Friday Reflection

Daily Gospel Reflection May 8^th 2020

Gospel                                                   JN 14:1-6

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.”

Dear Friends and Family,

            There are a couple of fascinating promises in today’s Gospel.  Jesus says, “I am going to prepare a place for you.”  He is talking about our heavenly home that he is going to get ready for us.  “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” So, Jesus promises us that there is a place for each one of us.  As of late I have started to watch a reality show called Maine Cabin Masters.  It’s a show about a construction crew that goes into rundown cabins in Maine and fixes them up for their owners.  The transformations that take place are amazing.  Our lives are like this.  Jesus takes what we give him and he transforms it, restores it, and makes it new again.  As the owners return they are stunned by the restoration and they celebrate their new place.  Isn’t that what Jesus is promising us at every Mass?  We give him our simple gifts of bread and wine, as well as the gifts of our lives and he transforms what we give into something great, something to celebrate.

            Then the disciples state that they don’t know the way.  Jesus’ response comes in three parts; he is the way, the truth, and the life.  The way is what we are all longing for in this time of pandemic.  We want to know what is next and nobody has a good answer.  Jesus steps into our emotional and psychological struggles and simply says, “I am the way.”  We surrender our uncertainty to him.  We follow Jesus to the home he is preparing for us.  We may be frustrated by all the voices around us that tell us to worry, or they tell us not to worry. This lack of trust or faith in the voices shackles us and we don’t know what to do. We know they mean well but we long for the simple truth.  Jesus steps into this chaos and says, “I am the truth.”  We will not be lead astray by his Word and his word will always set us free and give a direction to follow.  Then he shares the most comforting phrase, “I am the life.”  This pandemic has threatened our lives and the lives of those we love.  We have taken extraordinary steps to protect ourselves and it may still not be enough.  Jesus steps into our uncertainty and gives us hope that come what may we will find life in him, in this life and in the next.  Today we claim these promises for ourselves and accept the peace that comes with them.