CCC Cross Reference:
1 Cor 15:3-5 186; 1 Cor 15:3-4 639, 652; 1 Cor 15:3 519, 601, 619, 624; 1 Cor 15:4-8 642; 1 Cor 15:4 627; 1 Cor 15:5 552, 641; 1 Cor 15:7-8 857; 1 Cor 15:8 659
Ps 19:2-5 299; Ps 19:2 326
Jn 14:6 74, 459, 1698, 2466, 2614; Jn 14:9-10 470; Jn 14:9 516; Jn 14:13-14 2614; Jn 14:13 2614, 2633, 2815
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Reading 1
1 Cor 15:1-8
I am reminding you, brothers and sisters,
of the Gospel I preached to you,
which you indeed received and in which you also stand.
Through it you are also being saved,
if you hold fast to the word I preached to you,
unless you believed in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he was buried;
that he was raised on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more
than five hundred brothers and sisters at once,
most of whom are still living,
though some have fallen asleep.
After that he appeared to James,
then to all the Apostles.
Last of all, as to one born abnormally,
he appeared to me.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 19:2-3, 4-5
R. (5) Their message goes out through all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day;
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
or
R. Alleluia.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel
Jn 14:6-14
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.”
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading 1 Corinthians 15:1 – 8
Brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you received and in which you are firmly established; because the gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I preached to you – believing anything else will not lead to anything.
Well then, in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; and that he was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve. Next he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died; then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles; and last of all he appeared to me too; it was as though I was born when no one expected it.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 18(19):2-5
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
The heavens proclaim the glory of God,
and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes known the message.
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
No speech, no word, no voice is heard
yet their span extends through all the earth,
their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel John 14:6 – 14
Jesus said:
‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one can come to the Father except through me.
If you know me, you know my Father too.
From this moment you know him and have seen him.’
Philip said, ‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied’. ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip,’ said Jesus to him ‘and you still do not know me?
‘To have seen me is to have seen the, Father,
so how can you say, “Let us see the Father”?
Do you not believe
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words I say to you I do not speak as from myself:
it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work.
You must believe me when I say
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;
believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason.
I tell you most solemnly,
whoever believes in me
will perform the same works as I do myself,
he will perform even greater works,
because I am going to the Father.
Whatever you ask for in my name I will do,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask for anything in my name,
I will do it.’
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Feast: St Philip and St James, Apostles
From: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8
Christ's Resurrection and His Appearances
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[1] Now I would remind you, brethren, in what terms I preached to you the Gospel, which you received, in which you stand, [2] by which you are saved, if you hold it fast--unless you believed in vain.
[3] For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, [4] that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, [5] and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. [6] Then He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. [7] Then He appeared to James, then to all the Apostles. [8] Last of all, as to one untimely born, He also appeared to me.
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Commentary:
1-58. Some of the Corinthian Christians were objecting to the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, because this was a belief with which the Greeks were unfamiliar, even those Greeks who held that the soul was immortal. Given the great importance of this doctrine, St. Paul replies at length, pointing first to the historical fact of Christ's resurrection (verses 1-11) and how it necessarily connects up with the resurrection of the dead in general (verses 12-34). He then goes on to discuss what form this resurrection will take (verses 35-58). This Epistle, which began with an exposition on Jesus Christ crucified, the power and wisdom of God (cf. 1:18-2:5), ends with a development of doctrine on the resurrection of Christ and the consequent resurrection of the members of His Mystical Body.
To understand what St. Paul is saying it is useful to bear in mind that here he is referring only to the glorious resurrection of the just. Elsewhere in Sacred Scripture it is clearly stated that all men will rise from the dead (cf., e.g., John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15).
1-11. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the essential doctrines of the Catholic faith, explicitly stated in the first creeds or symbols of the faith. It is in fact the supreme argument in favor of the divinity of Jesus and His divine mission: our Lord proclaimed it many times (cf., e.g., Matthew 16:21-28; 17:22-27; 20:17-19), and by rising from the dead He provided the sign which He had promised those who did not believe Him (cf. Matthew 12:38-40).
