‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life’

READINGS AND REFLECTION

Fifth Sunday of Easter – 10 May 2020

First reading

Acts 6:1-7 – They elected seven men full of the Holy Spirit

ABOUT this time, when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenists made a complaint against the Hebrews: in the daily distribution their own widows were being overlooked. So the Twelve called a full meeting of the disciples and addressed them, ‘It would not be right for us to neglect the word of God so as to give out food; you, brothers, must select from among yourselves seven men of good reputation, filled with the Spirit and with wisdom; we will hand over this duty to them, and continue to devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word.’ The whole assembly approved of this proposal and elected Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus of Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

    The word of the Lord continued to spread: the number of disciples in Jerusalem was greatly increased, and a large group of priests made their submission to the faith.

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Second reading

1 Peter 2:4-9 – Christ is the living stone, chosen by God and precious to him

THE Lord is the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him; set yourselves close to him so that you too, the holy priesthood that offers the spiritual sacrifices which Jesus Christ has made acceptable to God, may be living stones making a spiritual house. As scripture says: See how I lay in Zion a precious cornerstone that I have chosen and the man who rests his trust on it will not be disappointed. That means that for you who are believers, it is precious; but for unbelievers, the stone rejected by the builders has proved to be the keystone, a stone to stumble over, a rock to bring men down. They stumble over it because they do not believe in the word; it was the fate in store for them.

    But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

Gospel

John 14:1-12 – I am the Way, the Truth and the Life

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.’

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REFLECTION

ON this Fifth Sunday, if not for the MCO, having renewed our baptismal promises on Easter Vigil, we should all be gathered happily in church to praise God together with the neophytes for the wondrous Gift and presence of the Risen Lord in His Word and Eucharist. This Gift has always been stunning and unexpected because the Way, the Truth, and the Life has been given to us in a visible and tangible way in the Person of Jesus, God invisible made visible in the flesh. From the beginning, the Church has seen the visible God, believed and passed on the faith.

The gospel today (John 14:1-12) has been read last Friday (Jn 14:1-6) and Saturday (Jn 14: 7-14). We will use and adapt the reflection of those two days.

(Jn 14: 1-6). We are struck by the incomparable understanding, care, and utter generosity of our Lord in these verses! Jesus shows He knows and feels the troubles and anxieties in the depth of our heart – the terrifying fear of getting nowhere and getting lost.

‘Do not let your hearts be troubled’

His first words show the depth of His concern: “Do not let your hearts be troubled”. This is not a mere persuasion, not some kindly and loose words just to calm us down. It is a loving COMMAND given by one who has seen it, done it, and has returned from the dead to help carry us through it all. He has every credential, every moral and actual authority and power. Having died and risen, He has given us the Spirit of life, God’s own life, a life that takes us back to the bosom of God our Father, our true Origin and Home.

We need each other, we need all kinds, to be founded firmly on the Cornerstone that is the Risen Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life.   

It is in this love and authority, that Jesus commands: “Trust in God still, and trust in me”. Jesus puts Himself to be as trustworthy as God. If we can’t trust God or Jesus in this matter of life and death, who would we still trust? Ourselves? The wise, the rich and successful of this world, the strong and the beautiful?

Sometimes when we are in deep trouble and fear, a good friend may give us some advice and end up with a firm assurance: “Trust me!”. Will we take up his advice because we think he is trustworthy, that he has seen and understood our exact trouble, gone through it, and resolved it all? But Jesus has seen it all, more than understood and done it all, and has returned to help. Today, with all our faculties, let’s listen therefore to Jesus’ words again: “TRUST IN GOD STILL, AND TRUST IN ME!!!”

On the Dollar is printed “In God we trust”. Will the mighty Dollar be as mighty and trustworthy as God Himself? Never! The Dollar will be forgotten someday as we have to study ancient history to know about the Denarius, the common ‘Ringgit’ in Jesus’ time. God alone is eternally trustworthy. There is more. The words we hear are not from God speaking from heaven. The words are from God Incarnate, God-made-flesh, God made visible, who has spoken to us in the flesh here on earth. HE, Jesus, is speaking. He came on earth from the Father’s house, spent a bit of time with us, and returned there. He knows all about that House.

Generosity of Christ

“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.” The utter generosity of Christ is not just His willingness to share the many rooms in His Father’s house with us, but to prepare a place, do the beds, cook the food, mix the drinks, and everything a generous Host would do for the guests He loves.

