip and St. James
“Believe me,that I am in the Father, and the Father in me;
or else believe me for the very works’ sake”
There is something quite powerful about the readings from the Gospel according to St. John which belong to the Sundays after Easter. The Gospel reading for the Feast of SS. Philip and James belongs to those readings from what is known as the Farewell Discourse of Jesus. They contribute to our understanding about the mystical theology of the Prayer Book.
Jesus speaks about Deus in se, God in himself in our text tonight. “I am in the Father, and the Father in me,” indicating that we believe in God because of God in himself through Jesus. But, on the other hand, there is the recognition that others come to faith through “the very works’ sake;” in other words, because of the words and deeds of Jesus which is Deus pro nobis, God for us. These are the two interrelated forms of the Christian Faith which provide two avenues of approach to the understanding of God and our life in God. Believe in God because of what he is in himself or through what he has done. His works are the outflowing of his being. These are not opposed forms of faith.
The Epistle and Gospel for this day reflect on the matter of Christian faith, illustrated best in the first Collect for this Feast. To know God truly is everlasting life. That is the end and purpose. As John’s Gospel argues, and profoundly so, Jesus says that he is “the way, the truth and the life” but the way in which we participate in that heavenly and divine life is through following the steps of the holy Apostles, particularly Saint Philip and Saint James, “steadfastly walk[ing] in the way that leadeth to eternal life.” The paradox, partially illustrated in the second Collect, is that we really don’t know much about either Apostle other than their names as enrolled in the list of the Apostles and the recognition of several James’s, for instance, one of which, along with Jude, are said to be in a quaint phrase “kinsman of the Lord”. Other translations say brother. The point here is a kind of honesty about the witness of the Scriptures.
Yet the overall point is clear in the context of Eastertide. It is all about the form of our participation in the life of God revealed in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Something of the meaning of his going from us as indicated in the farewell discourses is about who he is in himself and who he is for us. The two aspects go together. Each shapes the understanding of the other. Each belongs to one of the avenues of faith. Either we believe because of the idea of God in Himself or because of his mighty works. Either way we come to God through Jesus Christ and participate in the divine life which Christ has opened out for us. In so doing we are one with the community of faith which is the Apostolic and Catholic Church, the Church mystical and universal. Such is the Resurrection; it is about our corporate life together in the body of Christ.
“Believe me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me;
or else believe me for the very works’ sake”
Fr. David Curry
SS. Philip and James
May 1st, 2017
