In today’s Gospel Philip, an apostle of Jesus, asks Jesus to show him God the Father. Jesus responds saying “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” Jesus tells Philip that He is one with God the Father and goes on to say “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it”.
I have always found myself asking God for things, whether it was to pass a test during college, to win a soccer game, or even make a deadline. Sometimes I get upset when things don’t go my way. I find myself questioning God if He truly cares about me and asking Him why He let me fail.
Many people, including myself, can relate to today’s Gospel, asking for proof of God’s existence to justify belief. In the movie The Polar Express, Tom Hanks says: “Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can’t see.” It’s human nature to ask questions about what lies beyond life. Philip had seen Jesus perform great miracles of healing yet still asked questions about God’s existence.
As we go through the season of Easter and into the rest of the year, I invite you to find ways to encounter God in the midst of your daily life.
En el Evangelio de hoy, Felipe, un apóstol de Jesús, le pide a Jesús que le muestre a Dios Padre. Jesús le responde diciendo: “¿Tanto tiempo hace que estoy con ustedes, ¿y todavía no me conoces? Quien me ha visto a mí, ha visto al Padre. ¿Entonces por qué dices: ‘Muéstranos al Padre’?” Jesús le dice a Felipe que Él es uno con Dios Padre y continúa diciendo: “Yo les aseguro: el que crea en mí, hará las obras que hago yo y las hará aún mayores, porque yo me voy al Padre; y cualquier cosa que pidan en mi nombre, yo la haré para que el Padre sea glorificado en el Hijo. Yo haré cualquier cosa que me pidan en mi nombre”.
Siempre me he encontrado pidiéndole cosas a Dios, ya sea aprobar un examen en la universidad, ganar un partido de fútbol o incluso cumplir con una fecha límite. A veces me enojo cuando las cosas no salen como yo quisiera. Me encuentro cuestionándome si Dios realmente se preocupa por mí y le pregunto por qué me permitió fracasar.
Muchas personas, yo incluido, pueden identificarse con el Evangelio de hoy, que pide pruebas de la existencia de Dios para justificar la creencia. En la película The Polar Express, Tom Hanks dice: “Ver es creer, pero a veces las cosas más reales del mundo son las que no podemos ver”. Es parte de la naturaleza humana hacer preguntas sobre lo que hay más allá de la vida. Felipe había visto a Jesús realizar grandes milagros de sanación y, aun así, se preguntaba sobre la existencia de Dios.
A medida que avancemos en la temporada de Pascua y en el resto del año, los invito a encontrar formas de encontrar a Dios en medio de su vida diaria.
Ben Hooper is originally from Maryland, having been adopted from Korea and growing up in the Catholic faith. He went to Franciscan University to dive deeper into his faith and eventually graduated with a degree in Business Management. He loves musical theater, sports, spending time with his wife Lily and their dog Kolbe.
Feature Image Credit: Ismael Paramo, unsplash.com/photos/man-praying-7tjalVjjuVc
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