Word to the Wise
Sunday, May 10, 2020 - 5th Sunday of Easter - A
[Acts 6:1-7; 1 Pet 2:4-9; John 14:1-12]"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." [John]
I took a quick look in my dictionary to see how we English-speakers use the word, "place." There were twenty-three definitions!!! Sometimes we mean an area of space. Sometimes we mean a relationship, just to name two common usages. Catholic humor swarms with jokes about the translation that uses the word "mansion" instead of "place." The human imagination is capable of outlandish speculation about the afterlife. If it is true that we are creatures of time and space, it is also true that we are creatures of relationship. The evangelist uses the Greek word "topos" (from which we get "topography") which has some of the same meanings we give to it. The response that Jesus gives to Thomas really reveals what he means by "place." Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. :"Place" is a person in this dialogue.
One of the ways we use the word "place" is to express our relationship to someone. We say "He/she has an important place in my life." Faith in Jesus as the one whom God has sent gives us a place in Jesus' life and in his Father's life. Thus, eternal life begins with faith. Our place is assured if we have faith but faith also means that we act in accord with Jesus' own mission which he has given to us. All of Christian life follows from this fundamental idea. AMEN