The title of my thoughts for today is, “Two New Testament
Characters Named Philip.”
Today is the feast day of the first one - Philip the
Apostle - and the second is Philip in the Acts of the Apostles - called,
“Philip the Evangelist.”
I going to talk about both of them because both of them
brought people to Jesus. I’m skipping James - the other person in today’s feast
day. There are supposedly 3 James in the Early Church mix of characters.
I would like to stress that that’s our call: to bring
people to Jesus.
THE PHILIP IN
THE GOSPEL OF JOHN
Philip the Apostle gets some unique recognition in the
Gospel of John.
In Chapter One of John he’s is called by Jesus - meets
him - follows Jesus. His first step is to head for Nathaniel and bring him to
Jesus.
The Philip-Nathanael situation goes a bit like Andrew
meeting Jesus and then bringing his brother Peter to Jesus.
This Philip is from the same town as Peter and Andrew and
their stories begin with the moment they meet Jesus.
It seems in John - when someone meets Jesus they want to
tell others about Jesus. They want to introduce other people to Jesus.
Then in Chapter 14 of the Gospel of John, it’s Philip who is approached by some Greeks
who want to meet Jesus. Then Philip does the introduction. And notice in this
Chapter 14 story about Philip - which is today’s gospel - Andrew’s name shows
up in the mix and the meeting as well.
And notice Philip asks Jesus to show him the Father -
which is a major theme in the Gospel of John.
If you want good stuff for prayer, it’s right there -
wanting to meet Jesus and wanting to know what the Father is like and who He
is.
Ask for that in prayer.
PHILIP IN THE
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
And in the Acts of the Apostles we have the so called,
“Philip the Evangelist.”
He does the same thing that Philip the Apostle does -
this bringing someone to Jesus.
This Philip runs into an Ethiopian - a eunuch and an
officer in the court of the Queen of Ethiopia.
He’s the chief treasurer. He’s in
a chariot. He’s on his way home. And he’s reading the prophet Isaiah.
And Philip gets the inspiration to run over to the
chariot and ask the occupant if he knows what he’s reading. “Do you
understand?”
And the Ethiopian gives the great answer, “How can I
understand, unless I have someone to guide me?”
That scene becomes the name of a good book on Bible
reading: Unless Some Man Show Me [1962]. It’s by Alexander Jones.
The Ethiopian invites Philip to get into the chariot and
Philip introduces this man to Jesus and surprise he baptizes him right then and
there when they go by some water - along the road.
I wonder if that quick baptism enters into some Early
Church discussions about when to baptize.
I love the line, “And the eunuch never saw him again but
went away rejoicing.”
THOUGHTS
We’re called to introduce people to Jesus.
Think about the people who got you to visit Jesus in the
Eucharistic Adoration Chapel or any church - or the people who ran Bible study
programs - say on Isaiah - and introduced you to Jesus.
I think of all the places I preached - where I preached to a lot of people I never
saw again. I also think of all the people
who gave me Jesus.
CLOSING EXAMPLE
This is getting too long, so let me close with a quick
example.
I was about to take a 3 hour car ride, so I looked for
something for the car tape system. This was before CD’s.
I grabbed a cassette I had not listened to in 25
years. Surprise. As I’m listening to it
- I hear this great example - that I used in a sermon - but I thought it was my
idea - that I was original.
Surprise I stole it without knowing it.
I just noticed in yesterday’s news that Marine La Pen in France is being accused of plagiarizing parts of a speech by Francois Fillon.
Having discovered I borrowed something from someone else,
without realizing it, I have sympathy.Let’s plagiarize the Word of God, the word made flesh, Jesus Christ. Then
let us bring Jesus to others. Amen.
