Once again we have to be thankful for a disciple's question. Jesus has just said that those who really know Him also know His Father. But, after all this talk about the Father, Philip, the naive one, is puzzled. "Show us this Father you are always talking about. That is all we ask." "Philip," Jesus replies patiently, "whoever has seen me has seen the Father..." Philip still lacked that faith that could see the Father working in and through Jesus.

Of course, what Jesus says has to be understood properly. In a sense, when we see Jesus we do see the Father; but, in another sense, we do not see the Father, at least not fully. When Jesus speaks, the Father speaks; when Jesus forgives, the Father forgives; when Jesus heals, the Father heals; when Jesus gives life, it is the Father who gives life.

But in Jesus' humanity, which is where we meet him, the Father only comes through in the dimmest fashion. The love that Jesus shows is the love of the Father but, limited by His human nature, it is only the faintest image of the full reality of that love. Only when we are face to face with God will we fully grasp the immensity of that Love. It is important for us to understand this. That is why Jesus calls Himself the Way; He is the Way not the End. The Father is the End and Goal of all living.