Show us the Father: Reflection for Saturday, May 17, 2025

If only I could see and talk to God face to face. Truth is, you can. But like Philip sometimes we too say, “Show us the Father” because we just do not know what we see. Readings for Today.

Show us the Father

Sometimes the thing we lost is in fact right in front of our eyes. Some people search for their glasses as they ware wearing their glasses. Sometimes we can walk past something over and over again without even realizing it was right in front of us all along.

The same can be true in our faith life as well. It can be the case that we only see the presence of God that was always with us only after the fact. Things can seem difficult, maybe even unbearable at the time, but once we get through it, looking back, we see that God was active in our lives all along.

The inability to see what is right in front of them was the challenge for those in the first reading. Those who have been faithful to the Covenant for a long time cannot recognize its fulfillment.

The miracles are occurring right in front of their eyes. Formerly frightened men are now proclaiming boldly their faith in Jesus even at the risk of being killed. Miraculous healings, and large numbers joining the Church are happening all over, but some simply cannot see it.

But the Gentiles saw it. They witnessed all the apostles were doing and they believed. And they received the Holy Spirit as a confirmation of their belief. They received the grace of the Holy Spirit, and they see all that God is doing in their lives.

For Philip, the situation is even more striking. He has been with Jesus throughout the public ministry of Jesus. He is likely from the same town as Peter and Andrew. He introduces Bartholomew to Jesus. Time and again he witnesses the miracles of Jesus. And yet, he cannot see who Jesus really is.

We know that if we are not careful, we too can miss the many ways in which God is active in our lives. For there can be many things that can so trouble us. A loved one can be sick. We can wonder how it is we will make ends meet. We can be afraid of violence against us and around the world.

But sometimes we can miss things simply because we think we are the only one who still believes. People around us can seem like they couldn’t care less about living a life of faith. We can feel like we are being mocked for believing in Jesus and trying to live a holy, Christian life.

But we need to hear the reassuring words addressed to Philip. Philip wanted a miraculous encounter with God, even though he witnesses first hand what Jesus has already done. He was likely present at the wedding feast in Cana. He certainly was present at the miraculous feeding of the five thousand.

And Jesus reassures Philip that these miraculous works are themselves enough. That these works themselves can be the reasons we believe. In fact, in another place, Jesus says that the primary work is faith itself.

The promise connected to this is really quite remarkable. We will do greater works than the works Jesus references. What ever we ask for in faith, Jesus will grant. And as we consider the power of these words, and the ways the signify for us the unconditional love Jesus has for us, then like the Gentiles in the first reading, we too can be delighted.

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