Friday April 30

Fourth Week OF Easter

 

THE WAY, THE TRUTH, THE LIFE

 

Introduction 

In the synagogue, Paul proclaims the risen Christ. That Christ is risen is not merely an important event of the past: it is, as Paul says, “a message of salvation meant for you. We have come here to tell you the Good News.” It is meant for us today.

What is our task and the mission of all Christians in the world today? To proclaim the Good News that Christ is risen and alive among us. To do what Christ did. To be Christ to one another and to the world. For we are God’s priestly and missionary people. We do not stand alone in this task. For the living Christ is with us today as our way, our truth and our life.

 

Opening Prayer

Lord, our God,
your Son Jesus Christ, is to us
the way that leads to you and to one another,
the truth that is Good News of love and hope,
the life which he sacrificed to give it to us.
Help us to show the way to him
and to go his way to one another,
to speak the truth that is encouraging and credible,
to give life by sharing happiness,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

 

Reading 1: ACTS 13:26-33

When Paul came to Antioch in Pisidia, he said in the synagogue:
“My brothers, children of the family of Abraham,
and those others among you who are God-fearing,
to us this word of salvation has been sent.
The inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders failed to recognize him,
and by condemning him they fulfilled the oracles of the prophets
that are read sabbath after sabbath.
For even though they found no grounds for a death sentence,
they asked Pilate to have him put to death,
and when they had accomplished all that was written about him,
they took him down from the tree and placed him in a tomb.
But God raised him from the dead,
and for many days he appeared to those
who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem.
These are now his witnesses before the people.
We ourselves are proclaiming this good news to you
that what God promised our fathers
he has brought to fulfillment for us, their children, by raising up Jesus,
as it is written in the second psalm,
You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.”

 

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 2:6-7, 8-9, 10-11AB

R. (7bc) You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.
or:
Alleluia.
“I myself have set up my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”
I will proclaim the decree of the LORD:
The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
this day I have begotten you.”
R. You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.
or:
R. Alleluia.
“Ask of me and I will give you
the nations for an inheritance
and the ends of the earth for your possession.
You shall rule them with an iron rod;
you shall shatter them like an earthen dish.”
R. You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.
or:
R. Alleluia.
And now, O kings, give heed;
take warning, you rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice before him;
with trembling rejoice.
R. You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.
or:
R. Alleluia.

 

Alleluia: JN 14:6

Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord;
No one comes to the Father except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel: JN 14:1-6

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.”

 

Intercessions

Let us pray to our Father in heaven that Christ, who is our way, truth and life, may still be among us today and that we may become the way to him. We say: Stay with us, Lord.

–   For the pope, bishops, priests, and all who have a ministry of service in the Church, that the truth may become visible in them because of the way they serve, we pray:

–   For public officials, that they may prepare for the people the way to justice, peace and unity, we pray:

–   For the hungry and the lonely, for the poor and the little people, that we may restore their dignity and their hope in life, we pray:

 

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord, our God,
your Son Jesus, showed us
that he is the way, the truth and the life
by giving himself for us all on the cross
and giving himself to us now.
May we learn from him
to give to one another
our time, our compassion, our service
and above all to give ourselves,
together with Jesus Christ, our Lord.

 

Prayer after Communion

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
he who sees Jesus, sees you.
May the people around us
see the Father in heaven and the Son
when we become to one another
the way to hope, justice and love,
the truth that uplifts and reassures,
the life that is not afraid
of committing ourselves
even when the cost is high.
May you, thus, become to all with and through Christ
the way, the truth and the life for ever.

 

Blessing

Christ is the way, the truth, the life to us and to everyone. If he is indeed, living among us, then we ought to be to one another and to the whole world the way, the truth and the life. May God bless us for this mission, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Commentary

The passage of today’s Gospel is taken from the first of three farewell speeches pronounced by Jesus at the Last Supper. They are called so because in them Jesus seems to dictate his will before death. We use this text in the Easter season for a very simple reason: a Will acquires its meaning only after the death of the person who dictated it. Easter is the most suitable time to understand and meditate on them.

The Farewell Discourse of the Gospel of John in some way, followed the pattern set by the Book of Deuteronomy, a book compiled centuries after the death of Moses, and written as though spoken by Moses; its true purpose was to interpret the message of Moses for the author’s contemporaries. The Farewell Discourse in the Gospel was the attempt of the evangelist to summarise for his contemporaries the significance of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Jesus spoke of God as his Father – not only his Father but through and in him, also of the disciples. In speaking of places to stay, Jesus was not thinking of place but of something more general where God could be encountered as “at home.” The threatening death of Jesus would open up possibilities for the disciples to have a deeper appreciation of the world of Jesus, and of the Father. I will take you with me, so that you may be where I am.

Imagine in a family of newly wedded couples, when one of the spouses has to leave the home for a distant land for work. His or her promise would be, let me go and make arrangements there, and then I will take you to the place so that we can be together… The Bible has numerous times expressed the relationship between God and his people as one of the spousal relationships.

John the evangelist constructed this Discourse to assist the believers of his community to have a deeper appreciation of the relationship with Jesus and the Father. They had lived sixty years of life without the physical presence of Jesus. John reminds them that the way to the Father was the way with which they were already familiar: the way of believing, of entrusting themselves to Jesus’ love, and, of being transformed by his love.
The misunderstanding put on the lips of Thomas provided the opportunity for the author to clarify and develop the theological theme. “I am the way, and the truth and the life …

Yesterday we celebrated the feast of St. Catherine of Siena. Let us wind up today’s reflection with a quotation from this Doctor of the Church. St. Catherine Says: “The Way to Heaven is Heaven because He said, He is the Way”