Word to the Wise
Friday, April 27, 2018 - 4th Week of Easter - Fri
[Acts 13:26-33 and John 14:1-6]"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way." Thomas said to him, "Master, 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." [John]
The Farewell Discourse is not a logical piece of work but more like a collage of themes and thoughts that the evangelist has joined together to instruct the reader (who would be a present disciple) about the meaning of the death and resurrection of Jesus. The setting is the Last Supper, but the purpose is instruction. The material seems to be taken from various pieces of material that the evangelist had from sources about Jesus' sayings. The result is a kind of collage that spirals toward the events that will follow. Some of the principal themes are present in today's segment.
A major theme, one that has been present throughout the gospel, appears here. Jesus has come from God and is returning to God, and will return on the "last day." There is also the statement-misunderstanding-teaching sequence in which shows up when Jesus says, "Where I am going you know the way." Thomas misunderstands and thinks of the statement geographically. Jesus tells him that the "way" is Jesus himself. I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. This statement has unfortunately been used by some Christians to consign all non-Christians to eternal condemnation. Others have used it to mean that Jesus is speaking only about Christians and that he is just one "way" among many others. Neither interpretation represents the understanding of our Church. Jesus makes it possible for all to be saved but not all will know him or believe in him personally for many reasons that are not a matter of blame. (Cf. the Second Vatican Council document on non-Christian religions).
The words of Jesus are meant not as a confrontation or judgment but as a comfort to the bewildered disciples at the table. They are meant that way to us as well, even if the way the gospel presents them can leave us a bit puzzled. We don't have the evangelist present to question about the way he organized his material. We simply join the disciples on the journey. AMEN