Gospel: John 14:7-14
Jesus said to his disciples: “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 Jesus,
“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.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
How well do we know God the Father? How well do we know Jesus? No one of
us can say that by our own effort we know God the Father and Jesus very well.
Because the gift of deeply knowing God the Father and Jesus is something that
we cannot achieve by our own effort for it’s a gift by the Holy Spirit.
In this gospel episode Jesus tells the disciples and us too about His
oneness with God. Yet Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father and that would
be enough for them (John 14:8). What was going on in Philip’s mind? Perhaps
Philip was simply following Jesus for the sake of His miracles and mission.
There was no deeper conversion within Philip that’s why He wasn’t able to
decipher the oneness of Jesus and the Father.
When we decide to follow Jesus, let us not only follow Him because of His
miracles and the desire to share in His mission. Let us decide to follow Jesus
also because of our love for Him. Thus, we would yearn for our own spiritual
growth with Him.
If we only follow Jesus for His miracles and mission sooner or later this
desire for discipleship will decrease. Until we decide to lie low and
eventually detach ourselves from following Jesus. Let us therefore pray and be
open for the gift of deeper faith and deeper conversion within ourselves. –
Marino J. Dasmarinas
No comments:
Post a Comment