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Gospel: John 14: 1-12
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.
If you know me, then you will also know my Father.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said to him,
“Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time
and you still do not know me, Philip?
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.
The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,
or else, believe because of the works themselves.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these,
because I am going to the Father.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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“Do not let your hearts be troubled.” These are some of the final words that Jesus shares with his disciples during his last night on earth.
To be “troubled” means to be overwhelmed by fear – the fear of sickness, the fear of loneliness, the fear of death.
“Do not be troubled.”
Do not be afraid, Jesus says.
***
I whispered these words into my mother’s ear over and over during the final three days of her life.
“Mama, do not be troubled. You have faith in God…In our Father’s house, there are many dwelling places.”
A place for you. A place for me.
We knew life was going to look very different for her and for me, but somehow Jesus told us not to be “troubled.”
***
I felt that troubled ache again on Monday morning.
I woke up at 5 am, and the first thing I did – after having a strong cup of Stew Leonard’s coffee – was come here to church. I knew it’d be the last opportunity I’d have to spend a few minutes alone with Our Lady of Fatima.
Later that day, I’d have to take her to her next stop along her six-week pilgrimage throughout our Archdiocese.
Something happened to me when I received the Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady in Portugal last week. I felt the maternal love of Mary in a way that I had never felt before. I was drawn; embraced; closer to Jesus because of being close to her.
Mary welcomed our parish into her heart in Fatima, then we welcomed her here in Old Tappan.
Suddenly, it was over. It was time for her to go.
As I was praying on Monday morning, it felt like Mary whispered into my ear the same words her Son once said, “Do not let your heart be troubled.”
Although Our Lady was parting – something of her still remains.
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Haven’t we all felt “troubled” before?
It’s that feeling you may get after dropping off your children at college for another year, the sudden loneliness you may feel after scrolling through social media for too long, that pit in your stomach when a relationship ends, or when you commend a loved one to God.
Humanly speaking, we all fear losing something…or, worse, someone, much like the disciples in today’s Gospel.
They sensed something was happening – Jesus was speaking of going away, but they didn’t know where he was going, how to get there, or how to process his words.
Perhaps adding to their confusion, he tells them, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”
A few hours later, the disciples will begin a forty-day journey of grief, surprise, shock…and, finally at Pentecost, a call to mission.
Upon receiving the Holy Spirit, the Apostles are filled with the gifts of wisdom, understanding, and peace. Finally, the words of our Lord that night made sense:
“In my Father’s house, there are many dwelling places.” A place for Mary. A place for the Apostles. A place for my Mom. A place for you. A place for me.
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Still, heaven can seem like a long way away. How was it that the disciples were able to persevere in their faith? How did Jesus break their chains of grief, absolving them of that troubled feeling?
He gave them his Spirit – and thus his peace.
In Hebrew, “Shalom.”
Shalom means wholeness; harmony; stillness. It implies that something has been broken, then restored. On Good Friday the disciples’ hearts were broken. They were deeply troubled.
On Pentecost Sunday, their hearts were restored.
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These are the gifts of the Holy Spirit: Peace. Wisdom. Understanding.
Do I have these gifts in my heart?
Perhaps I desire them, but am still waiting for the Lord to act.
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“Have faith in God,” Jesus says, “have faith also in me… Whatever you ask for in my name, I will do it.”
So come, Lord Jesus, fill the hearts of your faithful. Kindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and we shall renew the face of the earth.
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Image credits: (1) T.D. Jakes on Twitter (2) Domenico Ghirlandaio, Convento di San Marco (3) Mission Venture Ministries, WordPress.com
