Note: On Saturdays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:7-9,
NRSVCE)
Philip wanted a God moment.
You know, the kind where Moses took the elders to see the God of Israel, and they briefly saw with their very own eyes some aspect of the Almighty.
Small wonder Jesus became a bit exasperated. How much time had He spent with Philip and the others? How many meals shared? How many conversations held? How many healings seen?
And yet those were not God moments enough?
Apparently not.
While Jesus the Man may not be with us in the way He was with the disciples, Jesus the Son of God is with us constantly—in the hair stylist’s story about caring for her mom. In the gentle correction a loved one provides about our damaging behavior. In a friend’s phone call that begins, “I know we haven’t seen each other for a long time, but you’ve been on my mind. How are you?”
And if those are not God moments enough for you, consider reading today’s Gospel out loud. The Almighty dwells in all of us, and has love for us to share through words and actions. We need only open our mouths and hands to have and to share God moments.
