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S. PHILIP AND S. JAMES THE LESS.

MAY 1.

"Stern self-mastery, tearful prayer,
Must the way of bliss prepare."

THERE are two festivals in the Christian year which are each held in memory of two disciples, this of S. Philip and S. James the Less, and another in October of S. Simon and S. Jude.

This is done partly in memory of our LORD's sending out the seventy disciples two and two to preach the Gospel. And as a lesson too by which we may learn the value of unity and kindliness, and how two willing hearts uniting in and aiding each other in a labour of love, may do far more good than if they had worked however earnestly, separately.

So indeed among the Apostles we read of S. Peter and S. John working together. S. Peter at another time took Mark. S. Paul had Barnabas as a companion; and he speaks of Timothy as his " fellow-labourer in the Gospel of CHRIST;" he also calls Philemon

in the Epistle to him, "fellow-labourer." In the Gospel we read of Philip and Bartholomew as if they were together.

S. PHILIP, whose name occurs first in the Service for this day, was born at Bethsaida, the house of fish, on the Sea of Galilee. This place was very much despised on account of its low and rough population. He was probably, as most of the inhabitants of these towns were, a fisherman. S. Philip seems to have been the very first closely to follow our LORD, for though S. Andrew and his brother Peter had earlier conversed with JESUS, they returned to their trade. Though often listening to His sermons, they did not actually join Him in His daily life, until the death of S. John the Baptist, their first teacher, nearly twelve months afterwards.

There was at this time a general expectation of the appearing of CHRIST, in which Philip, well acquainted with the Scriptures, no doubt shared; for his first act after seeing our LORD was to tell Nathanael that they "had found Him of whom Moses in the law and the Prophets did write," and at once to bring him to JESUS. Nathanael was, you will remember, that “Israelite in whom there was no guile," who became one of our LORD'S Apostles, and was called S. Bartholomew.

We are told little in the Bible about S. Philip. When the multitude were fed with

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five barley loaves and two fishes, JESUS spake to Philip about doing this, "to prove him,' as we are told; for of course our SAVIOUR knew quite well what He was going to do. Another time when JESUS was holding very solemn discourse with His disciples about Our FATHER in Heaven, Philip said, "LORD, show us the FATHER," and our LORD rebuked him very kindly and gently for having learnt so little from His teaching, as not to clearly see that He and His FATHER were one. "Have

I been so long time with you and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip?"

When the Apostles separated to preach the Gospel throughout the world, S. Philip went into Upper Asia, and towards the close of his life came to a rich and populous city called Hierapolis. Here the heathen people used to worship an enormous serpent or dragon. Philip, by his prayers, obtained the death of this monster, and convinced many of the people how very wrong and wicked they were to pay to this creature the divine honours due to GOD alone. But the magistrates or rulers of this city, provoked at his success in teaching the people about CHRIST, put this good man into prison. There he was flogged and scourged, and afterwards cruci

fied. And it is said that after he was nailed to the cross, the people killed him by throwing stones at him.

He probably lived to a great age, for he is

said to have conversed with Polycarp, a very holy Christian Bishop and martyr, forty or fifty years after the death of our LORD.

S. JAMES THE LESS is the other Apostle whom we commemorate to-day named the less, in order to distinguish him from the other Apostle S. James. But he gained for himself by his piety and virtue a most beautiful title for the name he was called in his lifetime, and is still best known by, was S. James the Just. He was a near relative of our LORD he is called "His brother." This means cousin: for cousins are called brothers and sisters in the Bible. For he was son of Cleophas or Alphæus, who had married the sister of the Blessed Virgin.

He was the first Bishop of Jerusalem, and some persons say that he was named for this most important office by our SAVIOUR Himself, before His Crucifixion. We can none of us tell whether this be true; but we may think that it was very likely, because he was of such a very meek and humble temper. Though most intimate with our SAVIOUR, and His near earthly relative, he only calls himself the "servant of the LORD JESUS.'

He was most abstemious in his private life; he never ate flesh meat, he never drank anything stronger than milk and water; and of this plain and simple food he took so little that he was "covered with paleness." He

ate to live, as was his duty: it is said, I fear too truly, that many of us "live to eat."

He was "instant in prayer." Many an hour daily he knelt to pray so long, that his knees became quite hard and horny. All should kneel in set prayer, of course, but the thoughts of the heart may be prayers, and possibly the life of S. James the Just was one prayer.

There was an extraordinary opinion of his sanctity throughout all the city of Jerusalem, where he lived; and he was honoured even by the unbelieving Jews for his excellent virtues. It is well believed by all the Church that in a time of famine, when the fruits of the earth were destroyed by drought, he by his earnest prayers gained from the all-hearing GOD, a beautiful and bountiful rain. You will remember how the Prophet Elijah obtained rain, after a drought of three years, and therefore there is no sort of reason to doubt that this brother of our LORD, and most excellent Apostle, did the same.

But this S. James the Just was not only good, pure, and holy, he was gifted also with deep wisdom. He governed this Church at Jerusalem (then the most important Christian Church in the world) with great care and judgment, and the liturgy (that is, Prayer Book) of S. James, is said to be the very earliest. He was looked to earnestly by the other Apostles as their leader and guide. His

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