Show us …and we shall be satisfied.
In last Sunday’s Gospel, Philip makes this request of Jesus, ‘Show us the Father and we shall be satisfied.’ In other words, show us ‘God’ and that will be enough for us. Jesus’ reply is not what was expected. ‘To have seen me is to have seen the Father.’ In the human person, Jesus, all that would satisfy them had been revealed and they had missed it because they had been expecting something else: something bigger and more dramatic, perhaps.
One thing I have noticed over the past months, has been how people’s expectations have changed and how they have come to appreciate other people more. Yes, we appreciate our family and friends but there has also been a recognition of the good service many give us: nurses and doctors, teachers and admin staff but also the people who serve in retail and the cleaners in our supermarkets. Retail staff, cleaners and many like them are seen for what they are: people giving essential services. It has taken COVID-19 to open our eyes to the reality.
And what about God? We have all sorts of expectations put on God, and God, more often than not, fails to deliver. Rarely does God reveal himself in the big and dramatic or even the quickly consoling. But Jesus has assured us that God is with us, always, loving deeply and passionately. So where should we be looking? That answer is different for each person. The best place to start is where you have already known God. Perhaps in nature, perhaps in the birth of your child/ren. You know. Sit with that for some time and meditate on it…and expect your eyes to be opened to where God is already living and loving in your life.
Loving God, you desire to be with me more that I desire to be with you. Let me appreciate where you are already moving in my life. I ask this in Jesus’ name, confident that you will hear me.
Sr Kym Harris osb