Wednesday of Week 4 of Easter – First Reading
Commentary on Acts 12:24 – 13:5
There are three great missionary journeys of Paul described in Acts of the Apostles and today we see the beginning of the first. (Incidentally, he is still being called ‘Saul’ at this stage. The switch to ‘Paul’ is noted a few verses after the end of today’s reading—see Acts 13:9.)
Saul and Barnabas had just returned to Antioch from Jerusalem where they had brought relief supplies to the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem who were suffering from famine. Such mutual support of brothers in need is an essential element of Christian community living. This is surely what the Gospel means when Jesus tells his Apostles that, after leaving all things for him, they will find a hundredfold mothers, brothers, sisters, houses…in a true Christian community, no one will be in want.
With them they brought John Mark. Was he the young man who fled naked on the night of Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:51-52)? The writing of the second Gospel is attributed to him and he accompanied Barnabas and Saul on part of their first missionary journey.
We are also told today of a number of people in the church at Antioch described as ‘prophets’ and ‘teachers’. These two terms have very specific meanings in the New Testament and refer to particular ‘charisms’ (Greek, charis—meaning specific spiritual gifts) with which certain people were endowed. It does not identify in the group which was which, although there could be an overlap. However, these two roles are usually regarded as distinct charisms. The role of the prophet was to have a deeper insight into where God was calling the community to serve. The prophet was a visionary and a pioneer and led the way into new ways of proclaiming the Gospel.
The charism of the ‘teacher’ (Greek, didaskalos—from which the word ‘didactic’ is derived), on the other hand, was his ability to instruct others on matters of morality and doctrine—instruction usually based on the Scriptures.
The role of the teacher was to communicate the common tradition in the community. The teacher conserves and hands on. Paul, in a way, had both charisms, but was very much the prophet in the sense described. He was the great innovator, in contrast to Peter, who was the keeper of the tradition.
The five prophets and teachers here named—Barnabas, Symeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (a friend of Herod the Tetrarch) and Saul—now represent the governing body of the church of Antioch. They all seem to be Hellenistic, Greek-speaking Jews, and it is possible that the names are listed in order of importance with Barnabas at the head and Saul taking the last place. It seems he was still on probation.
It suddenly becomes clear to the community in their common prayer and fasting that God is calling Barnabas and Saul for a special evangelising work. Paul’s first missionary journey does not arise from his own initiative, but is a response to the call of the Spirit made known as the community prays and fasts. Then, as a sign of missioning, all lay their hands on the two missionaries. They are to go and preach in the name of the community which has sent them.
About the upcoming journeys of Paul and his companions, it is recommended that during the coming days one consult a map, often found in good Bibles or on many biblical websites, to follow the course of the three missionary journeys and see just where the places mentioned are to be found.
They set off by going down to Seleucia and from there to Cyprus (Barnabas came from Cyprus). Seleucia was the seaport of Antioch, 27 km (16 miles) to the west and 8 km (5 miles) upstream from the mouth of the Orontes River. There were many Jews on the island and the Gospel had already been preached there.
They landed at Salamis, a town on the east coast of the central plain of Cyprus, near present-day Famagusta. (This town is not to be confused with the more famous place in Greece where the Greeks had a notable victory over the Persians.)
The first objectives of the two missionaries are the Jewish synagogues. This will become the pattern of all the mission journeys. The idea was always to approach the Jews first on the principle that they had the first claim to hear the Gospel. It would be only after their refusal to accept the message that Paul would turn to the local Gentiles.
From today’s readings we could ask ourselves:
- To what extent do I give spiritual and material help to those in need in my community?
- Am I a teacher or a prophet in my community? Or do I have some other charism by which I contribute to the well-being of my community?
- In what ways do I spread the word of the Gospel in my immediate environment? Am I known to be a committed and caring Christian?
Tuesday of Week 4 of Easter – First Reading
Commentary on Acts 11:19-26
The results of the early persecution were to scatter the Jewish Christians to places like Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. Phoenicia was a country about 15 miles wide and 120 miles long stretching along the northeastern Mediterranean coast (corresponding to modern Lebanon). Its important cities were Tyre and Sidon, which are mentioned in the Gospels. The Phoenicians were legendary seafarers.
Cyprus is an island in the northeastern Mediterranean and was the home of Barnabas the Apostle. Antioch, on the river Orontes, was the capital of the Roman province of Syria, and the third largest city of the empire after Rome and Alexandria. It was 25 km (15 miles) inland from the northeast corner of the Mediterranean. The first mainly gentile local church was located here. In many ways, it would become the headquarters for the mission to the Gentiles, and from here, Paul (in today’s reading still called “Saul”) would launch his three missionary journeys—more about them later.
