Sunday Vigil
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
John 14,7-14
If you know me, you will know my Father too. From this moment you know him and have seen him. Philip said, 'Lord, show us the Father and then we shall be satisfied.' Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? 'Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father, so how can you say, "Show us the Father"? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? What I say to you I do not speak of my own accord: it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his works. You must believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe it on the evidence of these works. In all truth I tell you, whoever believes in me will perform the same works as I do myself, and will perform even greater works, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
In the Gospel of John the verbs "to know" and "to see" regard the dimension of faith, a knowledge and a vision that go beyond the visible dimension and regard God's beyond. Philip, as if to put a definitive end to the conversation, asks, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Jesus responds with a heartfelt rebuke, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father." Here we penetrate into the heart of the Christian faith and of all religious search. Jesus states with clarity that we encounter God, the creator of heaven and earth, through him. If we want to see God's face, we have to look at Jesus; if we want to know God's thoughts, it is sufficient to know the Gospel; if we want to understand how God acts, we need to observe Jesus' behaviour. The Father of heaven is as close to the lives of men and women as Jesus was: he is a God who makes the dead rise, who becomes a child to be close to us, who weeps over his dead friend, who walks on human roads, who stops, who heals, and who is moved with compassion for all. He is truly the Father of all. Jesus adds even more daring words that only he can pronounce. He says that if we are bound to him, we will do the same works he does. Indeed, Jesus says we will do even greater ones. The Gospel has a power that comes from containing the very Word of God, which always creates life and love. If we nourish ourselves with the words of the Gospel our words will be powerful and effective: "I will do whatever you ask in my name." Yes, our prayer, if done in the name of Jesus, is strong and powerful: it will go straight to God's heart.