This point is so important that the primary role of the Apostles is to bear witness to Christ's resurrection (cf. Acts 1:22; 2:32; 3:15; etc.); the proclamation of the resurrection of the Lord is the very core of apostolic catechesis (cf., e.g., the discourses of St. Peter and St. Paul reported in the Acts of the Apostles).
3-8. On the verbs "deliver" and "receive" see the note on 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.
St. Paul reminds the Corinthians of certain basic points in his preaching – that Jesus Christ died for our sins; "that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures" (a statement which has passed directly into the Creed) and was seen by many people.
It should be pointed out that the Greek verb translated as "appeared" refers to being seen by the eye. This is relevant to studying the nature of the appearances of the risen Jesus: St. Paul is speaking of true, ocular sight; there seems to be no way this can be identified with imagination or intellectual vision.
The appearances of the risen Christ are a direct proof of the historical fact of His resurrection. This argument gains special force when one remembers that at the time this Letter was written many people who had seen the risen Lord were still alive (verse 6). Some of the appearances referred to by St. Paul are also mentioned in the Gospels and in Acts--that to Peter (cf. Luke 24:34), those to the Apostles (cf., e.g., Luke 24:36-49; John 20:19-29), that to St. Paul himself (cf. Acts 9:1-6); others--that to James and to the five hundred brethren--are mentioned only here.
The importance of this passage is enhanced by the fact that it is the earliest documentary record--earlier than the Gospels--of our Lord's resurrection, which had taken place scarcely twenty years earlier.
4. "Was buried": in recounting the death of Christ, all four Evangelists expressly mention that His body was buried (cf. Matthew 27:57-61 and paragraph). St. Paul also confirms the fact in this Letter, written very soon after the time, thereby confirming a tradition which had come down from the beginning (verse 3). The fact that Christ's body was buried eliminates any doubt about His death, and underlines the miracle of the Resurrection: Jesus Christ rose by His own power, rejoining His soul with His body, and leaving the tomb with the same human body (not merely the appearance of a body) as died and was buried, although now that body was glorified and had certain special properties (cf. note on 15:42-44). The Resurrection, therefore is an objective, physical event, witnessed to by the empty tomb (cf. Matthew 28:1ff and paragraph) and by Christ's appearances.
"He was raised on the third day": Jesus died and was buried on the evening of Good Friday; His body lay in the tomb the entire Sabbath, and rose on Sunday. It is correct to say that He rose on the third day after His death, even though it was not a full seventy-two hours later.
"According to the Scriptures": St. Paul may be referring to certain passages of the Old Testament which--AFTER the event--were seen to foreshadow the Resurrection -- for example, the episode of Jonah (Chapters 1-2), which Jesus in fact applied to Himself (cf. Matthew 12:39-40; cf. also Hosea 6:1-2 and Psalm 16:9-10).
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From: John 14:6-14
Jesus Reveals the Father (Continuation)
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(Jesus said to Thomas), [6] "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me." [7] "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; henceforth you know Him and have seen Him.
[8] Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied." [9] Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father?' [10] Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does His works. [11] Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the sake of the words themselves.
[12] "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father. [13] Whatever you ask in my name I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; [14] if you ask anything in my name, I will do it."
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Commentary:
4-7. The Apostles did not really understand what Jesus was telling them: hence Thomas' question. The Lord explains that He is the way to the Father. "It was necessary for Him to say 'I am the Way' to show them that they really knew what they thought they were ignorant of, because they knew Him" (St. Augustine, "In. Ioann. Evang.", 66, 2).
Jesus is the way to the Father--through what He teaches, for by keeping to His teaching we will reach Heaven; through faith, which He inspires, because He came to this world so "that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life" (John 3:15); through His example, since no one can go to the Father without imitating the Son; through His merits, which make it possible for us to enter our Heavenly home; and above all He is the way because He reveals the Father, with whom He is one because of His divine nature.
"Just as children by listening to their mothers, and prattling with them, learn to speak their language, so we, by keeping close to the Savior in meditation, and observing His words, His actions, and His affections, shall learn, with the help of His grace, to speak, to act, and to will like Him.
"We must pause here...; we can reach God the Father by no other route...; the Divinity could not be well contemplated by us in this world below if it were not united to the sacred humanity of the Savior, whose life and death are the most appropriate, sweet, delicious and profitable subjects which we can choose for our ordinary meditations" (St. Francis de Sales, "Introduction to the Devout Life", Part II, Chapter 1, 2).
