First reading 1 Corinthians 15:1-8
The Lord appeared to James, and then to all the apostles
Brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you received and in which you are firmly established; because the gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I preached to you – believing anything else will not lead to anything.
Well then, in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; and that he was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve. Next he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died; then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles; and last of all he appeared to me too; it was as though I was born when no one expected it.
Responsorial Psalm 18(19):2-5
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
The heavens proclaim the glory of God,
and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes known the message.
No speech, no word, no voice is heard
yet their span extends through all the earth,
their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
Gospel John 14:6-14
To have seen me is to have seen the father
Jesus said to Thomas:
‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one can come to the Father except through me.
If you know me, you know my Father too.
From this moment you know him and have seen him.’
Philip said, ‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.’
‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip,’ said Jesus to him ‘and you still do not know me?
‘To have seen me is to have seen the Father,
so how can you say, “Let us see the Father”?
Do you not believe
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words I say to you I do not speak as from myself:
it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work.
You must believe me when I say
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;
believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason.
I tell you most solemnly,
whoever believes in me
will perform the same works as I do myself,
he will perform even greater works,
because I am going to the Father.
Whatever you ask for in my name I will do,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask for anything in my name,
I will do it.’
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To see Jesus is to see God
“Philip said, ‘Lord, show us the Father and then we shall be satisfied.’” (The gospel). In today’s gospel, Philip expressed his desire to see, know, and love God, as he understood that only God could fulfil his deepest longings. Jesus told him, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” Jesus was revealing to Philip that He was the Incarnate God, the human face of God; He was the God he yearned to see.
Is seeing God our deepest desire? One day, we will encounter God face to face when we leave this earthly life, and in His presence, we will find peace for all eternity and be free from our restlessness. However, we do not need to wait for that day to come to see God, as we can already see Him in Jesus. Jesus comes to us in His Word and in the Eucharist. He is present in every human person we encounter each day, especially in the weakest and the marginalised. He is with us in the ups and downs of life. We see Jesus in our here and now, and through Him, we see God. Thus, we can already live in His peace.
Reflective question:
What stood out to me in this time of prayer?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year C” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.
