If You Know Jesus, You Know the Father
Some of the words Jesus speaks in today’s Gospel are astonishing.
“I am the way and the truth and the life.”
And then:
“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”
The disciples heard these words before the Resurrection. But imagine how differently they must have remembered them afterward.
Jesus had been revealing something extraordinary all along.
He was not simply the Messiah.
He was revealing God Himself.
Jesus says that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. Their union is complete.
So if we want to know what the Father is like, we look at Jesus.
Read the Gospels.
Watch how Jesus treats people.
Notice His desire to heal.
To forgive.
To teach.
To draw near.
To love to the end.
When we see the heart of Jesus, we are seeing the heart of the Father.
How Do We Learn His Voice?
If Jesus is the way to the Father, then knowing Him matters.
That brings us to the first reading.
As the early Church grows, the apostles realize they cannot do everything themselves. Important needs are arising in the community, so others are chosen to serve them.
The apostles explain that they must remain devoted to two things:
Prayer and the ministry of the Word.
They knew they needed to remain close to Jesus.
Although Christ had ascended to the Father, His teaching would continue through the apostles and the Church.
And the same pattern matters for us.
If we want to know the heart and mind of Jesus more clearly, we need to make room for:
Prayer.
The Word of God.
Not occasionally.
Regularly.
Every day, if we can.
Because we cannot learn the way of Jesus without spending time with Him.
The Obedience of Faith
The first reading ends with a striking phrase: many were becoming “obedient to the faith.”
Obedience can sound restrictive.
We may hear it as losing freedom, personality, or independence.
But Christian obedience is something much richer.
The word itself points toward listening deeply.
We listen to God in prayer.
We listen to His Word.
And then we allow what we hear to shape how we live.
St. Peter gives us the other possibility in the second reading.
Jesus is the cornerstone.
For those who believe, He becomes the solid foundation of life.
But Peter says that some “stumble by disobeying the word.”
The same Christ can become either the rock upon which we build or the stone over which we stumble.
The difference is whether we are willing to listen and respond.
Obedience Does Not Erase You
Sometimes we fear that following God closely will somehow make us less ourselves.
If everyone obeys God, do we all become the same?
Quite the opposite.
Prayer, Scripture, and obedience help us discover the particular person God created each of us to be.
God does not want you to become someone else.
He does not need another version of the woman sitting next to you.
He has given you particular gifts, abilities, responsibilities, and ways of serving that belong to you.
That means comparison can become a real distraction.
We notice someone else's gift and think:
Why can't I do that?
Why does that come so naturally to her?
Why wasn't I given that ability?
It is good to recognize another person's gifts.
But the answer to envy is not to become more like that person.
It is to become more attentive to God.
Through prayer, His Word, and the obedience of faith, we begin to recognize our own gifts and the work He is asking us to do.
Sometimes those gifts may even surprise us.
We may discover that God has equipped us for something we never imagined ourselves doing.
The question is whether we are humble and courageous enough to receive that too.
Living Stones
St. Peter calls us “living stones.”
Christ is the cornerstone, and each of us is being built into something larger than ourselves.
A stone does not need to become identical to every other stone in order to belong.
It needs to be where the builder intends it to be.
That is the freedom of obedience.
God does not erase what is unique about us.
He puts it to its proper purpose.
And together, our different gifts become part of the spiritual house He is building.
For Moms
Mothers can spend a lot of time comparing.
Our children.
Our homes.
Our schedules.
Our marriages.
Our patience.
Our involvement.
Our gifts.
Even our faith.
We notice what another mom does beautifully and can quickly turn admiration into a judgment about ourselves.
But God is not asking you to raise someone else's family.
He is not asking you to have someone else's personality or gifts.
He is asking you to listen to Him within the life He has actually given you.
That requires prayer.
It requires Scripture.
And sometimes it requires the courage to obey even when God's invitation does not match the picture we had of ourselves.
Maybe you are more capable than you thought.
Maybe a gift you dismissed is exactly what your family, parish, or community needs.
The goal is not to become more like everyone else.
It is to become more completely who God made you to be.
Questions to Sit With
- Am I spending enough time in prayer and Scripture to recognize the voice of Jesus in my life?
- Where am I tempted to compare my gifts, family, or calling with someone else’s?
- Is God revealing a gift or responsibility in me that I have been reluctant to accept?
Family Practice
At dinner one night this week, have each person name one gift they see in someone else in the family.
Keep it simple and specific.
Then thank God together for creating each person differently and giving each of you a unique way to love and serve.