St Philips Day
John 14: 6-14
May 2, 1998
In our planning for St , Philip’s Day, we decided on a Western theme. Everyone has been asked to wear something Western. Our meal this evening will have a Western flavor to it — with a barbecue and a Western band. Someone on the planning team suggested that to “top the day off ! ” we ought to invite a celebrity to join our festivities D After a long discussion, with a great deal of pros and cons for each name — The Pope, Bill Clinton, Fife Symington, Mother Teresa, Dolly Parton -it . was decided that Clint Eastwood would be the right person, We felt the many Oscars he received for his recent movie “The Unforgiven” made him the perfect candidate for our Western St, Philip’s Day, it was a natural and we’d make “The Unforgiven” our theme,
We then assigned John Abraham the task of getting Clint to our celebration (knowing that John was the most persuasive of our clergy) , And then we all sat back and anticipated the surprised look on your faces as Clint would stride down the aisle, or take part in the auction -saying something like: “Come on and make my day, ”
Well, I’m sorry to say that John didn’t do very well, and Clint was busy. Maybe next year, So instead, we invited Bishop Shahan to be with us. I am told he has the quickest draw in Phoenix, and instead of the theme being “The Unforgiven, ” we started talking about “The Forgiven. ” And instead of focusing on a movie hero, we began focusing on a Biblical hero -Philip. That strange, enigmatic figure in the New Testament from whom we derive our Philip, our patron saint — impulsive, unimpressive, and usually caught saying the wrong thing, “Show us the Father, ” he asks in our Gospel, Philip, ” Jesus says, “Have I been with you so long and yet you do not know ne?” Another dumb) question, And then, still earlier, Philip asks, “How can we feed this number of people (about 5000 ) with just five loaves and a few fish?” And Jesus proceeds to do just that, Philip once again was demonstrating 11the foot in mouth disease” for which he was famous a
Philip — the @inor character in a major drama, it was Peter whose words are inspirational and who makes the momentous betrayal, it was John, the beloved disciple, who showed us what friendship was all about, it was James who accompanied Jesus to the Mountain– who emerged as a leader, But Philip was a bit player, The one who always seemed to miss the point, say the wrong thing, make the wrong move , for good or ill, Philip is our patron saint,
I spend much time explaining to non-Episcopalians that we do not worship saints, but we so recognize them. The distinction, I admit, is a fine one, It’s between expecting someone to do something for you and having a role model. It’s between seeing a person as a little lower than God, or having someone with whom you can identify.
Philip is important because of his unimportance. He reminds us of who we are. Most of us are not superstars. Our names are not up in lights. Even our sins, our wrongdoings, are pretty pedestrian. We never receive an Oscar for a great performance; if the truth be told, most of us are bit players in the game of life. We’re like Philip at least in that respect,
Only once did Philip make a really big mistake. He deserts when the going gets rough. At the crucifixion, he is nowhere to be seen +
In my research for Easter, I was amazed to learn it was only the women who stuck around through the trial and crucifixion. By the time Jesus is placed in the tomb, the menfolk are long gone. Back to Galilee, back to business, back to fishing. Philip and his friends are at best cowards and at worst deserters.
But the Resurrection story continues, and the risen Jesus does go to Galilee, does go to the disciples wherever they are, and continues the relationship. The great miracle of Easter is that God would forgive and continue the relationship. The great miracle of Easter is that God loves us- even when we miss the point. Even when our human nature is weak, wavering, and wounded,
When I look at Saint Philip, I am reminded of the miracle of forgiveness, I am reminded that I don’t always have to be right, I don’t have to be a winner, God continues to love me as I am. This is an important message — for forgiveness is an unknown quality in our culture, Permissiveness we know a lot about, but forgiveness — real forgiveness — is virtually unknown, As Alan Jones said at the opening of the Trinity Institute, “We live in a culture where everything is permitted and nothing is forgiven. ” And so, the message that we are forgiven often falls on deaf ears. We haven’t been forgiven — we haven’t experienced it,
But today we are reminded — all of us who are part .of St . Philip’s community — that we follow a saint, a role model, who had feet of clay and yet was forgiven, I think it was Pascal who first said that the world can be divided up into two groups of people: sinners who think they are saints — and saints who know themselves to be sinners. Philip was one of those who knew himself to be a forgiven sinner. And believe me, that makes all the difference.
Let me leave you with a story that has been adapted from an ancient legend. This is a story about the Last Judgment. it concerns a fairly average person who belonged to the small band of friends of Jesus. This person had followed the man from Nazareth from the beginning of his ministry. But in the end, when it really counted, when the time came that separated the men from the boys, discretion became the better part of valor– and he went AWOL. Several years later, the man died, and the scene shifted to the judgment seat- with the young man lying before the throne of heaven, in front of the judgment seat stands the prosecutor telling all the sins, the missed cues, the dubious acts this man has done. At one point, the prosecutor calls for a witness who testifies that the person fled the scene on Good Friday. The defense attorney then comes forward and pleads that this man was only a minor character in the whole drama. He was influenced by other people. There were others more culpable. You can quickly discern that the defense attorney does not have much of a case.
Suddenly, Jesus walks down the aisle, gathers the young man in his arms, saying, ” Welcome, my brother Philip. The prosecutor is right. The witness is right, but I have come for those who are not right I am looking for the ones who need forgiveness.” And he takes the young man, Philip, by the hand and walks with him into paradise.
That, my friends, is Philip’s story. That is my hope this day as we remember our patron saint, We honor him not for his good deeds or sterling character — but simply because he was one of the forgiven, And, God willing, might all of us be who carry his name.
AMEN