Today we have the story of the Church being founded in Antioch in Syria. Chronologically, it was an immediate sequel to the martyrdom of Stephen and the savage persecution which followed and scattered the Jerusalem Christians in many directions. However, in between these readings, we have been looking at the work of the deacon Philip and Peter’s involvement with the Gentiles. We also saw the conversion of Saul, which is presumed to have already taken place.
At first the refugees only evangelised their fellow-Jews. But then Jewish Christians from places like Cyprus and Cyrene, on the north coast of Africa, who were used to more pluralistic societies, also began to approach “Hellenists”, i.e. Greeks who were not circumcised—in other words, non-Jews. These people responded very well and many became disciples of the Lord Jesus.
They used the term “Lord” Jesus rather than “Christ”, which was a title more suited to Jewish audiences with messianic expectations. With the non-Jews, Jesus was more usually called “Lord”. He is “Lord” because, elevated to God’s right hand, he now rules over the Kingdom which he inaugurated:
The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord.
This showed God’s approval and blessing on their work, sometimes indicated by signs and wonders. It was the beginning of the ‘church’ at Antioch, one of many ‘churches’ to be set up in the following years.
When all this came to the ears of the people in Jerusalem, who were still thinking primarily in terms of Christians only as Jews, they sent Barnabas to investigate. Jerusalem, where the Apostles were centred, had a right of supervision over other churches. And so, the sending of Barnabas was in keeping with Jerusalem’s policy of sending leaders to check on new ministries coming to their attention. As a Hellenistic Jew from Cyprus, Barnabas was an obvious choice for this mission.
It is clear that Barnabas was very happy with what he found:
When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast devotion…
He saw clearly that the gentile converts were very genuine, and encouraged the local church to continue what it was doing. About Barnabas, Luke comments in Acts:
…he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.
Similar words had also been used to describe Stephen.
Then, Barnabas went off to Tarsus, a city in the province of Cilicia, in what is now the southeastern corner of Turkey, and brought Saul back to Antioch. Saul had been forced to return to Tarsus after his conversion because the Christians would not believe in its genuineness. They believed he was simply trying to infiltrate the Christian communities with the intention of destroying them. In Antioch, this resulted in even greater numbers joining the church community under the leadership and formation of Saul and Barnabas, who stayed on for a whole year in the city.
Once again we see innovation and new ground coming from the fringe rather than from the centre and how, after discernment, it is seen to be a valid development. In our Church today, it is still the fringe which pioneers, while the role of Rome is to consolidate.
It is also an example of the phrase: “The world writes the agenda for the Church.” It was the influence of a local situation which led to the new insights that were seen as a valid development of the Christian vision.
It was here, too, we are told that the “disciples”, that is, the followers of Jesus’ Way, were first given the nickname “Christians”. This also indicates that those who first coined the term took ‘Christ’ to be a personal name rather than a title. It is not certain whether the followers adopted the name themselves, or whether it was used by enemies as a term of contempt.
In either case, it is a fitting title for those who attach themselves to Jesus and his Way, and we too should be proud of this nickname. It is not something we should hide, nor is it a name that we should dishonour by our behaviour—and still less wear lightly.
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Monday of Week 4 of Easter – Gospel
Commentary on John 10:11-18
Jesus gives two images of himself connected with sheep. Earlier in this chapter, he calls himself “the ‘Gate’ for the sheep.” Only true shepherds pass through this Gate to reach the sheep. In today’s passage, he speaks of the second image, identifying himself solemnly as the true Shepherd of his people:
I am the good shepherd.
This is the third ‘I AM’ statement. Jesus’ assertion that he is the Good Shepherd is tantamount to identifying himself as the Messiah.
Of course, the image of God as shepherd of his people is found many times in the Old Testament. For instance, in the much-loved Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd…” or in Ezekiel 34 where God speaks of himself as the shepherd of his people.
Jesus now takes that role on himself. He is the “good” shepherd because he is willing to lay down his life for his sheep. In this he is totally unlike a hired hand who, at the first sight of danger (such as the appearance of a wolf or robbers) will abandon the sheep. He is only being paid to do the job and has no personal commitment to the sheep. It seems that some of the religious leaders are having a finger pointed at them here. They are more interested in the literal observance of the Law than in the spiritual well-being of the people.
