Daily Gospel Reflection
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April 26, 2024
Jesus said to his disciples:
“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.”
When I was studying theology, I had a classmate who would often jokingly say, “Is that supposed to be comforting?” When I read Jesus’ opening phrase, “Do not let your hearts be troubled,” in today’s gospel reading, I hear my classmate’s voice: “Is that supposed to be comforting?”
I often feel overwhelmed when I consider what might be troubling my heart. I think about friends with severe mental or physical illness, family members who have passed away, or people I know who are just struggling to make it from one day to the next. Looking further out from my day-to-day life, I find more concerning realities, such as war and natural disasters, division and hatred, injustice and apathy. I imagine that I am not the only one who does not have to look far to find such troubling things, feeling as though there is so little we can do to help. Lord, how can our hearts not be troubled?
The longer I meditate on this passage, though, the more I realize that Jesus is not telling us to dismiss these instances of anxiety and suffering. He boldly states, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” not only to remind us of his promise of heaven but also to reassure us of the power of his sacrificial love.
He is the way to compassion, healing, and peace. He is the truth that leads us to justice and mercy. He is the life that gives us faith in his love, his church, and his offer of eternal life. Our earthly journeys are complicated, but that is why God became human—to love us and walk with us through this life in pursuit of the next. While this does not take away the challenges that too often surround us, I do truly find it comforting that we are not alone.
Prayer
No one knows the troubles we suffer, dear Lord, and sometimes our lives are hard to bear. Help us to trust in your consoling words, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” You know the depth of all people’s suffering and still you offered yourself on the cross to save us from ourselves, our pride, our self-centeredness. May the Spirit who raised you from the dead raise us up to serve others in their needs today. Alleluia!