In today’s Gospel, St. Philip the Apostle gets his moment to shine. When he gets the chance to ask Jesus for the thing he most wants, he says that he wants to see God. “Show us the father,” he requests. What a great thing to have as your deepest desire. How many of us would say that the thing we want most is to see God?
Despite this seemingly great request, Jesus has to kind of correct Philip and tell him that his question isn’t really as perfect as it could be. This requires a lot of humility on Philip’s part. He didn’t quite ask for exactly the right thing, but this was still pleasing to God. We don’t have to be afraid to ask for what we think we want. Just trust that God can see our good intentions and answer with what we really need.
Jesus says that if you want to see the father, look at him. If you see Jesus, you see the father. But then, how can we who live 2000 years after his ascension see Jesus? In today’s homily I consider two ways. First, through the visible presence of the church on earth, built of “living stones.” Secondly, in the Eucharist where we are truly face to face with Jesus.
So if your deepest desire is to see God, then you need to see Jesus. And if you want to see Jesus, you need the Church and especially the Eucharist. Let’s stir up our desire for this greatest good and then be grateful for the means that God has chosen to use to make himself present in our world.