“Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.” John 12:20-22
Today’s Gospel has so much to dive into. There is the grain that must die to bear fruit or the idea that if we serve Jesus, we will be close to Him. Or even the fact that Jesus again brings up how He is doing His Father’s will and there is a voice from heaven that is heard by the crowds. All of these could make for a wonderful reflection that we could ponder today.
But maybe let's just take a moment with the very beginning of this passage from John 12. There were some Greeks who had come to worship at Passover. They were not Jews but had come to worship with them. So, something about the Jewish faith had drawn them to God. Some Jewish person they met somewhere in their life must have been living their faith in a way that made them curious. Maybe that person invited them to know more. Maybe they were bold in speaking the truth about their God and these Gentiles were converted to the faith.
And now, they are here in Jerusalem, and they have heard about Jesus. Could they have witnessed one of His miracles or heard Him teach? Whatever it was, they wanted to see Him. So what did they do? They sought out those who were following Him already. They found Philip and asked him for help in seeing Jesus. That first step of reaching out to someone who already knew Him was possible because Philip was already a follower of Christ and because he was close to Him, others could find Christ through him.
Then Philip goes and talks to Andrew and then they both go together to find Jesus and tell Him. Do you see what is happening here? Two followers of Christ, living fully connected with Him, are approached by others who want to know Him too. Then they work together to bring these people to Jesus.
This is what our lives should be about. We follow Christ in community, not just individually. We, as a church, are the body of Christ and we are called to be living witnesses to who He is so that others will want to know Him as well. It’s about evangelizing with our lives. And then when someone does want to know more, we don’t have to rely only on our own understanding or knowledge, but we have the Church to help us. That may be others in our parish or even the wider church body and all the wonderful resources that are out there to share. There are many ways to bring those who are seeking closer to Christ. Let us follow the example of Philip and Andrew and work together to do just that.
Reflection Questions: Am I living a life that shows Jesus to others and would make them curious to know more about this God that I love and serve? Do I take the time to learn more about my faith? Do I have good Catholic faithful friends to which I can turn to for help?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me live a life that lets others know that if they want to meet You, I can help them. And surround me with others who have the same desire so that together, we may work at growing the Church through evangelizing others. Amen.