Daily Thought For April 27, 2018

Walking with Jesus

Lectio

John 14:1–6

Meditatio

“… so that where I am you also may be.”

This passage marks a transition in John’s Gospel. Jesus knows he will no longer be physically accessible to his disciples. But Jesus reveals that they will still have access to him, only in a different way. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus will be present in his followers, and that presence will be nourished by the Holy Eucharist.

The disciples don’t completely understand this. They want to be where Jesus is. Jesus tells them that he will return and take them where he is. And Thomas, speaking for so many of us, says exactly the opposite of what Jesus just said—“but we don’t know where you’re going, so we don’t know the way.”

Jesus responds to Thomas in a way completely different from the way the question was posed: no address, no directions. His response is himself. The place that Jesus wants to take us to is the Father. He is preparing us for direct contact with the Father. This reality is possible through Jesus alone.

Therefore, the way is wherever Jesus is, because Jesus is always in the presence of the Father. What is the most secure way to the Father? Jesus. Why? Because he reveals the truth about who we are—about the original intent with which the Father created us. By following Jesus, we are able to live as the Father willed that we live before the fall. That is now possible through the life that Jesus won for us, and in which he precedes us as the Risen One.

I am the Way, Jesus says. Walk with me—not around me, not ahead of me. I left you the example. Do what I did because that’s the way that will most securely lead you to me. Walk with me because I am the Way. Follow me because I am the Light. I will lead you to life—to my Father, “so that where I am you also may be.”

Oratio

Jesus, I struggle with the same thing Thomas did. I want to go to heaven to enjoy the place you are preparing for me. But I’m so unsure how to get there. You tell me that by following in your footsteps I will be with you and with your Father. Help me follow you more closely, especially when I want to go in a different direction. When I am troubled, remind me of the truth that believing you will help me believe in the Father’s love for me. May I allow your life to grow in me so that the Father’s dream might be fulfilled in me. Amen.

Contemplatio

I can’t wait to see the “place” you are preparing for me, Jesus!

Daughters of Saint Paul. (2011). Easter Grace: Daily Gospel Reflections. (M. G. Dateno & M. L. Trouvé, Eds.) (pp. 66–67). Boston, MA: Pauline Books & Media.