The Feast of St. Philip and St. James (May 1, 2022)

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be alway acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our Strength and our Redeemer. Amen.

Today is the Feast of St. Philip and St. James. This begs two questions: (1) Which Philip and which James? (2) Why do we celebrate them together?

There are two main Philips in the Scriptures: Philip the Apostle and Philip the Evangelist. Philip the Apostle was one of the 12 disciples while Philip the Evangelist was one of the first deacons, appointed with St. Stephen. Today, we are commemorating St. Philip the Apostle. Philip went to Greece, Syria, and Phrygia, potentially going so far as Russia. He was crucified and stoned at Hierapolis in Phyrigia because he successfully prayed for the death of a great serpent worshipped by the people of the city. As far as James, there are also two main options: there’s James the Apostle, also called James the Great, and James the step-brother of Christ, also called James the Just or James the Less. Today, we are celebrating James the step-brother of Christ, James the Less, who served as the Bishop of Jerusalem. He was martryed there in Jerusalem by the Pharisees for preaching the Gospel.

Why does the Book of Common Prayer group these two saints together? It’s possible tradition began grouping important apostolic era figures together just as Jesus sent them two-by-two. However, the main reason has to do with the fact that, in the 6th century, a minor basilica was built in Rome that housed the bones of both St. Philip the Apostle and St. James the Just and the Church Calendar has commemorated them together ever since.

Saints are Christians who have gone before us and afford us examples of what a faithful life of discipleship looks like. They enflesh the Gospel in various contexts, stoking our Christian imagination. They remind us of what we are capable of through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. And finally, they exhort us to live lives of martyrdom.

And that lifestyle of martyrdom is at the heart of our Epistle reading this morning as James talks to us about suffering temptations. Suffering, when done well, increases our patience and maturity, becoming a means whereby we receive wisdom from the Holy Spirit.

James, was the step-brother of our Lord, not his half-brother. Mary did not have other children because on the Cross, Jesus gave Mary to John the Apostle and vice-versa saying, “Woman, behold thy son!” and “Behold thy mother!” This was to ensure Mary was taken care of. But in that world, if she had other biological children, it would have been their duty. That she didn’t have biological children is why one of Mary’s titles is “Ever-Virgin.” It is most likely then that James was Jesus’ step-brother, having been Joseph’s son from a previous marriage. Joseph seems to have been older and probably died while Jesus was still a teenager. While James was not a believer during Jesus’ life, it does seem that he converted very early after the events of Easter, becoming the bishop of Jerusalem which would have been the central operating base of the Church—so he was their Bishop Chad. We see his authoritative role in Acts 18 at the first ecumenical council at the Church where they had to decide about what it looked like to include Gentiles in the Church. James addresses his epistle to the 12 tribes scattered abroad. There has been much debate about whether this means the 12 ethnic tribes of Israel or whether he’s speaking of the Church as the New Israel. The answer is probably both: at this point, the Church would have been predominantly Jewish but his epistle is still a piece of Christian literature which means it is ultimately applicable to us.

And so when he begins the letter with an exhortation, we know it’s something we should pay attention to: “Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.” The Greek word that’s translated as “temptations” can mean “trials” which in modern English has a wider semantic range than what we think of when we hear “temptations.” A trial is a difficulty; a temptation is a kind of difficulty that’s caused by concupiscence, our fleshly desires which come from our tendency to sin. Most of the Church Fathers read this passage with the more narrow meaning in mind: consider it joy when you are tempted. It’s hard to say that it’s a firm either/or: in difficult situations, whether they be our struggle with sin or because of struggles due to external situations, we should count our struggles as joy. Cyril of Alexandria likened temptation to a terrible storm that assaults a traveler. If one can survive such a gale, one has become a master swimmer. If, however, one cannot, it demonstrates a lack of strength. So trials and temptations reveal who we are and become an opportunity for us to grow.

To this end, James compares two kinds of people: the foolish and the wise. This dichotomy between foolish and wise people isn’t unique to James because it’s all over the Old Testament. But James Christianizes that for us to illustrate how different kinds of people respond to temptations. He begin with the foolish man. Note how the Psalmist describes the foolish in Psalm 1: “they are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.” James describes him similarly: the foolish man is wavering and unstable. He’s like a wave in the sea that’s just blown and tossed around by the wind — he has no real agency in himself but allows himself to be determined purely by his circumstances. This is the kind of man who cannot stand up and say, “No, I’m not going to do that because it’s wrong.” He will do whatever his circumstances dictate from him. The result is a wavering man who will not receive anything from the Lord because his lack of foundation creates in himself a double-mind. This is the man our Lord speaks of at the end of his Sermon on the Mount who build his house on the sand and, when the floods came and winds blew and beat upon that house, it fell: and great was the fall of it.

On the other hand, St. James gives us a picture of what the blessed man looks like. A blessed man is he who endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” Compare that also with Psalm 1: “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” That term “blessed” is also used by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount during the section we call the beatitudes. To live a blessed life is to live as God has intended. It’s building one’s house not on the shifting sand of the world, but on the firm rock of God. How is one blessed according to James? The answer is by enduring temptation or, as we say during the Baptismal rite, to fight manfully under the banner of Christ against sin, the world, and the Devil. And as a reward, the blessed man receives from God a crown of life. We are rewarded for what we do. And implicit in this idea is that some works are better than others which means some are rewarded greater and others lesser. We see a similar picture in Revelation 2:10 “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” At the heart of our obedient behavior that resists temptation is the love of God: “he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”

Temptation, suffering , and testing are major themes in the power-packed epistle of James. How do we make it through temptation? By not giving into our impulses, but by enduring patiently. While our tests and temptations do not come from God, James is very clear about that, they can be used by God to bring us closer to him. When we’re tempted, we have two choices: we can give in or we can cling to the Cross. Both choices have consequences. Giving in may bring temporary pleasure but this will inevitably fade just like the flower in the scorching sun. If we endure, then it reveals our reliance on God and strengthens us through our dependence on him. Ultimately, our capacity to endure and master ourselves doesn’t come from within but from the grace infused in us by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit bestows wisdom on us when we ask: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not.” For James, wisdom is the fruitful soil out of which fruit, which he calls virtues, grow which allow us in turn to resist sin. Where do we find this Wisdom? We find it in the Sacraments, particularly in the Holy Eucharist and the Sacrament of Confession which Dcn David discussed with us last week. We find wisdom in God’s Word when we encounter him in the Scriptures. And we find it in prayer: if we ask, he is faithful to give us what we need.

Today, as we reflect on Sts. Philip and James, let us seek to follow their examples. Both of them were willing to be martyrs for their faith. And why? Because they were wise men who had the Holy Spirit working in them, emboldening them to follow the Gospel with all their lives, even to the point of death. This is what we should long for. It may not lead us to a glorious martyrdom like what they experienced, but it can lead us to a lifestyle of martyrdom: “And here we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, our selves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto thee.” Because “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.”

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.