May 17, 2025 – Daily Catholic Lectionary Readings for Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter.

“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” This earth-shattering claim from Jesus transforms how we understand divine presence in our struggles. When Paul and Barnabas are driven from Antioch, it’s not random persecution—it’s the same God who turns limitation into expansion.

This reflection explores:

• The revolutionary claim of Jesus’ divinity
• How God’s presence shows up in rejection and setbacks
• Why the Trinity matters for our daily struggles
• How limitation becomes the path to greater works

Readings: Acts 13:44-52; Psalm 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4; John 14:7-14

Perfect for anyone questioning God’s presence in difficulties, seeking to understand the Trinity practically, or wondering how rejection might be divine redirection.

#SeeingTheFather #TrinityInAction #DivineRedirection #JesusIsGod #HopeInRejection

Seeing the Father: When God Shows Up in Closed Doors

“Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

Philip’s request seems reasonable. After all these months following Jesus, he still wants some final proof, some ultimate revelation of God that will finally satisfy his deepest longing.

Jesus’ response changes everything.

“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”

Stop. Rewind. Did he just claim to BE God?

Yes. This isn’t a metaphor. It’s not “I’m really close to God” or “I represent God well.” Jesus is staking his entire identity on this claim: look at me, you’re looking at the Father. What I do, the Father does. What I value, the Father values. How I treat people, that’s how the Father treats people.

This is the foundation of everything—the Trinity, the Incarnation, our entire faith. God isn’t some distant deity we hope to glimpse someday. God is right here, in flesh and blood, healing the sick, eating with sinners, weeping at gravesides, and ultimately dying for us.

But here’s where it gets personal. If Jesus IS God, then every rejection, every closed door, every limitation we face suddenly has divine significance.

Look at Paul and Barnabas in Antioch. Driven out by jealous religious leaders. Threatened. Expelled. But instead of despair, they shake the dust off their feet and move on. Why? Because they know who they’re representing. The same God who will face the ultimate rejection—crucifixion—and turn it into salvation.

The disciples left behind are “filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.” Not because rejection feels good, but because they recognize whose story they’re part of. The God who emptied himself to save us? He works through setbacks, limitations, even failures.

Our psalm captures this perfectly: “All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God.” This isn’t just Israel’s God anymore. This isn’t just a tribal deity or philosophical concept. This is the God made visible in Jesus, whose love knows no boundaries.

So when doors slam in your face—in your career, relationships, family, or dreams—remember what’s really happening. You’re not just dealing with random bad luck or human cruelty. You’re participating in the same pattern that defines God’s relationship with the world.

The job that doesn’t work out might be protecting you from something you can’t see. The relationship that ends could be making space for the love God actually has planned for you. The illness that limits your body might be expanding your spirit in ways health never could. The community that rejects you might be freeing you to find your real people.

Look, pain is real and setbacks aren’t always cosmic chess moves. But in Jesus, we’ve seen exactly how God operates in this broken world. Through limitation. Through rejection. Through what looks like defeat but becomes victory.

Jesus promises his followers will do “greater works” than he did. Not bigger miracles, but wider impact. Because the same God who lived in one body in first-century Judea now lives in millions of believers across the globe. The God revealed in Jesus continues to work through ordinary people facing ordinary struggles.

Every time you choose love over bitterness after rejection, you’re showing the Father’s heart. Every time you find hope in limitation, you’re revealing God’s nature. Every time you trust that closed doors might actually be divine redirection, you’re demonstrating the same pattern Jesus lived and died and rose to establish.

The early Christians understood this. When persecution scattered them, the gospel spread. When doors closed in one city, they opened in another. Not because they had perfect faith or supernatural optimism, but because they knew WHO they were following.

The same God who walked dusty Judean roads walks with you through your disappointments. The same God who wept at Lazarus’ tomb weeps with you in your losses. The same God who transformed the cross into resurrection is still transforming apparent defeats into unexpected victories.

This Easter season, when life feels like a series of closed doors, remember Philip’s question and Jesus’ earth-shattering answer. You’re not dealing with abstract spiritual principles or distant divine plans. You’re face to face with the God who became human to show us exactly who he is.

And that changes everything.