"I am the way": He is the only path linking Heaven and Earth. "He is speaking to all men, but in a special way He is thinking of people who, like you and me, are determined to take our Christian vocation seriously: He wants God to be forever in our thoughts, on our lips and in everything we do, including our most ordinary and routine actions.
"Jesus is the way. Behind Him on this Earth of ours He has left the clear outlines of His footprints. They are indelible signs which neither the erosion of time nor the treachery of the Evil One have been able to erase" (St. J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 127).
Jesus' words do much more than provide an answer to Thomas' question; He tells us: "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life". Being the Truth and the Life is something proper to the Son of God become man, who St. John says in the prologue of his Gospel is "full of grace and truth" (1:14). He is the Truth because by coming to this world He shows that God is faithful to His promises, and because He teaches the truth about who God is and tells us that true worship must be "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23). He is Life because from all eternity He has divine life with His Father (cf. John 1:4), and because He makes us, through grace, sharers in that divine life. This is why the Gospel says: "This is eternal life, that they know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent" (John 17:3).
By His reply Jesus is, "as it were, saying, By which route do you want to go? I am the Way. To where do you want to go? I am the Truth. Where do you want to remain? I am the Life. Every man can attain an understanding of the Truth and the Life; but not all find the Way. The wise of this world realize that God is eternal life and knowable truth; but the Word of God, who is Truth and Life joined to the Father, has become the Way by taking a human nature. Make your way contemplating His humility and you will reach God" (St. Augustine, "De Verbis Domini Sermones", 54).
8-11. The Apostles still find our Lord's words very mysterious, because they cannot understand the oneness of the Father and the Son. Hence Philip's persistence. Then Jesus "upbraids the Apostle for not yet knowing Him, even though His works are proper to God--walking on the water, controlling the wind, forgiving sins, raising the dead. This is why He reproves him: for not recognizing His divine condition through His human nature" (St. Augustine, "De Trinitate", Book 7).
Obviously the sight of the Father which Jesus refers to in this passage is a vision through faith, for no one has ever seen God as He is (cf. John 1:18; 6:46). All manifestations of God, or "theophanies", have been through some medium; they are only a reflection of God's greatness. The highest expression which we have of God our Father is in Christ Jesus, the Son of God sent among men. "He did this by the total fact of His presence and self-manifestation--by words and works, signs and miracles, but above all by His death and glorious resurrection from the dead, and finally by sending the Spirit of truth. He revealed that God was with us, to deliver us from the darkness of sin and death, and to raise us up to eternal life" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 4).
12-14. Before leaving this world, the Lord promises His Apostles to make them sharers in His power so that God's salvation may be manifested through them. These "works" are the miracles they will work in the name of Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 3:1-10; 5:15-16; etc.), and especially the conversion of people to the Christian faith and their sanctification by preaching and the ministry of the sacraments. They can be considered greater works than Jesus' own insofar as, by the Apostles' ministry, the Gospel was not only preached in Palestine but was spread to the ends of the earth; but this extraordinary power of apostolic preaching proceeds from Christ, who has ascended to the Father: after undergoing the humiliation of the cross Jesus has been glorified and from Heaven He manifests His power by acting through His Apostles.
The Apostles' power, therefore, derives from Christ glorified. Christ our Lord says as much: "Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it". "It is not that he who believes in Me will be greater than Me, but that only that I shall then do greater works than now; greater, by him who believes in Me, than I now do by myself without Him" (St. Augustine, "In Ioann. Evang.", 72, 1).
Jesus Christ is our intercessor in Heaven; therefore, He promises us that everything we ask for in His name, He will do. Asking in His name (cf. 15:7, 16; 16: 23-24) means appealing to the power of the risen Christ, believing that He is allpowerful and merciful because He is true God; and it also means asking for what is conducive to our salvation, for Jesus is our Savior. Thus, by "whatever you ask" we must understand what is for the good of the asker. When our Lord does not give what we ask for, the reason is that it would not make for our salvation. In this way we can see that He is our Savior both when He refuses us what we ask and when He grants it.
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
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