While the Lord Jesus Christ was having a conversation with His disciples, Philip, one of His apostles, made a request, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” (John 14:8). Jesus responded: “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you, I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves”(John 14:9-11). The Lord’s response to Philip reveals several insights. First, Jesus and the Father are one. Secondly, the words and works of Christ reveal the purpose of the unseen Father.
Let’s go back to Philip’s request. The gospel presents several teachings of Jesus that reveal God as Father, the source of all things, and whose mission He came to accomplish. Jesus spoke so much about the Father that it makes sense for His apostles to desire to see the Father whom He often spoke of. Recall when John the Baptist introduced Jesus as the Messiah, John’s disciples left and followed Christ. Here is the reality of human nature—we are always looking for the next better experience. In His human nature, Jesus presented Himself as the “Way” to the Father. In the expression of His divine essence, Christ reveals Himself as one-in-being (co-substantial) with the Father, meaning that there’s no lack in Him but rather He is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father. The next best experience is to be attained through Christ and in Christ.
Was Philip’s request a bad one?
No. We all should have such a desire—to see the Father. In fact, God created us with the deep desire for Himself. St Augustine echoed this fact when he stated, “Thou movest us to delight in praising Thee; for Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee” (St Augustine of Hippo, Confessions 1,1.5).
When Philip says, “show us the Father and that will be enough for us”, he expresses the deep human longing that can feel unsettling at times—being in union with its source. Sometimes, the hunger for God explains the hollow, shallow feelings of human existence, which are inescapable until fulfilled by God. Watch how an infant clings to their parents. Observe how we lock in with loved ones. Notice how we thrive in familiar territories. We are always seeking peace and security, although our human frailty betrays our approach to the search. Jesus promises a different kind of peace, a type that the “world” (tendencies and belief systems opposed to the Lordship of Christ) cannot give.
We can truly access this heavenly peace when we accept Christ as one with the Father, that is, as our “source and summit” of existence, believe Christ’s words as unbreakable truth incarnated in His works, and always invite Him to lead us in all we do, including how we navigate our thought process.
