Jesus said to Thomas, "I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you know me, then you will also know my Father.
From now on you do know him and have seen him."
Philip said to him,
"Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us."
Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you for so long a time
and you still do not know me, Philip?
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.
The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,
or else, believe because of the works themselves.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these,
because I am going to the Father.
And whatever you ask in my name, I will do,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it."
REFLECTION:
"Have I been with you for so long a time
and you still do not know me, Philip?
How many times do I say to myself, " Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me?" Whether it is in talking with my husband, best friend, coworker, brother, spiritual advisor or hearing it from my mother, I am amazed at times, that I think I am an open book and yet, I am not. It is in knowing the person that we can love them more.
Do we hear Jesus saying the same to us, not just Philip? Do we pray enough, study enough and open our hearts to totally trust and love? Do we even know any more about these saints, original followers of Jesus than we did the first time we met them.
Not that much is known of them.
Philip was an apostle of Jesus and he brought many people to Jesus: convinced Nathanial to follow Jesus, introduced Greeks to Jesus, and it was Philip who assisted in the sorting of feeding the multitudes. He preached to the multitudes. He died by stoning.
James the Less as opposed to James, the son of Zebedee, became the leader of Jerusalem. He, too, was stoned to death. His relics are also buried at the Basilica of the Twelve Apostles.
Individually they may not have volumes to read about. Yet, individually they are important, not just because they were the apostles of Jesus, because each one has a story. Get to know people around you. They have so much to contribute --do not be swayed by age, status, or accomplishments. Be convinced of their importance, because God thought they were important to be created. Get to know them.
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