The Farewell Discourse (1)

5^th Sunday of Easter (A); May 7, 2023

Acts 6:1-7.  Ps 33.  1 Pt 2:4-9.  Jn 14:1-12

Deacon Jim McFadden

            In the Gospel  passage (Jn 14:1-12) for this weekend we hear the beginning of Jesus’ “Farewell discourse”  on the night of the Last Supper, just before facing the Passion.  In such a dramatic moment Jesus is concerned about his disciples as he begins by saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled” (v. 1).  But how can we ensure that our hearts are not troubled when there’s just so much to be worried about?  Practically speaking, our heart does become troubled as we have to process so much conflict personally, relationally, politically, economically, and socially.  I don’t want my heart to be troubled, but it is.

            Our Lord Jesus indicates to remedies for being troubled.  The first is straightforward: “Believe in me” (v.1).  Jesus wants to cut to the nitty-gritty: as life unfolds, comes to us in a way we can’t control, the worst anxiety, anguish, and confusion arises from the sense of not being able to cope, of feeling overwhelmed, of feeling alone, of “having no direction home” as Bob Dylan once put it.   Jesus knows that we cannot overcome our anguish alone, especially when one difficulty is added to another; indeed, there’s only so much psychological trauma that a soul can endure by itself.  We need Jesus’ help, which is why Jesus asks us to have faith in him, that is, to lean not on ourselves as we strive to fix the messiness of our lives, but to surrender to him.  This is an extraordinary invitation: we can understand having Faith in God, but having faith in a human being, Jesus of Nazareth purported to be the Messiah, cuts right to the heart of our Christian faith: Jesus conflates Faith in God with Faith in Himself: they’re parallel because they both point to the Godhead: Jesus is consubstantial with the Father.

            The upshot is that liberation from being troubled depends upon entrusting ourselves wholly and completely to Jesus.  This leap of Faith, this act of surrender is liberation from being troubled.  Jesus is risen and he lives among us precisely to be by our side no matter what we are experiencing.  That’s why we can say to Jesus in the here and now: “Jesus, I believe that you rose again and I experience your presence; I know that you are beside me.  I believe that you know me by my name and that you listen to me when I cry out to you.  I bring to you what upsets me, my troubles; I have faith in you, which is why I entrust myself to you.”

            There is a second remedy for being troubled, which Jesus expresses with these reassuring words: “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places…I am going there to prepare a place for you” (v. 2). Jesus is always thinking and advocating for our good.  This is what Jesus did for us: he reserved a place in Heaven for us.  He’s made our reservation in the heavenly banquet.  Our place is waiting for us!  This is why he took our humanity upon himself.  God does not need anything because he is Perfect.  So, the Word became Flesh not because he had to, but because he wanted to carry us beyond sin and death, to a new dimension, to Heaven, so that we may be where he is together with his Father and Holy Spirit.  It’s the certainty that what God promises he does (cf. Ez 37:14d) that comforts us: there is a place reserved for each of us.  Each one of us can say with faith and conviction: there is a place for me in Heaven because Jesus made that promise. I no longer wander about aimlessly, but my life has purpose and meaning; my life has a destination.  We are being awaited by the Triune God,  our Blessed Mother Mary, the Communion of Saints, and the choirs of angels.  We are precious.  God is in love with us; indeed, he delights in us (cf. Zep 3:17b).  We are his children.  When we stay with that, our heart will soften and no longer be troubled because we know that forever we will be participating in the Love of the Trinity: we will be in full communion with God and others, without any more tears, without resentment, without division or turmoil.

            But, how can we reach heaven?  What is the way?   Here is Jesus’ decisive, unequivocable,  and uncompromising phrase.  He says to us today in 2023, “I am the Way” (v. 6).  We so familiar with this phrase that we can miss just how strange and unique this claim is.   There are many religions that offer a way to liberation or enlightenment.  But, Jesus is not presenting a way, but he is presenting himself as THE  way home to our destiny.  For any other person to make this exclusive claim would simply be weird.  And, this core assertion is what distinguishes Jesus from founders of other religions; indeed, it is this uniquely distinctive characteristic which Christianity emerges.

            Jesus is the Way because he is the only Person who has two natures: divine and human.  He is God in the Flesh which is why he is the Way to heaven, he is the Narrow Gate, and there is  no parallel or alternative paths to reach Heaven.    By having a living relationship with Jesus, to imitate and participate in his love, to follow his footsteps moves us inexorably to our destination.

So, as a disciple of Jesus, we need to ask ourselves, “Am I following his Way or am I on another path, the way of worldliness, the way of self-absorption, the way of egoic dominative power?  It’s an either-or choice; there is no in-between.  The Way of Jesus is the only way to reach Heaven: it is the way of humble love, of service, of prayer, of meekness, of trusting surrender.  It is not the way of self-centeredness.  It is the Way of Jesus, who is the center of my life, which means that my life is not longer about me, but is about Jesus; he is in control.  Given that, we go forth every day asking him: “What do you think of the choices I have made today?  What would you have done in this situation with these people who have come into my life?”  It will do us a lot of good to ask these questions to Jesus, who is the Way home.  And, we have a wonderful ally in our Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of the Church, who can help us to follow the way of her Son who has opened Heaven for us. 

            Circling back to the beginning of our reflection, this is why our hearts need not be troubled.  Amen.