4/3/2019  1 Comment (at the bottom of this reflection.)

Today's question:
"Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?”

From John 14:
9 Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father dwelling in Me, performing His works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me—or at least believe on account of the works themselves...

Reflection from Anne Cowin 

As I begin sharing my thoughts about this passage from John 14, I would first like to reference two prior Bible verses. In the very first chapter of Genesis verse 26, it says “Then God said, Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness;” I believe this may be the very first reference to two persons of our triune God, God the Father and His son Jesus. Similarly, the Gospel of John begins by saying, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” The Word, of course, is Jesus, another reference to the second person of the Trinity.

In John 14, Jesus was trying to prepare his disciples for his death that was drawing near. The chapter begins with the comforting words to all of us who mourn that “In my Father’s house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you.” His disciples, however, didn’t yet recognize that Jesus was talking about his heavenly Father.  So then, in verse 10, they aren’t grasping the idea that Jesus and His Father God are one in the same, two parts of our triune God. Perhaps because Philip and the other disciples knew Jesus, the man, they had difficulty seeing him as God. A bit later in chapter 14, Jesus informs his disciples that when He leaves them, His Father God will send the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to be with them.
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Indeed, the Holy Spirit is the part of the Trinity that dwells within each of us. It seems beyond our comprehension that our mighty God would want to abide in us. After all, we are sinful and unworthy. Yet, God loves us despite our short comings. He, they, created us in their image. How precious this is to me. Rather than try to analyze why God would want to dwell in us, maybe we should simply try to accept it by faith. One day, we will exchange our faith with sight when we behold God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Perhaps at that moment, we will fully understand the mystery of the Trinity.

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Comments

John Nankervis
Wed, Apr 3, 2019 at 5:40 pm
Thank you Ann. Very thoughtful and insightful.

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About Today's Author

Anne Cowin has been a member of our church since 1966. She works as a school nurse with special education students in Arlington Heights.

​Anne has two grown children, Laura and Rob, both of whom are RN’s, and she lives with her twin sister, Mary, in Mt. Prospect. Anne enjoys being a liturgist and singing in the choir.

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