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"Show us the Father..." (John 14:8-11)

 St. Philip is the first one to walk right into the teachable moment. Then again, we all know this feeling: How do we believe in Someone we cannot see? I think part of Jesus's surprise at Philip's statement is that Jesus just said that if they have known him, they have known the Father. Later apostles like St. Paul, and the author of the book of Hebrews, will show that they have learned this lesson well. It will take the Church many councils and centuries to understand what Jesus says about his relationship to the Father, and the relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In other words, if it seems mysterious, you're in good company.

The way Jesus answers makes it seem like they had talked about this before. We shouldn't think that what we get in the Scriptures is the only thing they ever said to each other. The Scriptures are meant for us.

Once again, Jesus falls back on the Father's authority. Jesus says that the Father is doing His works in Jesus. We're back to the mysterious relationship again. Jesus says that they can either contemplate that relationship, and then believe, or they can look at the works that Jesus does, and believe in him based on those.

Jesus said the same thing to his opponents earlier, and so the central question is, "Who is Jesus?" I don't think we should ever stop asking that question, even if we know the answer. There is a knowing of the mind, but the knowing of the heart is much more powerful. We'll have our whole lives to practice trusting Jesus with the knowing of the heart.

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