May 3, Feast of St. Philip and James, Apostles
Daily Readings: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, Gospel John 14:6-14
Faith expands our understanding of Jesus. With faith-filled eyes, we can better understand Jesus. Knowing him allows us to see ourselves before him.
Giving witness to a person always implies the witness’s knowledge of the person. This intimate knowledge provides weight to the content of the witness’s words and guarantees the witness's credibility.
Through the sacrament of baptism, Christians must proclaim and give witness to Jesus. They, therefore, are required to have personal knowledge of Jesus. This knowledge can be obtained through personal contact with Jesus in prayer and the Scriptures.
In the first reading from today, St. Paul confidently proclaims to the Christians of Corinth the death and resurrection of Jesus. Interestingly, Paul does not only speak about what he witnesses with his own eyes regarding the death and resurrection of Jesus but also speaks about the fulfillment of the Scriptures in the event of death and resurrection. That Jesus died for our sins following the Scriptures and that He rose on the third day. In other words, Jesus can be experienced and known through the Scriptures.
In the Gospel reading, Jesus speaks of his intimate union with the Father. His introduction to his relationship with the Father evokes Philip’s curiosity about seeing the Father. Listening to Philip’s request, Jesus immediately recognizes Philip’s lack of knowledge about him. He then explains more about this intimate union and says, "I am in the Father, and the Father is in me."
Philip cannot just rely on what he sees and hears to understand this. He has to enter another level of knowing Jesus that can be attained through trust or faith, "Believe me..."
Faith opens up new horizons in our knowledge of Jesus. With the eyes of faith, we can enter into an intimate dialogue with Jesus to better understand him. This knowledge of him also opens our eyes to see ourselves before him. In him, eternal life awaits us. "No one comes to the Father except through me."
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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