The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to deepen our search for truth and life as the Spirit prompts us to deeper relationship with Christ and the people we encounter on our journey.
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles is the continuation of Paul’s address in the Synagogue proclaiming about Jesus “You are my Son.”
* [13:31] The theme of the Galilean witnesses is a major one in the Gospel of Luke and in Acts and is used to signify the continuity between the teachings of Jesus and the teachings of the church and to guarantee the fidelity of the church’s teachings to the words of Jesus. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 13, n.d.)
Psalm 2 declares God’s Promise to His Anointed.
* [Psalm 2] A royal Psalm. To rebellious kings (Ps 2:1–3) God responds vigorously (Ps 2:4–6). A speaker proclaims the divine decree (in the legal adoption language of the day), making the Israelite king the earthly representative of God (Ps 2:7–9) and warning kings to obey (Ps 2:10–11). The Psalm has a messianic meaning for the Church; the New Testament understands it of Christ (Acts 4:25–27; 13:33; Heb 1:5). (Psalms, PSALM 2, n.d.)
In the Gospel of John, at the Last Supper Discourse, Jesus shares the Way to the Father.
* [14:6] The truth: in John, the divinely revealed reality of the Father manifested in the person and works of Jesus. The possession of truth confers knowledge and liberation from sin (Jn 8:32). (John, CHAPTER 14, n.d.)
Andy Alexander, S.J. comments that we are so grateful they asked that question because Jesus' answer is central to our Christian faith life. Jesus himself is the WAY! It is through Jesus we find our way to eternal life.
Just what that means deserves some serious reflection. Basically, it means living our lives not "in my way," but "his way." It means so knowing, loving and following his patterns that they become mine. It means that the more my heart becomes more like his - having his care for those who suffer, and his mercy on those who sin, and his courage in proclaiming his good news, the more easily we stay on the path of eternal life. The more we try to compromise, and do things independently from the gospel, especially with judgments and self-preserving limits on my heart's compassion and generosity, the more we stray from the path, the way to eternal life. A central part of this journey is to not let our hearts be troubled. How can we possibly let go of some of the things that trouble us? By placing our lives in his hands, and fully trusting in his promise to accompany us all the time, no matter what we suffer or find difficult. He offers us a peace nothing else can offer us. He offers us a path to self-forgetful, self-sacrificing love that looks more and more like his. It is the path - the only path - to the eternal joy for which we were each created. (Alexander, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Walk by faith in the truth,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Persevere now in walking by faith in the truth, that you may succeed in coming at a definite and due time to the sight of the same truth. For as the apostle says, 'While staying here in the body, we are away from the Lord. For we are walking by faith, not by sight' (2 Corinthians 5:6-7). We are led to the direct sight and vision of the Father by Christian faith. That is why the Lord says, 'No one comes to the Father except through me.'" (excerpt from SERMON 12.5) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 14:1-6 comments that Jesus’ words are for each one of us. He wants us to place our trust in his faithfulness, to believe in his promise of a heavenly home. We’ve seen that faithfulness in gifts of grace in times of plenty. But that trust is often hard-won through times of challenge or suffering. Each one of us has our own road to follow, and Jesus’ words can lift our hearts as we contemplate the heavenly home that awaits us. Do not let your heart be troubled. There are many dwelling places in my Father’s house.
You are making your own journey toward that place Jesus has prepared for you—every day, with every choice to love him and follow him. Each time you reaffirm your trust in the Lord, each time you turn to him in your joys or sorrows, his words can bring you hope. They can fan into flame your expectation. So do not let your heart be troubled. Jesus stands ready to lead you to the Father. “Jesus, thank you that you have prepared a place for me. Lord, help me to renew my trust in you today!” (Meditation on John 14:1-6, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler shares insights into the continuation of Paul’s discourse in synagogue and Luke’s emphasis that Christians were good Roman citizens. Jesus as Son manifests power in the Resurrection that was always present. Friar Jude reminds us of the message in John’s Gospel that the life of vitality we receive when we accept Jesus continues even if we die.
James Finley speaks of John of the Cross as a model for how the union of our souls with God in the dark night transforms our humanity.
So that’s the evidence of this [dark night]. It radicalizes, which I think is Christ consciousness in the world. It’s beyond the darkness of this world in a way that paradoxically radicalizes our presence in it to the holiness of life on life’s terms. . . . Sometimes I say to myself a little prayer in my advancing years, “God, help me to be the kind of old person young people want old people to be. Help me not just to talk like this, but help me to walk around like this and answer the phone like this and talk to my grandchildren like this.” We’re all trying to do our best here to walk the walk. [1] If we stay the course and go through this, we find our way deeper, deeper, deeper, and then we can see that at any given moment in these ways, through marital love, through parenting, through solitude, through oneness with the world, through silence, through service to community, through art, in any given moment, there can come flashing forth our unexpected proximity to this mystical dimension of union. [2] (Transformed by the Dark Night, n.d.)
As we journey with the Spirit, we are prompted to practice love, mercy, and compassion as we deepen the truth of following the Way of Life.
References
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 13. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 13, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/13?26
Alexander, A. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved May 13, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/051322.html
John, CHAPTER 14. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 13, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/14?1
Meditation on John 14:1-6. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved May 13, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/05/13/380980/
Psalms, PSALM 2. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 13, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/2?6
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Meditation on John 14:1-6. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 13, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=may13
Transformed by the Dark Night. (n.d.). Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 13, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/transformed-by-the-dark-night-2022-05-13/
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