Jesus, on the other hand, is a good shepherd:
I know my own, and my own know me…And I lay down my life for the sheep.
His death on the cross is the clear proof of that. This is what makes him stand out from other ‘shepherds’. And the ‘knowledge’ here is not mere acquaintance or recognition, but a deep mutual understanding of each other. A knowledge that is the fruit of experience and an intimate personal contact leading to love.
But not all sheep belong to Jesus’ flock and it is his deep desire that they too should belong to his fold. This, first of all, points to the Gentiles who were not yet among God’s people. For us today, it points to all those who have not yet come to know the Way of Christ as pointing to life.
Jesus’ goal is that there be “one flock and one shepherd”. It should be the dream of all Christians too. The Father loves Jesus because of his readiness to die for his sheep. But Jesus’ death is his own free choice, an act of pure love for his sheep. He has the power to lay down his life and to take it up again. Our Shepherd will die, but will rise again in glory to take his sheep with him to the life that will never end.
But though Jesus the Good Shepherd will die for his sheep, he does so in perfect freedom. This is what gives his sacrifice such value. He willingly surrenders his life into the hands of his Father, and in doing so, guarantees his presence with his sheep for all time and in every place.
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Monday of Week 4 of Easter – Gospel
Commentary on John 10:1-10
The Vatican II Missal offers us a description of shepherding that is relevant to today’s Gospel:
“Two kinds of sheepfolds or corrals are mentioned in today’s reading. In the common town sheepfold, the shepherd makes his special call and his sheep follow him out confidently. Out on the range, however, a “gatekeeper” sleeps across the corral opening: his body is the protecting door. So we live, pray and are saved through Jesus our Good Shepherd.”
We now jump from chapter 7 to chapter 10, omitting the whole episode linked with Jesus as the Light of the World and the dramatic healing of the man born blind, texts which we reflected on during Lent in relation to baptism. We begin today to consider two images that Jesus gives of himself: the first is that of a gate and the second that of a shepherd.
We have to imagine a “sheepfold” as an area surrounded by walls or wooden fencing but open to the sky, and with only one entrance. The walls kept the sheep from wandering and protected them from wild animals at night. Only a genuine shepherd enters the sheepfold through the single gate. Thieves and brigands will try to enter by another way, such as by climbing over the walls or breaking through the fence.
All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep did not listen to them.
Jesus is referring to all the ‘false shepherds’, including some of the Pharisees and religious leaders of his time who are quite unlike the true prophets of the past.
However, The real shepherd enters by the gate and is recognised and admitted by the “gatekeeper” (the one mentioned above who sleeps across the entrance). There are many sheep in the sheepfold belonging to different shepherds so the shepherd calls his own sheep out one by one. He then walks ahead of them and they follow their shepherd because they know his voice. They never follow strangers. (This is quite different from the European or Australian custom where the sheep are driven from behind.)
We are told that his hearers failed to understand the meaning of what Jesus said. They failed to realise that the parable applied particularly to the religious leaders.
So he spoke more clearly:
Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.
Here we have the second of the seven ‘I AM’ (ego eimi) statements made by Jesus in this Gospel. Again Jesus points to his divine origin by using the name of God which was given to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14).
In contrast to the ‘false shepherds’ mentioned earlier, Jesus, as the Gate and the Way, has come:
…that they may have life and have it abundantly.
This is a constant theme we have heard many times already, especially in chapter 6, about Jesus as the food and nourishment giving us life.
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Tuesday of Week 4 of Easter – Gospel
Commentary on John 10:22-30
We continue the image of Jesus as the Shepherd. “It was winter” and the scene is Solomon’s portico on the east side of the Temple during the winter festival of Dedication or Hanukkah. This feast is the commemoration of the dedication of the Temple by Judas Maccabeus in December, 165 BC after it had been desecrated by the Syrian King Antiochus Epiphanes. It was the last great act of liberation which the Jews had experienced.
We are told that Jesus was walking in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. This was a roofed-in structure not unlike the ‘stoa’ of the Greeks. It was commonly believed to date back to the time of Solomon (who built the original Temple), but this was not the case.
Again Jesus is questioned very directly by “the Jews” about his true identity:
How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah tell us plainly.
The question clearly indicates that temple authorities had understood the meaning behind many of the things Jesus said and did. On the other hand, it was not a question that could simply be answered with a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ because of the many divergent ideas and expectations concerning the Messiah which were current at the time. And certainly none of these ideas corresponded to the kind of Messiah that Jesus would turn out to be.
