5th SUNDAY OF EASTER (A)
Sunday 7 May 2023
Jn 14:1-12
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.”
(John 14:1)
Before facing His passion and death, Jesus finds Himself alone with His disciples and gives them a long farewell speech, a sort of last will and testament, recorded for us by John the Evangelist. There is one very meaningful statement among the Master’s different exhortations. It is meant not just for the disciples but for each one of us today, and for every day of our lives: “Do not let your hearts be troubled”.
John uses the Greek word taràsso here, which literally refers to ‘churning’ or ‘disturbing’ the waters, like in a storm. The Master knows well that, as the result of various temptations, attacks or difficulties, our hearts often are troubled or ‘disturbed’. In our inner self, we live in a lack of peace. For this reason, He gives us a command for today: don’t let the waters of your heart be disturbed, don’t let yourself be caught up in the things around you that disturb your soul. May your life be lived in peace, and may your interior world not be vulnerable. But beyond this imperative, Jesus also directs us to the solution: have faith in God and faith in Him! Faith encapsulates within itself a dimension of trust. It is a faith marked by friendship, abandoning ourselves into the hands of the Father and His Son.
Therefore, let us not allow ourselves to be perturbed by external circumstances, but rather live the presence of Jesus each day, allowing our trust in Him to grow and entrusting our lives into His hands. And if the waters become tumultuous? Wake the Lord up through our prayer! Because He is certainly in the boat with us. He has not left us alone. He will lead us back to inner peace, and pilot the boat of our family, our community, the Church… in to calm waters.
Fr. Giuseppe
