This morning’s Gospel reading is John 14:1–12:

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.”

Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said to him, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.”

Twenty-six years ago, a phrase from the film Jerry Maguire became popular as a kind of motto — “Show me the money.” The film itself had some interesting takes on faith (in a way) and in trust, but it’s also a film about a sports agent struggling with an ethical crisis and his one client he has left, who wants to cash out in his next big contract.

As such, Cardinals wide receiver Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr) repeatedly demands “show me the money” of Maguire (Tom Cruise). Other than “you had me at hello,” it’s the most well-known line of the film, and it passed quickly into common use to denote a focus on the bottom line. Forget all of the talk, forget everything else — show me the money. By implication, nothing else matters but the result.

To be fair, the film itself displays the necessity and value of all the other qualities in life, both temporal and eternal. Tidwell puts his trust in Maguire, even though he knows Maguire has wrecked his own career and lost all of the leverage that made him valuable. Dorothy (Renée Zellweger) stays with him at first out of need and attraction, then cuts him off when she thinks he’s only staying with her out of loyalty, but never stops believing in him. Maguire himself sticks with everyone not because it’s obvious that things will work out well — in fact, there’s almost no indication that any of this will work out well — but because he knows what is right, even if he stumbles on the way.  He lives on faith, even when his faith in himself has been utterly destroyed.

That brings us to today’s Gospel, a parallel to the story of Doubting Thomas. Thomas himself starts off by questioning Jesus about “know[ing] the way,” even though the disciples have been with Him for years. Even while Jesus instructs them explicitly that the way to the Father is to follow and have faith in Jesus, Philip asks to essentially cut Jesus out of the equation.

“Master, show us the Father,” Phillip says, “and that will be enough for us.”

What is that, but another form of “show me the money”? It demonstrates a fundamental lack of trust and faith in Jesus, and for that matter a lack of gratitude. The Father has sent Jesus to the world to provide for the salvation of all who follow Him, a gift of unfathomable mercy and grace, with the specific purpose of having Jesus provide the one sacrifice for all. Granted, the disciples didn’t yet grasp the Passion and its implications, but they certainly understood that Jesus was more than just a teacher at this point.

Instead of having faith in Jesus, Phillip wants to see the Father now and suggests that only that “will be enough for us.” The clear implication is that Jesus is not “enough for us.” Phillip’s request has echoes of the ambitions of Adam and Eve to demand equality with God rather than accept His love and authority as Father.

It’s easy to look at this and wag our fingers at Phillip, but do we not do the same thing — even in our prayer life? Jesus encouraged the disciples and all of us to pray for our needs and wants, but too often we approach prayer as a Christmas wish list. “Just let me win the lottery,” we might say, “and that will be enough for me.” Or even when our prayers are more commendable, too often we rest our faith on the outcome. When we pray and don’t see the results we want, or any immediate results at all, we lose faith and reject Jesus as not being enough for us.

Show me the money, we think, or else. 

The Lord has other plans, however, and those go far beyond our own individual wants and needs. The Father sent Jesus as the perfect sacrifice, and left the church by which all men and women could choose to participate and gain salvation from their sins. All it requires is faith in Jesus Christ and a commitment to walk in His way, even though the world continues to reject Him and the authority of the Father.

Is eternal salvation good enough for us? Or would we rather get shown the money in this life, and lose everything eternally in a bid to be our own gods?

The front-page image is a detail from “Calling of the Apostles,” c. 1481, on display in the Sistine Chapel. Via Wikimedia Commons.

“Sunday Reflection” is a regular feature, looking at the specific readings used in today’s Mass in Catholic parishes around the world. The reflection represents only my own point of view, intended to help prepare myself for the Lord’s day and perhaps spark a meaningful discussion. Previous Sunday Reflections from the main page can be found here.