Once again Jesus says that he has already told them, but they refuse to believe. Previous statements made it clear that he spoke as one with a mission from God. Perhaps he had not explicitly said he was the Messiah (except to the Samaritan woman), but it should have been clear either from his statements or from the evidence of his whole way of life, including the signs he had given—all clearly done in his Father’s name.
The works he has done are a consistent testimony of his true origins:
… but you do not believe because you do not belong to my sheep.
He then lists the characteristics of true sheep or followers:
My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.
And, as we have said elsewhere, to “hear” in the Gospel means:
- to listen
- to understand
- to assimilate fully into one’s own thinking
- to carry out what one hears.
To these disciples, he gives:
…eternal life, and they will never perish.
The security of the sheep is in the power of the Shepherd, and no one will snatch them from his hand. And that is because they have been given to him by the Father, whose power is greater than any enemy.
Finally, in a clear and unequivocal answer to their original challenge, he tells his questioners:
The Father and I are one.*
The power that the Son has is the same as the Father’s. This is not an unequivocal statement of divinity, but points in that direction. And Jesus’ listeners hear it in that way.
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*Significantly the Greek text actually translates to “one thing”, i.e. neuter gender, and does not say “one person”. The Father and Son, with the Holy Spirit, are one in essence or nature (i.e. ‘consubstantial’, as we now say in the Nicene Creed), but distinct as Persons.
Wednesday of Week 4 of Easter – Gospel
Commentary on John 12:44-50
Today we come to the end of what is called the “Book of Signs” (chaps 1-12) of John’s Gospel. Through these signs—seven of them—Jesus clearly indicates who he is and what his mission is.
Today’s passage is a recapitulation of all that has been said in the “Book of Signs.” The text says that Jesus “cried aloud” and spoke. This gives extra emphasis to what Jesus is proclaiming. It is once again a call to believe in Jesus where ‘believing in’ means much more than mere acceptance of the truth of his words. It implies that there is also a personal commitment to Jesus and to his mission.
And to believe in Jesus is also to believe, to surrender oneself entirely, to the One who sent him—the Father. All through this Gospel Jesus emphasises the inseparability of the Father and the Son.
I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness.
This phrase implies Jesus’ pre-existence as the Eternal Word as well as indicating that he came with a mission—to bring light into darkness.
To put one’s faith in Jesus is to put one’s faith in God the Father, from whom he comes. And whoever really has insight into Jesus knows that he is in touch with God himself. As he has said before, Jesus is a light taking away the darkness with which we are surrounded. He also spells out more clearly than before what happens if we reject him and prefer darkness to light:
I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world but to save the world.
Jesus has come to bring salvation, to bring wholeness to the world and not to condemn it. But, he says:
The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge…
The sun’s role is to give light, but when there are obstacles to that light we get shadows. That is not the sun’s doing. Jesus, too, is the Light of the world. But, because of certain behaviour on our part, there are shadows and even darkness.
The ‘word’ of Jesus is a challenge. It offers us a way of living and of inter-relating with God, with others and with ourselves. If we choose another way we have only ourselves to blame when our lives go downhill. But Jesus is always there to lift us up. We only need to stretch out our hand and he will take it into his own.
Jesus tells us that his Father’s commands—which he also observes—mean eternal life. Everything that Jesus did was the carrying out of his Father’s will. We are called to follow the same path. If only we could realise that to follow Jesus is not to fit ourselves into a straitjacket, but is a way to total freedom.
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Thursday of Week 4 of Easter – First Reading
Commentary on Acts 13:13-25
Paul and Barnabas continue their first missionary journey. From Paphos on the north coast of Cyprus, they set off for Perga, the capital of the province of Pamphylia. Pamphylia was a coastal province in Asia Minor, between provinces of Lydia and Cilicia on the south coast of modern Turkey. It was 8 km (5 miles) inland, and 20 km (12 miles) east of the important seaport of Attalia.
At this point, John Mark (the cousin of Barnabas), who had originally been one of the party, returned to Jerusalem, from where they had originally brought him. Later, this will lead to a dispute between Saul and Barnabas. Why did John Mark turn back? Various suggestions have been made, though none of them are certain:
- homesickness for Jerusalem;
- an illness of Paul which forced Paul to change his plans and go to Galatia;
- a change in leadership from Barnabas to Paul;
- or simply an inability to get on with Paul.
