‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God still, and trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house; if there were not, I should have told you. I am now going to prepare a place for you and after I have gone and prepared you a place, I shall return to take you with me; so that where I am, you may be too. You know the way to the place where I am going.’

Thomas said, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus said, ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you know me, you know my Father too. From this moment you know him and have seen him.’

Philip said, ‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.’ ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip,’ said Jesus to him, ‘and you still do not know me? To have seen me is to have seen the Father, so how can you say, “Let us see the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak as from myself: it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work. You must believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason.

I tell you most solemnly, whoever believes in me will perform the same work as I do myself, he will perform ever greater works, because I am going to the Father.’’ (John 14:1-12)

Reflection - Jesus, the Way, Truth & Life

In the opening words of the Gospel Jesus calls the disciples to trust him and to trust God. He does so in the context of announcing his departure to them. Understandably, the disciples are afraid and uncertain which the questions of Thomas and Philip show.

Jesus calls them to trust him as the way to God, the living truth about God and the very life of God.

In a sense, Jesus is our map, our road and the destination of our journey. But arriving at the destination is not something which only happens in heaven. We are meant to start arriving now through the gift of the Spirit.

It is the spirit of Jesus who holds us in communion with God, who reveals to us the truth about God and who is the very life of God within each of us. Jesus is the reign of God in person and that is what we are called to be, too.

We want to live true to the vocation God has given us, aware of the Spirit which has been placed into our hearts, allowing that Spirit to change us into true believers so that the face of God might be seen within our own.

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