"Have I been with you for so long a
time
AND YOU STILL DO NOT KNOW ME?"
AND YOU STILL DO NOT KNOW ME?"
Our knowledge of God is not simply limited to knowing something about
Him, but we can know God the Father personally.
Where do we search
for Jesus Christ? In today's Gospel, Jesus says to Philip, "Have I been
with you for so long a time and you still do not know Me?" (Jn 14:9) Maybe
some of us search through the internet to get information about some aspects or
traits Jesus exhibited, which would give us a long list, or maybe the following
would be helpful: Pope Emeritus Benedict has written a biography of Jesus,
adding to a lengthy catalog of biographies already in print. Maybe one of us
reading this reflection today might want to take on the task, composing our own
biography of the Son of God. This would be a definite meditation for anyone to
reflect upon and accomplish.
Our knowledge of
God is not simply limited to knowing something about Him, but we can know God
the Father personally. The essence of Christianity is the personal knowledge of
God as our heavenly Father. Christ Jesus makes it possible for us personally to
know God as our Father. To see Jesus is to see what God is like. In Jesus, we
see perfect love, a God who cares intensely and who yearns after all His
children. If we put our trust in Jesus Christ and believe what He taught us,
Jesus gives a promise that each generation holds on to; this promise is that
God our Father will hear our prayers when we pray in His name, "Our Father
who art in heaven...Give us this day our daily bread."
In the responsorial
psalm we acclaim, "All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of
God" (Ps 98:2). May God strengthen our faith and open our eyes that we may
realize that His victory is already here, even though at times the humble veil
hides the glory of all heavenly realities while we are on earth. We need to
remember throughout our journey that Jesus walked the earth and spoke our human
language; He experienced human challenges and proclaimed and effected human
redemption; Jesus tasted death and restored life for all people.
Let us make this
real in our own lives and be witnesses for others!