Super Empowering Faith
Homily on the 5th Sunday of Easter; 3 May 2026, SJBP Cotcot, Liloan
A few years ago I had a friendly conversation with some parishioners. They were offering to sponsor the stained glass above the cross inside the church. And they were suggesting that its design will be the image of an old man to symbolize God, the Father. However, while the Provincial and his council at that time were grateful for the generous sponsorship, the proposed design was not approved.
If we look back at our history, the image of God the Father depicted as an old man with long white hair and white beard began to appear only in the 15th century. It can be seen in various paintings such as those made by Jean Malouel, in his “Pieta”, Michaelangelo in his “Creation of Adam” at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and many others. There had been several attempts by various renaissance artists to represent God the Father in their works of art. However, the Lord himself told us that the image of the invisible God as Father is no other than Jesus Christ, his Son our Lord.
Today on this Fifth Sunday of Easter we gather once again to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection. It is interesting that the gospel passage we have heard today is actually confirming what was said above.
During the Last Supper, Philip, the apostle, dared to ask the Lord Jesus a very interesting and reasonable request. He said, “Master, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” For three years the apostles had been seeing Jesus preach and perform miraculous deeds. Jesus, on his part, had been revealing to them the truth that he was doing things not on his own, but on behalf of the Father, for he has been sent by the Father. And so naturally I guess their curiosity and eagerness to see the face of the Father had been growing within them until one of them, by the name of Philip, had the courage to make that request explicit.
Sad to say, however, Jesus could only reply with great disappointment. He said to Philip “Have I been with you for so long a time and still you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father… Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?”
In other words, Jesus is telling us that he is precisely the image of the mysteriously invisible God; the God of the universe who is so infinitely immense that no human mind can imagine, no words can fully describe, and no art work can clearly express. And so, if we want to see the face of the Father, we only have to gaze upon the face of Jesus, his beloved, Son who became a man like one of us. And, therefore, the same act of worship and love that we Christians give to the Son is also given to the Father.
In fact every time we gather to celebrate the liturgy we address every prayer to God the Father. And we lift it up to him through the mediation of his Son our Lord Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. For us Catholics, therefore, every encounter with Jesus in the Liturgy is precisely also an encounter with the Father who sent him.
At the end of our life, if we really want to go to heaven and meet the Father, the only way and the surest way is for us to approach Jesus. On this matter, during that same evening of the last supper, the confused and doubting Thomas actually asked Jesus this question: “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Prior to that, Jesus was assuring his disciples not to be troubled. He said “Do not let your hearts be troubled…In my Father’s house, there are many dwelling places… And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.”
Dear brothers and sisters, it is not enough to believe that there is a God who created the universe. So many other people hold such belief but they are not Christians. They are Jewish. They are Muslims. They are animists like our Filipino ancestors. But our Catholic faith tells us more. We believe in Jesus who is God’s beloved Son. He became man so that we too may become like him, and do the works that he had done.
What is even more amazing in the same Gospel passage we have heard today is what Jesus said to Philip, “Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these.”
What does this really mean? Jesus is not only telling us how blessed we are to have this faith in him, but he is also assuring us that our faith-filled encounters with him empowers us to do the same good works that he had done for the salvation of the world. In other words our faith gives us superpowers. If Jesus had preached the Good News of God’s Kingdom, we too should be able preach and teach the Gospel to others. If Jesus was able to heal the sick, we too should be able to help the sick experience God’s healing grace.
If Jesus was able to make the lame and the crippled walk, we too can enable the weak, the infirm and the disabled to regain strength and be able to walk again in the light of the Lord. If Jesus had opened the eyes of the blind, we too can help others regain their sight, see the face of Jesus and find the right direction in their own life. Why? What is it that gives us powers beyond our normal human capabilities? It is Faith!
“Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these.” If we truly have a firm faith in Jesus and a passionate love for him, we will certainly be empowered to continue his mission with the same passion that He had for his people; the same passion which Saint John Bosco had for the young. This could explain why Jesus told his disciples “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.”
We have begun the Flores de Mayo since two days ago. Let us continue to honor our Blessed Mother and ask her to accompany us always and to keep reminding us to do whatever Jesus tells us. Just like what she said to the servants during the wedding at Cana, she is asking us today to do, not what we want to do, but what Jesus wants us to do, so that we may continue to witness God’s wonderful works and miracles among us.
By doing exactly what Jesus wants, we shall surely see not only the changing of water into wine, and the multiplication of loaves and fish, but also the transformation of wolves into lambs and sheep, as Don Bosco did. And soon we shall also wonder at the transformation of so many sheep into so many shepherds after the heart of Christ, the Good Shepherd.
In this Mass let us pray that the Risen Lord may bless us with that super-empowering faith and that many young people may respond generously to God’s call to become ministers of the Church – whether ordained or lay – empowered to continue the mission of Christ for the salvation of souls. GiGsss!