How can we know the way?

Podcast

• Listen to this and other homilies

Scripture references

• Acts 6:1-7
• 1 Peter 2:4-9
• John 14:1-12

Reflection

There was a memorial Mass celebrated here at Christ the King today.  Family and friends of a very young man gathered here to commend his soul to God.  This young man was not unlike many young people today.  In his very short life, he knew fleeting moments of love and acceptance from friends and relations, but from what I understand, much of his life was a struggle.

Many of the struggles he lived were unknown to the wider world, but those who knew his story knew that he didn’t have things easy, that there were many questions left unanswered, that perhaps there were many opportunities missed along the road.  Unfortunately, the world today is so fast-paced and centred on the self that it sometimes takes tragedy for some of us to wake up to the truth that life is supposed to be about loving, about walking together in faith, about celebrating the fact that God lives among us and wants us to share this good news with others, with those like this young man who perhaps without even realizing it, longed to hear such words.

During the short number of years that Jesus spent with his disciples, he tried to share this good news with them.  In story and action, he tried to convince them that God loves each one of us even beyond our own comprehension.  He called tax collectors, fishermen, simple folk and those who thought themselves wise to discover a new wisdom, and to understand that the way to happiness starts by knowing that every one of us is accepted and loved.

In the days immediately before his passion and death, Jesus tried to reassure his disciples that if they believed in the lessons he had taught, they would eventually have the reward of everlasting life in his presence, but they were blinded to the truth about things beyond the visible, about heaven, about the fact that living in harmony with each other here on earth is only a precursor of the true communion we will share in heaven.  Sometimes, we too respond like the disciples, ‘How can we know the way?’ (John 14:5)  In answer to this question, Jesus says to us, as he did to the disciples, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’ (Jn 14:6).  He invites us to come to him in times of trouble, at times when we question, doubt or fear.  He gives us the food of the Eucharist to nourish us and to remind us that he is always here, ready and willing to help us to understand the depth of his love.

This week, the Holy Father Benedict XVI is on a pilgrimage in the United States.  Since Tuesday of this week, he has been visiting with various groups in Washington, DC and in New York.  From the time he began to speak to reporters aboard the flight from Rome to Washington, those who read between the lines can see that he is concerned for the people of the United States, with the fatherly love of one who is called upon to give guidance when his children are lost or floundering.  Like the disciples who recognized the need to care for the poor and the neglected (Acts 6:1) because of their zeal, so the Holy Father is calling the faithful to not neglect the faith that has been entrusted to them, despite the lure of modern-day comforts.  This message is not always an easy one to hear, but it is one that we must heed lest we risk the loss of all that is precious to us.

As he meets with Catholics, Christians and people of diverse faith traditions this week, Benedict continues to echo the words of the Apostle Peter, ‘Come to the Lord, a living stone (which is) precious in the Lord’s sight.  Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house … to offer (that which is) acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:4-5).

Let’s not miss this opportunity to hear the words of the Holy Father, to appreciate the truth he speaks, to put them into action and to hope that the message of our faith is strong enough to bear us through all hardships and challenges that life may bring.