Father Rick’s Two Minute Homily for Saturday, 4th Week in Easter

May 17, 2025, John 14:7-14

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051725.cfm

Seeing the Father

If we throw a pebble in a pond, we see the ripples, and the pond is calm again after some time. Ah! Then, we can see underneath the surface, maybe even to the bottom of the pond. Notice that Jesus was surprised Phillip did not know or see His Father in Him.

Phillip was probably confused, too, because he thought he knew Jesus, but did he? He had not yet experienced the depth of Jesus’s love for him. Before Jesus suffered, died, and rose, the disciples could not give their lives for Jesus.

When they arrested Jesus, the disciples vanished, hiding for fear of knowing Jesus. We know that changed at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon them. This event transformed them, and all but St. John died as martyrs. So, what is the difference between before and after Pentecost? The answer is the Holy Spirit, who empowered them to live and die for Jesus.

Their tears of abandoning Jesus were the ripples on the pond’s surface. When their tears cleared, they could see the depth of Jesus’ merciful love for them when they abandoned Him. For the first time in their lives, they could think, breathe, and live not for themselves but for Jesus.

They yearned to love each other as Jesus loved them, with a love that was merciful, tender, and had a listening heart. They longed to be in communion with someone, regardless of what anyone did or did not do to them. Then it happened. They knew then that the Father of Jesus was their Father and Father of everyone.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled,” my friends. Forgiveness and mercy towards another person make our hearts more like the heart of Jesus than anything else we could do.

Gospel Challenge:
“Father, forgive them,” Jesus prayed on the cross. And the Father did and He does. This act of forgiveness, even in the face of such cruelty, is where we see the Father in Jesus the most. It’s a powerful demonstration of love and forgiveness. There is no greater love than to lay down your life for someone who doesn’t deserve it. This is the Gospel Challenge we face every day, to love and forgive as Jesus did.

I can do all things in Him Who strengthens me.

Love One Another!

Fr. Rick Pilger, IC  
www.bscchurch.com