Being Satisfied

John 14:9-11

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? 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 say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.

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Hey, hey, hey,
That's what I say

I can't get no satisfaction,
I can't get no satisfaction.
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try.
I can't get no, I can't get no.

"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones

We live in a consumer society. If we can't see it, touch it, smell it, taste it, use it, and pass it then we really don't know. If we can't consume it then we really don't believe. There are dozens of reasons why this it true. One of the reasons is that we have seen and heard so many lies that we don't care to trust anymore.

False prophets will do that.

In this passage, Jesus has just told the disciples that their hearts should not be troubled. They don't have to be troubled when they believe in God and believe in Him. Jesus lays out the visual images of the great and wonderful kingdom where all believers will be citizens. Subjects to the King of kings now, we will be subjects in the Kingdom of Glory forever. But then Thomas and Philip get all "Triple A" on Jesus and ask for directions.

Are they not buying into the imagery? Are they looking for the Kingdom to be founded on Earth here and now? Unless they were witty enough to ask for metaphorical directions to the metaphorical dwelling place (which is doubtful) they were asking Jesus to program the GPS and send them to their place in the Son. Give them credit, they tried. Oh they tried and they tried and they tried and they tried. But of course, if they were looking for a room with an ocean view, they were disappointed.

Philip finally gets tired and asks to speak to the Lord's manager, the next guy up the corporate food chain. He want's satisfaction and if he sees the Father he will be satisfied. Jesus answers, "Don't you know me?"

"Don't you know who I am?" is the cry of every "D-List" celebrity who ever got arrested. but this is not what Jesus asks. From friend to friend, Jesus asks Philip if after all this time did he still not understand what was going on. The kingdom was breaking all around them. Signs and wonders surrounded them. The words, the works of Jesus don't come from him, they come from God above! They are the words of the Father. The father is with them.

And even if they don't get that everything they had done had come from the Father, they just needed to remember everything they had done together and that should be enough.

We seek satisfaction, when satisfaction lives all around us. This is the cry to stop and smell the roses, this is the cry to see that even in the quietest moment God reigns and be not just satisfied, but joyful.