The Gospel of John 14:1-14 Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And 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. And you know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, 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. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.”
Let us Pray The C ollect for The Fifth Sunday of Easter: God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Let us Pray: O God, You inspire the hearts of the faithful with a single longing, Grant your people to love what you command And to desire what you promise, So that in all the changes and chances Of this uncertain world, Our hearts may surely there be fixed Where true joys are to be found; Through Jesus Christ who is alive with you, In the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God, now and for ever. Amen.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.”
This is not a command to suppress emotion. It is a call to anchor themselves in Him when everything else feels uncertain. We can use that same advice today: Do not let your hearts be troubled. A lot easier said than done when there are loved ones facing challenges of war every day, when there are those who have no place to call home, and there are those who go hungry, Don’t you think their hearts are not troubled? The world chaos causes us to be troubled, it is so difficult not to when we see what is happening to our world, it causes us to worry and our hearts to become extremely troubled. As we read or listen to this scripture and what Jesus is telling His disciples isn’t a lot different from today. The disciple’s world is about to be rattled, Jesus is crucified and is dead, they have lost their teacher, their grounding and they themselves are lost. Then comes Sunday, they find he has risen, another rattle in their existence, but they soon learn that He is there for them and for all of us. We have to be like those disciples, we may be rattled at the chaos in the world, so we have to remember those words: “Do Not let your hearts be troubled” Easy words but hard reality. How do we face that hard reality? For the disciples to at least have spent time with Jesus it was a little easier for them for they had listened and seen what he could do. For us today it is true faith that leads us and guides us each day. But then at this point Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have not I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Is this our problem also, we have had Jesus with us, but do we know Him? We know of him, but do we truly know him. If we did, we would be making sure that the hungry people were fed and clothed. We would be helping those who are less fortunate. So has the belief that Jesus has not abandoned us is what has brought us to this point. Through all those twists and turns, the many challenges, the struggles, the chaos, and the surprises? In answering that question, we will find it is our faith that has brought us here. The faith that God loves us and is guiding us through every day. Remember you are a child of light, don’t be afraid as you are born to live a story that never ends. A story that Jesus told to the disciples that he was going to the Father to prepare a place for them. He not only prepared a place for them, He prepared a place for us. As we go forth into the world with the knowledge that knowing God through His Son Jesus will give us the strength to face uncertainty in our lives and to know that the promise Jesus left with us will provide us solace and comfort as we mourn those we have lost and to give us hope as we do the work of Jesus our Lord and Savior.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me”.
Let us pray: God our Father, You have revealed your love for us In the death and Resurrection of Jesus your Son. Increase our love for one another. That we may be your disciples in name and in truth. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen
Reflections by Bob 