Not only would He prepare our eternal accommodation, but He will also provide the transport and take us there personally! Once our room is prepared and the welcome décor complete, He will return and take us there! All because He loves us and wants to be with us always. Do we want to be with Him always? Or do we prefer, in our sickened lack of imagination, to remain exiled from Home? Even in the little time He would be away, the Lord has given us the Eucharist so that He would remain with us till He returns, so that we will have a foretaste of heaven, long for it, His Father’s House and OUR Father’s House.

So, Jesus has said he would go and prepare each of us a place, return to fetch us, and take us there where He would be with us always. The dull and ever sceptical Thomas who had the habit of believing by seeing and touching, still had to ask: ‘Lord …how can we know the way?’ It was a stupid question, but a happy fault, for in His answer to Thomas, we have received from the very mouth of the Lord, the shortest, the fullest, and the most precious summary of who our Risen Lord is:

“I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE!!!”

(Jn 14: 7-14). We have seen the thorough love of Christ for us. He, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, would go ahead to prepare a place in His Father’s House, return and personally take us there.

Next, Jesus’ love becomes excessive! Having said what He said, to spoil us, He now asks us, the objects of His love, in some anxiety, just to be sure: ‘Is there anything you still need, just ask-bah, and I will do it for you!’  And that is exactly what He said: ‘If you ask for anything in my name, I will do it.’

After Doubting Thomas, Philip asks another stupid question. Remember this character, Philip? Just before the Feeding of the Five Thousand the Lord tested him (Jn 6:7-8). Coldly calculated, Philip told his Master that even 200 denarii could only buy a small piece of bread for all the five thousand hungry people. Now, even after Jesus has just said, ‘If you know me, you know my Father too. From this moment you know him and have seen him’, Philip in his non-nonsense attitude still pleads: ‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.’

We know Jesus’ reply well, words so dear to all Christians: ‘To have seen me is to have seen the Father’. Jesus is God made visible. ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me?’ Like for Philip, how much longer does Jesus have to be with us before we see Him, and believe that He and the Father are one?

Philip’s lesson

The Lord loved Philip like He loved all, but He must have been irked by his practical mind, and twice in the Gospel of St. John, He tested him picking on him personally to teach him a lesson. Of course, this conversation took place on the last night of Jesus’ life on earth, before His death and resurrection. One would want to think that Philip, like Thomas, would have his eyes, mind and heart cleared after seeing the Risen Lord. Have we seen the Risen Lord? Are we still pleading with our lazy mind and eyes, ‘Lord, let us see the Father and we shall be satisfied?’ Or are we going to be like Thomas, ‘Unless I see the holes, put my hand into His side…”???

As He did to the Jews, so Jesus now appeals to Philip to believe in Him at least on the merit of the works He has performed. Works are not just the signs and miracles, but that they should powerfully reveal the perfect love of God in the person of Jesus, the real sign and miracle. The work by which Philip must see and believe is the incredible, supernatural love of the very person of Jesus. And this kind of ‘work’, even greater works, will be performed by believers after the physical departure of Jesus from this earth. ‘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.’ Let’s ask sincerely that our works, our life of love itself, may be a greater and more irresistible miracle and witness to others!

The person of Jesus, the Way, Truth, and Life, is the only Cornerstone upon which the redeemed world could be built, beginning with the Church. In the second reading, St. Peter calls this redeemed world ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.’

The task is never easy. To align to the Cornerstone an infinite variety and diversity of peoples and cultures, cannot be accomplished without the power of God. In the first reading, we see the early Church met her first challenge, the conflict between two peoples speaking two different languages, the Jews, Hebrew, the Hellenists, Greek. There would be even greater challenges to come. But in the Spirit of Jesus, in dialogue, Catholicity, unity in diversity, was accomplished by the institution of the deacons.

Different callings and ministries began to emerge. The apostles needed time and focus on preaching the Word rather than looking after practical things like the distribution of food. Others needed to come in. Although the seven deacons were ordained, hence would be considered members of the clergy today, it was the beginning of lay ministries. On this Fifth Sunday of Easter therefore, we also celebrate the many and different gifts and ministries in the Church. We need each other, we need all kinds, to be founded firmly on the Cornerstone that is the Risen Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life.