And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself.
Jn 14:1-12
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.”
How do we express faith in God? How do we express our faith in Jesus? By trusting in God, by trusting in Jesus. Do you remember the devotion connected with the 3 o’clock habit? The devotion to the Divine Mercy of Sr. Faustina. In her vision of the image of the Divine Mercy, what words did she read? Jesus, I trust in you.
If Sr. Faustine will not mind, I have another version: Jesus, I entrust myself to you. In Pilipino, Jesus nagtitiwala ako sa iyo. But I have a different translation. Let’s call it a dynamic translation. And it is this: Jesus, bahala ka na sa akin.
It is true that “nasa Diyos ang awa. Nasa tao ang gawa.” But at a certain point, we have done all we could possibly do. It is then that we can tell the Lord, “Jesus, bahala ka na sa akin.” Or “Jesus, ikaw na ang bahala.”
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.
Jesus is speaking of heaven. He uses the image of a house or a mansion with many rooms. In Don Bosco’s vision of heaven, the image that was presented to him was a beautiful garden. It’s not an ordinary garden but perhaps similar to the Vatican gardens or the gardens of the Palace at Versailles.
Why do we need images in order to describe heaven? The bible says: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (I Corinthians 2:9). In other words, heaven is too beautiful to describe.
Jesus speaks of his going. He is not only talking about his ascension into heaven but of his passion, death and resurrection as well. His coming back refers to his return at the end of time.
Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life."
Do you still remember the song: “Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and his banner over me is love?”
Jesus is the way. He does not only point to us the way to heaven through his teaching. He also helps us reach heaven. It’s like when you ask someone for directions, he accompanies you to where you want to go.
Jesus is the truth. We can not go wrong with Jesus. He not only teaches us how to live correctly our life as children of God. He also models it for us.
Jesus is the life. What life does Jesus give us? Longer life? No. Eternal life? Yes, Jesus offers us heaven. But is that all? I think that Jesus also offers us a better quality of life while here on earth. What do I mean? I read a study whose findings are not at all surprising. For example, it says that people with faith are better able to cope with the challenges of life. People with faith are happier. And people with faith get well faster.
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’?
In Babylon, there was a yearly feast in honor of their god, Marduk. The gods of the peoples whom they conquered were brought in procession to the temple of Marduk. This was to signify that Marduk was superior to all these gods. But the palanquin carried by the Israelites was empty. They carried no statue. Not only because Yahweh forbade them to make a statue of him but also because Yahweh does not look like anything in creation.
But when Jesus came, God became visible. The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity took on a human form. That is why we can truly say that in Jesus God took on a human face.
But don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that Jesus is one and the same as God the Father. That is a heresy called modalism.
But here it is more than just God becoming visible through Jesus Christ. Here it is God coming nearer to us by becoming a human being like us. Ngayon talagang ka-close na natin ang Diyos.
No comments:
Post a Comment