May 18^th 2014. FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

Gospel: John 14:1-12

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

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GOSPEL John 14:1-12

Jesus said to his disciples

'Do not let your hearts be troubled. 

Trust in God still, and trust in me.

There are many rooms in my Father's house; 

if there were not, I should have told you. 

I am going now to prepare a place for you,

and after I have gone and prepared you a place, 

I shall return to take you with me; 

so that where I am you may be too.

You know the way to the place where I am going.'

Thomas said, 'Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?'

 Jesus said:

'I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. 

No one can come to the Father except through me.

If you know me, you know my Father too. 

From this moment you know him and have seen him.'

Philip said, 'Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied'. 'Have I been with you all this time, Philip,' said Jesus to him 'and you still do not know me? '

To have seen me is to have seen the, Father, 

so how can you say, "Let us see the Father"?

Do you not believe that I am in the Father 

and the Father is in me? 

The words I say to you I do not speak as from myself: 

it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work.

You must believe me when I say that 

I am in the Father and the Father is in me; 

believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason.

I tell you most solemnly, 

whoever believes in me 

will perform the same works as I do myself, 

he will perform even greater works, 

because I am going to the Father.

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . The first reading tells us the story of how the Apostles came to the realisation that their unique calling did not include the task of distributing food. The distribution of food is a good and noble thing, but that doesn’t mean that everyone has to do it. Similarly, there are many good and noble things that we can do, but Jesus is not calling us to do every one of these things. Each one of us has a particular vocation from the Lord. How are we to discern which path we are to follow? How can we reach the unique place in heaven that the Lord has prepared for us? Jesus gives us the answer in the Gospel. He says, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” Jesus is the Way because a living relationship with him leads us naturally to follow a particular direction in life. Jesus is the Truth because a genuine relationship with him leads us to embrace and personify that which is authentic, upright and faithful. And Jesus is the Life because an authentic relationship with him is to be fully alive. Jesus is the true way to life. The beautiful thing about this Gospel is that it emphasizes the personal and individual path that the Lord has laid out for each of us. Each path is different and each one leads to the individual place in heaven prepared for us by the Lord. But each of us can find our own individual path by entering into relationship with Jesus - our Way, our Truth and our Life.

Jesus has prepared a place for each of us in heaven. How can I know the particular path that the Lord is calling me to follow so that I will reach that place?

The Gospel reading from St John contains a beautiful phrase that assists us in orienting ourselves in the life of faith: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” There is a progression here and life is the point of arrival. We must follow a way, a way of truth, and this way of truth leads to life. It is our task to interpret this text in the light of Easter. We are still living in the period of Easter and we must seek constantly to enter into this mystery more deeply. The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles presents us with a practical problem. The Apostles feel that they will neglect their duty towards the Word of God if they are occupied with the distribution of food. To resolve the problem, they choose seven upright men to look after this task. This seems like a very banal story, but it has something to teach us that is extremely important. There are things in life that are good and upright, such as the distribution of food. But that does not mean that everyone is called to do those things. The way that God has laid out for you or me might well be a very different way altogether. The Gospel tells us that Jesus is preparing a place for us in heaven. The way to that place is very precise and we can easily take the wrong path and end up somewhere else. This raises a very critical issue for all of us. How are we to know which road we are to follow in life? How can we avoid wasting our existence following paths that are wrong for us? Some paths are beautiful, interesting and morally good, but they may not be necessarily the path that Jesus wants me to follow. It is for this reason that the Apostles in the first reading say “Stop! We have a ministry to be faithful to. We must allow others to look after the distribution of food. The Lord has given us a vocation that only we can follow.”

Jesus is the way because my relationship with him prompts me to follow him along a unique path that he has laid out especially for me

It is curious to consider that the Way, the Truth and the Life are identified with a person. How can a person be a way? A way is a course that we pursue. But a relationship with a person can also be a course of action or behaviour that we follow and which leads us along. If Jesus is the Way then that means that I must follow him. My relationship with Jesus provides the signposts which direct me along. If in life I encounter something good and sacrosanct then I must confront it with my relationship with Christ. If it is not the way that Jesus wants me to follow then I must leave that good thing to be looked after by another. Someone else will be led by Jesus along that way. My duty is to follow Christ in the way that he is leading me.

Truth is not a concept. Life is not an autonomous state of being. If I enter into true relationship with Jesus then I have true life. Only then will I be following the way that he has laid out for me that leads to the place he has prepared for me in heaven

Jesus says “I am the Truth.” We have a tendency to think of truth in intellectual terms, but here, once again, the concept becomes a person. What is true and authentic is that which leads me into ever deeper relationship with Christ. The way that leads to life is a way of truth, of authenticity. The truth in question here is not truth of the conceptual kind but a relationship. In the first reading, the distribution of food is not the authentic path that the Apostles must follow. If I wish to be with the Lord, if my truth is him, then it is not enough to pursue things that are true and authentic in themselves. I must pursue a true and authentic relationship with Jesus and this will lead me to life. Jesus tells us, in fact, that he is the Life. Living is not something that I do autonomously. Life is not something that I possess, full stop. Life is a relationship with Christ. There are many things that each of us can do in life. But only those things that put us in personal relationship with the Lord Jesus are those that will bring us to the fullness of life, the place in heaven he has prepared for us.