Just a Reminder

“I am the way, the truth, and the life, says the Lord; Philip, whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” 

John 14:6b, 9c

St. Paul offers us a “friendly reminder” today on the Feast of Sts. Philip and James: “By the way, remember, Jesus died for your sins, rose from the dead, and appeared to many people!” When something has been said to us over and over again, it may become routine and a given and we really don’t pay much mind to it. It can dangerously be the same with God, too. We can hear about God every Sunday at Church, and then not really think about Him or even pray throughout the week. Our faith can become routine, and when it becomes routine, it becomes weak, and when it becomes weak, our faith can be snatched away from us, like the seeds that were sown on the road. Don’t let that happen.

After Jesus told Thomas that He is the way, and the truth, and the life, and that no one can go to the Father except through Him, Philip requested of Jesus, “Show us the Father and that will be enough.” Philip had forgotten that Jesus had taught Him that the Father is in Him and He in the Father. So Jesus gave Philip a “friendly reminder.” “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” What does that mean?

Have you seen Jesus before? “How?” you ask? We encounter the Lord in the Scriptures, in the Breaking of Bread, in the Eucharist, in Creation, and in one another. We have seen Jesus, and so we have seen the Father too. But if we allow these things to become routine, our view of Jesus will become blurrier by the day. Pay attention to the daily reminders that God gives to you throughout the day. Stay close to Him. Just a reminder: Jesus is the way, and the truth, and the life, and as long as we are with Him, we cannot go wrong.