Reflection for May 9, Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter: John 14:7-14

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.”

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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