St. Philip

AND

St. James the Less,

APOSTLES.

1 MAY.

The Sacred Text.

ESUS would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow Me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found Him, of Whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.-St. John i. 43, &c.

He goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto Him whom He would: and they came unto Him. And He ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils: Philip, and

Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphæus.—St. Mark iii. 13, &c.

When Jesus lifted up His eyes, and saw a great company come unto Him, He saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this He said to prove him for He Himself knew what He would do. Philip answered Him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.-St. John vi. 5, &c.

There were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: the same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.-St. John xii. 20, &c.

Jesus saith, If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also: and from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him. Philip saith unto Him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself: but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me: or else believe Me for the very works' sake.-St. John xiv. 6, &c.

When they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, . . . Philip, . . . James the son of Alphæus, . . . and Judas the brother of James.

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These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brethren.-Acts i. 13, 14.

Mary the wife of Cleophas.—St. John xix. 25.

Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses.St. Mark xv. 40.

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. -St. James i. 1.

Christ died for our sins; He was buried, He rose again the third day: He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: after that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once. After that, He was seen of James.-1 Corinthians XV. 3, &c.

I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother.Galatians i. 18, 19.

Peter declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren.—Acts xii. 16, 17.

All the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His Name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom

My Name is called, saith the Lord, Who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world. Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: but that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day.-Acts xv. 12, &c.

When James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision. Only they would that we should remember the poor.-Galatians ii. 9, 10.

Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.-Acts xxi. 18.

BIOGRAPHICAL ADDITIONS.

HE two holy Apostles whom the church associates to-day in a common commemoration, who throughout the early period of their ministrations knew and loved one another face to face, and who now, possessing and possessed of Christ possess also each other and all things, appear during the latter days of their earthly pilgrimage to have been parted far asunder.

Of the Twelve, St. Andrew and St. Philip alone bear

Greek names: and it is conjectured that they may at one time have travelled into certain Greek-speaking districts bordering on their native Bethsaida. Thus St. Philip, while like his brother Apostles of Hebrew descent, may yet have been personally recognised by those "certain Greeks" who, coming up to worship at the Feast, applied to him for introduction to the presence of our Lord: and thus equally the consequent reference to St. Andrew is accounted for.

Although not the first to approach the Messiah, St. Philip is still the first Apostle to whom our Lord is recorded as speaking those gracious words of election: "Follow Me." Whereupon, though ignorant as yet what must be that following of Christ which should not lead him to any crown except by way of the Cross, he caught the spirit even if he understood not the letter of his Master's injunction, and directed Nathanael to Him Who is Himself the way of all men to God.

Whether or not correctly, St. Philip has been confidently identified with that unnamed disciple of whom St. Matthew and St. Luke alike record a single saying:

He said unto another, Follow Me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.-St. Luke ix. 59, 60.

What we know certainly of St. Philip is uncertainly supplemented by tradition. Thus we are informed that he was a married man, the father of several daughters: that his apostolic labours were carried on in Phrygia, where he attained a great age and where at Hierapolis he was buried, but not without first enduring scourgings and im