Saturday – 4th Week of Easter

Gospel – John 14:7-14

I Just Don’t Know

St. Jerome’s Cave, Church of St. Catherine, Bethlehem

We hear a lot about “knowing” in today’s Gospel.  “If you know me, you also know the Father.”  “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? It’s a relatively simple word but too often misunderstood.

We pass someone on the street and we tell our spouse “I know that guy”.  Really?  How well do you know him?  You mean you recognize him?  You know his name?  His likes and dislikes?  His favorite food or sports team?  His hobbies?  What do you mean “you know him?”

Most languages have more than one word for the concept of “knowing”.  Latin has ‘scio’ and ‘cognosco’.  French has “savoir” and “connaitre”.  And they mean something completely different.  It’s the difference between being familiar with something and really understanding something.  For example, I flip a light switch.  I know the light goes on.  For me, that means I am familiar with the light going on; I recognize it.  It does NOT mean that I understand how electricity works, what wires should connect together or how the filament in the lightbulb works. Two very different meanings for one simple word!

So what does it mean to know God?  Do I, can I, really ever understand Him fully?  Or do I simply recognize Him; am I just familiar with Him?  Neither meaning seems to work here.  Perhaps the real meaning lies somewhere in-between.  Let’s face it, we can never fully understand God.  But I would hope that we are familiar with Him, that we have had some experience with Him, that we can recognize Him and His work in our lives.  Hopefully that experience or familiarity leads us to something more, to something deeper, to a real relationship with Him.  And that is what God calls us to – a relationship with Him, a relationship of love.  To see Him at work in our lives, to see Him through the actions and love of others!  God is all around us each and every day. Do you know God? Did you see Him in the sunrise or the frost on the grass?  Did you recognize Him in the birth of a child or the kindness of a stranger? Do you see Him?  Do you recognize Him?

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