I am reminding you of the Gospel I preached to you, in which you also stand and through which you are being saved. The Church commemorates today two of Jesus’ apostles, 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. 
In the First Reading, we hear the apostle Paul giving a summary of the content of his preaching. And although the reading might have been chosen because of its mention of James, 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. 
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”). In other words, to be considered saved is to pass on the good news. In order to do this effectively, in honor of Jesus Christ who died for our sins so that we can attain our salvation, one has to die to sin. 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. 
In the Gospel Reading, Philip, after hearing Jesus talk about the need to put their trust in both himself and the Father, asks Jesus to cut to the chase and show them the Father. Perhaps Philip was feeling the pressure of discipleship. Jesus had of late been taking them in circles, as it were, as he talked about his impending passion. Perhaps Philip had grown uncomfortable with the subject of Jesus’ speeches and wanted a reprieve. If, as it appeared, the answer to their quest lay with the Father, why couldn’t Jesus spare them the agony and simply show them the Father?
Perhaps there are times when we end up thinking like Philip when it comes to our call of discipleship. Discipleship is a tough and demanding call, and it would be a lie to say that there aren’t times when we entertain the thought of giving up. And if I am right, maybe the one thing that keeps us from giving up is the thought that at the end of it, we will be rewarded and we shall say it was worth it. However, maybe that might not be the right way of understanding discipleship. We are in it, not because of the reward we shall get when all is said and done, but simply because of the satisfaction we get for being Jesus’ disciples. Discipleship is like fighting for justice: one does it, not because of what he/she shall get in return, but because it is the right thing to do.