Fifth Sunday of Easter Year A

Gospel Reading: John 14: 1-12

1 Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God still, and trust in me.

2 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

3 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.

4 You know the way to the place where I am going."

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

6 Jesus said: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

7 If you know me, you know my Father too. From this moment you know him and have seen him."

8 Philip said, "Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied."

9 "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'?

10 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.

11 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.

12 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."

Meditation

On the 5th and 6th Sundays of Easter time, it is traditional to read extracts from the long discourse which St John tells us Jesus had with his apostles at the Last Supper, and which he recounts from chapter 13, verse 31 to the end of chapter 17.

This is a very deep teaching of Jesus, and therefore you must make a real effort to discover that it is also down-to-earth, to be experienced by us personally.

It is useful to remember that the teaching was given on a specific occasion: Jesus was facing a great crisis in his own life and in the life of the little community he had founded. In your meditation, remember a similar moment in your own life, or in the life of your community, or in the history of a country or even a civilization.

Who was Jesus in that situation, speaking as Jesus did in these passages? Looking back on those experiences, what words of Jesus can you see were fulfilled?

This Sunday's passage is rather long, and you must divide it up so that you can meditate on one section at a time.

Verses 1 to 3 :Jesus sees himself at this point in his life as having to make a painful journey alone. He knows that as a result of this journey he will go to a beautiful place, with plenty of space so there is freedom for all. Because of his journey, he will be able to lead his followers to that place as well. Recognize that moment is the life of every person, the Church, any great movement of history.

Verses 4 to 6 : Thomas is struggling with the desire, which is in all of us, to know exactly the destination before we set out. Jesus invites him to make an act of faith and to take one step at a time.

Verses 7 to 11 : Philip too must make a journey which we can recognize. He wants to experience God directly. Jesus shows him that he has been experiencing God all the time by involving himself in the works which Jesus has been doing.

Verse 12 : Jesus sees himself on a journey to the Father, trusting that the work will continue because it is not his but the Father's.

Prayer 

Lord, there was a time when the teaching of Jesus meant nothing to us.

We were drifting, we could not accept the values which had guided us in the past.

Then one day, almost miraculously, we knew you were with us again.

It was like coming home; in fact, we felt an inner freedom and security such as we had never known before.

Looking back on that journey, we see that our hearts need not have been troubled;

you had left us on our own for a while, but only to prepare this wonderful place for us to be.

Lord, as parents, teachers, community leaders, preachers of the gospel we try to guide our charges along a road we have not traveled ourselves.

That is not the way of Jesus.

Teach us that we must make our own journey, painful though that may be; only then can we come back and share it with others, so that where we are they also may be.

Lord, we pray today for those who are facing death or some terrible crisis.

We pray that their hearts may not be troubled.

They are making a lonely journey, but you will come back and take them where they can be at home with you forever.

Lord, we are at a crossroads in life, and before we set out we would like to know where you are leading us.

Help us to give ourselves to the present moment, trusting that if we enter into the truth of our situation, it will lead us to life.

Lord, we remember when we tried to meet you directly, remaining alone, withdrawing from others.

We thank you that you sent us a teacher who invited us to become involved in working with the poor;

in building communities;

in caring for those who are neglected by society.

Then to our surprise we found that you were working with us and that we were in your presence.

Lord, we pray for those who have started great projects here in our country and in the world.

They are often anxious about what will happen when they move on.

Remind them that they are not alone, that they are part of humanity making its way to you.

There will be followers who will do the same work and will perform even greater works.