Monday May 6, 2024

Today is Monday, May 6 and we are studying the Gospel of John.

Blessed and Holy Lord God, I pause at the threshold of a new day and seek your presence. I quiet my mind and focus my entire self on you – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Give me your vision and inspiration for what lies ahead, journey with me in my comings and goings and be my companion on the way. Remind me that you are always working for good in my relationships, activities and conversations. Amen.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” John 14:1-7

This section of John’s Gospel contains the last words Jesus spoke to his closest friends and followers. It was his final night of earthly existence. He ate a meal with his disciples around the Passover table and washed their grimy feet. He knew he was about to be betrayed in the garden by Judas Iscariot who would bring a detachment of soldiers and officials carrying torches and weapons. The time had arrived for what is known as The Farewell Discourse (John 14-17). In this discourse, Jesus comforted his disciples, promised the coming of the Holy Spirit, told them to stay connected to the vine, warned them they would encounter hatred and persecution, predicted their coming grief, and promised that eventually their grief would turn to joy. Then he prayed for them and for all those who will believe in him far into the future.

Jesus began by telling them that he was leaving and that he would prepare a place for them to follow. Thomas questioned him and asked, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus replied that he is The Way. For all time and eternity, Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Like Jesus did for Thomas and the other disciples, Jesus has prepared a place for each of his followers. The Father’s house has many rooms, and there is one for every believer. There is a place for me. I am part of his family, a child of God, cleansed and forgiven, and I am promised an eternal home in heaven. I can live my life with the assurance of a future that is far greater and far more beautiful than all my imaginings.

How comforting these red-letter words of Jesus are when I read them and hear them as if spoken directly to me. He speaks my name and says, “Do not let your heart be troubled.” That is an invitation to let down all of my worry, fear and anxiety and trust in the Creator of the Universe, the God who loves me beyond measure and designed a great rescue plan with my soul in mind. At the end of my life and every day in between, I embrace the words of Jesus Christ. “You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?”

Ask: Do I believe Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life? Have I accepted him as my Lord and Savior and do I have assurance of salvation in his name?

Pause and Pray

Jesus, you promised every believer a place in your eternal kingdom. I repent of all my sins and lay my life before you. Forgive me, redeem me in your love, cleanse me of my past, and sanctify me in your grace. Undeserving as I am, you have given me a future with hope. I rejoice in confident assurance and I pray for the souls of my loved ones and friends. May everyone find you, Jesus – the Way, the Truth and the Life. Amen.

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