Later, Paul will express his dissatisfaction with John Mark’s behaviour.
Paul and Barnabas (and note that from now on Paul’s name is listed first) do not seem to have stopped long in Perga, but continued on to Antioch in the province of Pisidia (not to be confused with the Antioch in Syria where they had begun their missionary journey).
Pisidia was a district about 200 km (120 miles) long and 80 km (50 miles) wide, north of Pamphylia. Bandits were known to frequent the region. Antioch, its capital, had been named after Antiochus, king of Syria, following the death of Alexander the Great. It was about 185 km (110 miles) from Perga, and was at the crossroads of busy trading routes. The city had a large Jewish population. It was a Roman colony, which meant that a contingent of retired military men also settled there. They were given free land and made citizens of the city of Rome, with all the accompanying privileges.
As usual, on arriving in Antioch, the two missionaries went to the local synagogue on the Sabbath. We saw yesterday Paul’s reasons for doing this. At the same time, he was not neglecting his mission to the Gentiles, because Gentiles who believed in the God of the Jews were often among his audience. It was obvious, too, that the synagogue provided a ready-made starting point with a building, regular meetings and people who were familiar with the Scriptures.
After the reading of the Scriptures, as was the custom, they were invited by the synagogue officials to speak to the assembly (remember too how Jesus was invited to preach in the synagogue). It was the responsibility of these officials to call on readers and preachers, to arrange the service and maintain order. As a rabbi and leading Pharisee, it was natural for Paul to be invited to give a homily. This gave Paul the opportunity to give an outline of Jewish salvation history, and to show that Jesus was the expected and promised saviour of Israel.
As he goes through the great events of the Old Testament, Paul shows how it was all part of God’s plans for his people. This discourse is typical of Paul’s preaching to a Jewish assembly. It falls into two parts, of which we have the first part in today’s reading (ending with v25). It gives a summary of the history of salvation with an appendix recalling John the Baptist’s testimony.
Today’s reading ends halfway through Paul’s speech quoting John the Baptist who said:
…one is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the strap of the sandals on his feet.
We will have the rest of the discourse in tomorrow’s reading.
It might be very profitable for each one us to look back over our own lives and see how God’s providence has been at work at various key points. Some of these experiences will bring back happy memories—others may be more painful. Nevertheless, God was present at those times and leading us on to something higher. How did we respond? And now that we are where we are in the present time, where is God leading us at this stage of our life?
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Thursday of Week 4 of Easter – Gospel
Commentary on John 13:16-20
Today we begin the second part of John’s Gospel, sometimes known as the “Book of Glory” (chaps 13-20), covering Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection. Today’s passage immediately follows on Jesus’ washing of his disciples’ feet.
It is in that context that he says,
Very truly, I tell you, slaves are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them.
With these words Jesus clearly urges his followers to serve each other in the same way that he, their Lord and Master, served them by the symbolic act of washing their feet. This was an act only done by slaves in a household.
Jesus has given service to others a dignity which is totally independent of the status that society confers on people, dividing them into served and server. Jesus’ whole raison d’être for being among us was to serve. He tells his disciples:
If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
It is a truth which many of us—clergy, religious and laity—do not always find it easy to practise consistently.
It would not be quite right to see Jesus washing his disciples’ feet as a humbling of himself. Service in the Gospel is primarily love in action. Love (Greek, agape) is the desire for the well-being of the other. That love is actualised by service—acts of brothers and sisters to and for each other. Status or position does not enter into it.
At the same time, Jesus gives the first warning that there is one among them to whom these words will not apply. It is to prepare them for the prediction about his betrayal by one of the group:
The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.
To share bread together was a mark of close fellowship, and that is a primary meaning of the Eucharist, which is a “breaking of bread” among the members of a close community. To ‘lift up the heel’ may refer to a horse kicking, or to the shaking off of dust from one’s feet as a sign of rejection.
Far from being shocked and disturbed by what is going to happen, they should be aware that everything that Jesus willingly undergoes in coming days is clear proof of his divine origin:
I tell you this now, before it occurs, so that when it does occur you may believe that I am he.
Here is another ‘I AM’ statement acknowledging that he is one with his Father.
What is going to happen to Jesus is the ultimate act of service to his brothers and sisters. It is the greatest love that can be shown. Now his disciples are being asked to hold on to Jesus’ identity as one with the Father even when they see him die in shame and disgrace on the cross. But in fact, their faith will be deeply shaken and will not be confirmed until after Pentecost.
