Gospel Reflection on John 14:1-12
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
May 3, 2026
“Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, 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, but by me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; henceforth you know him and have seen him.”
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who 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 in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me; or else believe me for the sake of the works themselves.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father."
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Social commentators tell us today that young people are very insecure. They live lives filled with anxiety, primarily about the future. Some ways this is the trauma that every human being faces from the moment they utter their first cry after birth. One leaves the womb and immediately faces, without really understanding it, the question of destination: where am I going? Where is life taking me? What is going to happen to me?
And this is not just for those at the beginning of a life's journey. Even today, we never really know where we're going to end up: what will become of us? And so many things create fear in us.
Jesus recognizes this reality and refers to it as our troubled hearts. This disturbance of the heart mentioned by him sounds like an interior attitude, but in the Greek original, the verb refers more to a jolt, a kind of earthquake than an attitude. It implies a collapse of support,
and a consequent upheaval of all the structures we count on.
As a result of these upheavals, we often find ourselves living life in a grim kind of way, as a long test of strength after which we finally arrive at our final destination. And sadly, we're disappointed in the result.
Each one of us has this kind of inborn innate restlessness. We fear the uncertainties of life, which is no surprise, given all that we face from climate change to political upheavals; this universal collapse and support that threatens our hearts, naturally; the eats to the desire for a new home, for a safe shelter. And so we ask: how can I find the way to the ultimate goal of my life? Which path must I follow?
The long conversation that Jesus has at the last supper is his final testament. In these words, he expresses his desire concerning life in the community for his disciples. And John wants us to understand that for Jesus this final conversation was a moment of great intimacy. Here he speaks heart to heart. His words became a kind of catechism for the first Christians.
The questions put on the lips of Judas and Thomas and Philip were the questions of the communities in the first century. And they are at the same questions we face today: how can we live in a community with so many different opinions? Jesus' answer?
There are many rooms in my father's house. It's not necessary for all of us to think alike. What matters is that we accept his attitude of service and love. Those are the bricks that build our home.
How can we know the way Thomas has? Jesus says: "I'm the way so you know how to walk; I'm the truth so you can be certain and I am life, so you know that death will never have the final say."
And finally, there's Philip's question: "show us the Father." This is our question: what must we do to see the Father of whom Jesus spoke about so much?
And his answer is very beautiful: the Father is not far away; the Father is not distant; the Father is not unknown. All we need to do is look at Christ: he has revealed the Father in the words and signs of his life.
Now the question becomes: do we reflect him? Or are we like Peter who could not accept to serve a suffering Lord? Are we like those who only say 'Lord' and wish for a glorious Christ? Do we remember that he walked with the poor? How come those on the edges healed the sick, brought home those who were excluded?
A close and intimate relationship with God does not belong to Christ alone. But is possible for all of us who believe and trust and walk in his way.
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