-
There’s a lot going on in today’s Gospel that is worth reflecting on, but there is one line that kept standing out to me in my prayer: "Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us."
These are the words that the Apostle St. Philip says to Jesus in today’s Gospel. Philip, whose Feast Day we just celebrated on May 3rd, echoes a sentiment that many of us have felt in the depths of our hearts and have uttered in our prayers: “Oh, if only the Lord did this one thing then it’ll be enough.”
I’ve prayed different versions of this a lot in my life:
“Lord, give me a million dollars, then it’ll be enough.”
“Lord, take away this bodily pain, then it’ll be enough.”
“Lord, let me beat this video game boss, then it’ll be enough.”
Sometimes it seems like, at least in my own prayer, that everything but the Lord is enough. And that simply isn’t set in reality. The Lord is sufficient; He is all we need. The Lord can, and oftentimes does, show Himself through signs and wonders – miracles – but we cannot minimize the God of the Universe to a genie. He cannot only be a thought in our mind when we need something. If I only called on my bride when I needed something, I’d be a pretty terrible husband, wouldn’t I? Why do we treat God this way? Why do we treat the God that weaved the stars and heaven together like He is some secondary, unimportant thing in our life? It can be due to a lack of gratitude, but it can also be because we simply do not know Him. We do not spend time building up our relationship with Him. We need to devote intentional time to deepening our relationship with God.
Now, Jesus responds to Philip by saying: “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip?” Ouch, that’s a punch in the gut. Jesus is asking His own friend, His own apostle, that He has spent all this quality time with: “Do you still not know me?” It hurts, but it’s tough love, a love that our culture as a whole is often afraid to enter into. However, Jesus is not afraid to challenge His apostles and to call them deeper. He tells them that “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” If we have seen Jesus, then we have seen God the Father.
Today, in 2023, we must ask ourselves if we have seen Jesus. If you say no, simply because you did not walk the earth with Jesus and the apostles 2000 years ago, then you have limited God, my friend. We see Him in each other when we love and serve others. We see Him in the giggling and crying of children. We see Him in the poor and needy. More concretely, we see Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar: the Holy Eucharist. Jesus, and the Father, are present with us at all times – do we have the eyes of faith to see this reality?
Jesus tells us that whoever believes in Him will do all the works that He does and even greater ones. That requires a radical faith, one that we are all called to have. It also calls us to a deeper intimacy with the Lord. How can we believe and love someone we do not know? Recall the Lord’s words to Philip: “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me?”
He is with us. But we are not just meant to sit here and do nothing with this reality. We are called to come to know Him, love Him, and serve Him in all that we do. That is our call as disciples, and it is our parish’s mission: to know, love, and serve Him – and to help others to do the same.
This week, check your heart in your own private prayer and ask yourself: “Is Jesus enough for me?” If we trust the Father and in His promises, if we spend intentional time with Him in prayer and worship, and if we seek Him in our friends, family, and neighbors, then we will truly live like He is enough. Friends, let’s “waste time” with the Lord. This is the surest way to grow in our knowledge, our love, and our ability to sere Him. After all, He is enough for us.