Finally, anyone who accepts a disciple or messenger of Jesus, accepts both Jesus himself and the Father who sent him. There is a clear line of unity emanating from the Father going through the Son and passing through the disciples to others. There is just one mission—to bring about the Kingdom, the Reign of God in the world. This acceptance is done by our sharing fully in Jesus’ own attitude of selfless service, which for him extended even to the giving of his life.
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Friday of Week 4 of Easter – First Reading
Commentary on Acts 13:26-33
Paul continues his discourse on salvation history and on how Jesus was handed over by the leaders of his people into the hands of the Romans and executed. He addresses his words both to the Jews in his audience (“descendants of Abraham’s family”) and the gentile converts (“others who fear God”).
Paul makes it clear that the Jerusalem leaders and the people in the city failed to recognise the true identity of Jesus as the expected Messiah. However, he does not in any way implicate his hearers.
In doing what they did, Jerusalem was only fulfilling the well-known words of the Old Testament prophets—prophets whose readings were heard every Sabbath in the synagogue, and hence with which his hearers would be familiar. And, by handing over an innocent man unjustly into the hands of Pilate, they were simply accomplishing everything about Jesus that had been written in those same ancient readings.
But it was not the end:
…God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem and they are now his witnesses to the people.
According to Luke’s account, Jesus appeared to his disciples for 40 days. Paul and his companions now are proclaiming this good news of what God has done for his people through Jesus Christ. He emphasises that it is all the expected fulfilment of everything that was prophesied.
Jesus is no upstart. He is the expected climax to the history of God’s people. Paul quotes from the Psalm:
You are my Son;
today I have begotten you. (Ps 2:7)
The words clearly are pointing to Jesus as God’s Son. By his resurrection, Christ was enthroned as Messiah, and from then on his human nature enjoyed all the privileges of the Son of God. Paul’s words are an unambiguous invitation to the Jews of Antioch to become believers and disciples. Let us, too, renew our commitment to following with all our heart and soul in the steps of the dying and rising Jesus.
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Friday of Week 4 of Easter – Gospel
Commentary on John 14:1-6
We begin today the long discourse, covering four chapters (14-17) of John, in which Jesus at the Last Supper says farewell and gives his final instructions to his disciples. Although it is, on the face of it, spoken in anticipation of what is going to happen, the discourse clearly applies to the fears and anxieties of the post-resurrection community coping without the direct leadership of Jesus, and often harassed by both Jews and Gentiles alike.
The passage begins with Jesus telling his disciples to “not let your hearts be troubled”. The immediate reason is the great threat that hangs over Jesus and his warnings to them of what is going to happen to him. The disciples are disturbed by the predictions of betrayal, of Jesus leaving them and of the denial by Peter.
But Jesus’ words are also applicable to all those who, because of their following of Jesus, fall under threat of persecution or harassment. In face of these warnings, Jesus tells them to have faith in him and in his Father. Faith here means a deep trust that Jesus will take care of them and give them the strength to face any difficulties:
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places…if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.
Jesus is about to leave his disciples, but he will be back soon and take them to the place which has been specially prepared for them. He will return very soon after his resurrection, although in a very different way, and he will come at the end of time to take them to himself forever. And not to worry, there is plenty of room for everyone. In the end, we will be where he is and that is the only goal of our lives that matters.
And then he says,
And you know the way to the place where I am going.
They, and we, certainly ought to know the way, but we are glad that Thomas, characterised in the Gospel by his blunt speaking, asked his question which drew forth a famous answer. Says Thomas:
Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?
To which Jesus replied:
I am the way and the truth and the life.
Jesus does not only tell us where to go. He is himself the Way (Greek, hodos).
And Jesus is not a way, but the Way. This is not to be understood in a narrow sectarian sense. The way of life that Jesus proposes is not just for a particular group of people—it is a way of life for every single person to follow. The heart of that Way is an unconditional love which sees every other person as a brother or sister, and a love which gives itself unceasingly in service.
If we want to know where our lives, where any life, should be going, all we need to do is to identify ourselves totally with the attitudes, the values and the goals of life that Jesus lays down for us. And, as the Way, he is Truth and Life. Jesus is Truth not just because the things he says are true. His whole life, everything he says and does, all his relationships, have the ring of truth and integrity.
And, of course, he is Life. When we unconditionally decide to walk his Way, we, here and now, begin to live in the fullest manner possible. Thank you, Thomas, for asking that question. All we need now is to make the answer the centre of our living.
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