Word to the Wise
Friday, April 30, 2021 - 4th Week of Easter - Fri
[Acts 13:26-33 and John 14:1-6,357]"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 gospel scriptures for daily Mass for the next few days will be taken from what scripture scholars call "the Farewell Discourse" at the Last Supper. It encompasses four complete chapters and it defies efforts to systematically organize it! The evangelist seems to have used various statements from the traditions he had and has placed them all in this one discourse. The overarching purpose of the discourse is to prepare the disciples at the Last Supper (and subsequent disciples) for Jesus' "hour" in which he would be "lifted up" and "glorified." Today's passage contains two sayings that have attracted the attention of the faithful over the centuries.
The first saying is: "In my Father's house there are many mansions." If nothing else, this statement has been the source of much humor about what kind of "mansion" would be waiting for a particular person. Jesus, however, is trying to strengthen the hope of the disciples beyond present events and move them toward eternal life now and beyond the grave.
The second saying is probably more prominent, especially in some currents of "evangelical Christianity: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." This statement has been unfortunately interpreted to mean that only Christians are "saved." And in some Catholic circles it means only "Catholic Christians" will be saved! This is not the teaching of the church. Indeed, the Gospel According to John reminds us that God "so loved the world that he sent his only-begotten Son." Christian faith cannot exclude from God's providence those who, by no fault of their own, do not embrace Christianity. Nevertheless, we who are Christians have the baptismal call to share our faith and invite others to be a part of the fullness of life and revelation in Jesus Christ. The eternal destiny of non-Christians is not ours to determine. Like all pilgrims, we can show what the journey means to us and invite others to join us on the "Way." AMEN