Feast of Saints Philip and James, Apostles

 Lectionary: 561

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...

A recent Catholic apologist, (I've forgotten which one) tells of reading the above passage from 1 Corinthians and realizing that Saint Paul was invoking tradition. His particular Protestant denomination had always insisted they read the Scriptures literally and denounce traditions, especially the traditions of the Catholic Church.

But tradition has enjoyed a comeback in the last half century in the United States. Native Americans and recent immigrants urge their children to preserve the traditional language, cuisine, and customs of their ancestors even as they adapt to American ways. And descendants of earlier immigrants (whose surnames betray their ancestral heritage) also invoke tradition as they resist the challenges of an ever-adapting society. I, for one, enjoy old movies and traditional bluegrass, jazz, and classical music; and am fearfully ignorant of the contemporary scene.  

From the outset, the disciples of Jesus insisted that their new Way was, in fact, traditional. As Saint John said, 

Beloved, I am writing no new commandment to you but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. And yet I do write a new commandment to you, which holds true in him and among you... (I John 2:7-8) 

Innumerable "Old Testament" references also attest to the Evangelists' conviction that Jesus was not renouncing Jewish traditions but refocusing  them. Where Judaism had followed a Pharasaic misreading of the Law of Moses, Jesus directed their attention to Abraham and his absolute faith in God. The Patriarch and "friend of God" was justified by faith and not by observance of the Law. (Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6 and James 2:23.)

Saint Matthew remembered Jesus's solemn oath: 

Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:18-20)

Till his dying day Saint Paul felt deep disappointment that many Jewish people did not recognize the Christian way of Jesus as more faithful to Abraham than the Pharisaic reading of Moses. 

I have sometimes invoked the story of Melchizedek as evidence of the chthonic roots of the Mass and the Priesthood. His spirit remained largely unrecognized in Jerusalem throughout its long history. It appeared briefly in Psalm 110, and burst like a Fourth of July firework upon Christianity when the Author of Hebrews compared Jesus to the pagan priest/king. 

In this twenty-first century, the Catholic anchor with its deep hold in history and prehistory, protects the faith against the illusions of effervescent fads and "new ideas." (Invariably, apparently new ideas were tried, disproven and dismissed as heresies many centuries ago. Those who are ignorant of ancient lessons must relearn them.) 

The Church invokes its apostolic tradition as we celebrate Saints Philip and James. We keep the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic faith of Jesus, Mary, the martyrs and saints; and share the same communion.