Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter
THE WAY, THE TRUTH, THE LIFE
In the synagogue, Paul proclaims the risen Christ. That Christ is risen is not merely an important event of the past: it is, as Paul says, “a message of salvation meant for you. We have come here to tell you the Good News.” It is meant for us today.
What is our task and the mission of all Christians in the world today? To proclaim the Good News that Christ is risen and alive among us. To do what Christ did. To be Christ to one another and to the world. For we are God’s priestly and missionary people. We do not stand alone in this task. For the living Christ is with us today as our way, our truth and our life.
Reading 1: Acts 13:26-33
“Dear brothers and sisters, children of Abraham, and friends of God, this message of salvation has been precisely targeted to you. The citizens and rulers in Jerusalem didn’t recognize who he was and condemned him to death. They couldn’t find a good reason, but demanded that Pilate execute him anyway. They did just what the prophets said they would do, but had no idea they were following to the letter the script of the prophets, even though those same prophets are read every Sabbath in their meeting places.
29-31 “After they had done everything the prophets said they would do, they took him down from the cross and buried him. And then God raised him from death. There is no disputing that—he appeared over and over again many times and places to those who had known him well in the Galilean years, and these same people continue to give witness that he is alive.
32-35 “And we’re here today bringing you good news: the Message that what God promised the fathers has come true for the children—for us! He raised Jesus, exactly as described in the second Psalm:
My Son! My very own Son!
Today I celebrate you!
“When he raised him from the dead, he did it for good—no going back to that rot and decay for him. That’s why Isaiah said, ‘I’ll give to all of you David’s guaranteed blessings.’ So also the psalmist’s prayer: ‘You’ll never let your Holy One see death’s rot and decay.’
Gospel: Jn 14:1-6
“Don’t let this rattle you. You trust God, don’t you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home. If that weren’t so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I’m on my way to get your room ready, I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I’m taking.”
5 Thomas said, “Master, we have no idea where you’re going. How do you expect us to know the road?”
6-7 Jesus said, “I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You’ve even seen him!”
Prayer
Lord, our God,
your Son Jesus Christ, is to us
the way that leads to you and to one another,
the truth that is Good News of love and hope,
the life which he sacrificed to give it to us.
Help us to show the way to him
and to go his way to one another,
to speak the truth that is encouraging and credible,
to give life by sharing happiness,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Reflection:
5 May 2023
John 14: 1-6
Jesus consoles us, always.
Today’s Gospel is one of three farewell speeches by Jesus at the Last Supper. These are farewell speeches because, in them, Jesus seems to dictate his final Will before his death. A Will of a person acquires its validity only after the death of the person who dictated it. Easter is the most suitable time to understand the Will, given by Jesus and to meditate on them.
While writing the passage, John followed the farewell speech pattern recorded in the Book of Deuteronomy. The book was compiled many centuries after the death of Moses to introduce the teachings of Moses to the contemporaries of the sacred author. The Farewell Discourse in the Gospel was the attempt of John to summarise for his community the significance of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Pope Francis points out that “in this passage, the Lord consoles his saddened disciples in close proximity. He is never distant. He reassures them with words: “I am here, with you.” He promises to return soon to take them to the world of Jesus and of the Father. I will take you with me so that you may be where I am.
Imagine being in a family of newly wedded couples when one of the spouses has to leave home for a distant land for work. Their promise would be, let me go and make arrangements there and then I will take you to the place so we can be together… The Bible has numerous times expressed the relationship between God and his people as one of a spousal relationship.
John formulated this discourse to assist the believers of his community to experience the consolation of Jesus and the Father. They had lived sixty years of life without the physical presence of Jesus. John reminds them that the way to God’s consolation is the way with which they were already familiar: the way of believing, trusting, and surrendering to the love of Jesus.
It is not easy to be consoled by the Lord. Especially in bad times, we get angry with the Lord when our prayers have no immediate answers, and we refuse to let him come in and speak to us with his tenderness, closeness, and gentleness. Let us continue to hope in the consolation of God.