Find Christ through his Church

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’” (John 14:8-9).

We ask so often to see the Father, yet forget that he is right in front of us the whole time. Jesus Christ came and made manifest the Father. He who knows Christ knows the Father.

In a similar way, he who knows us Christians should know Jesus Christ. We must always strive to become Christ in all that we do so that the world may come to know Christ through the proper context—the Church. “And how are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14).

If we do not witness to Christ as much as possible, the world will never know him nor understand the Church he established. Otherwise, they will just see a group of hypocrites gathered to try and make themselves feel better. Who should ever want to be a part of such a group? I have been given this description of the Church before as an excuse to not attend Mass. But someone saying this should never be shunned. Rather, they should be witnessed to in word and deed. If we witness through even our simplest of actions, then such an explanation of the Church will cease to exist!