The Church commemorates today two of Jesus’ disciples, Philip and James. St. Philip was from Bethsaida in Galilee. According to tradition, he was crucified in Phrygia where he had preached the Gospel. St. James was a cousin of the Lord. He wrote one of the epistles of the New Testament. He was thrown from the terrace of the Temple and then stoned to death.
I am reminding you of the Gospel I preached to you, in which you also stand and through which you are being saved. In our first reading today, Paul gives a summary of the content of his preaching. And although the reading might have been chosen because of its mention of James, one of the two apostles whose feast we are celebrating today, it is nonetheless an apt reading for today’s commemoration. Paul, writing to the Corinthian community, reminds them of what discipleship is all about: a call to live and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The message of the Gospel is best transmitted when lived. Philip and James, two of the early recipients and preachers of the Gospel message, certainly lived up to this call. As held by tradition, both Philip and James followed the example of their master, holding fast to their faith to the extent of giving their lives for it.
I handed on to you what I received. To live the Gospel message is to pass it on. Paul himself declares that he is a beneficiary of Gospel preaching. It is this fact that obligated him to pass the Gospel message to the Corinthian community. But just like Paul, they too were obliged to pass on the message, for it is by doing so that their salvation is guaranteed (“unless you believed in vain”). What constitutes salvation? Christ died for our sins. James and Philip both gave their lives to the faith. Most of us might not get to the point of giving our lives for the faith. However, there is an area where all of us are required to die: our sins. He/she who believes that Jesus died for his/her sins must him/herself be dead to sin, for  the good news is that we are no longer subject to sin but to eternal life.