I was riding my bike a few days ago and passed one of our neighbors as he was leading his three kids on their bikes. Keeping my safe six foot distance, I called out to him and asked him how he was feeling. “Somewhere between stir and crazy,” he responded, “but hey, I get to spend more time with my kids.” Every cloud has a silver lining and I was glad he could see the silver lining in the cloud that’s been hanging over all of us these days. One of the silver linings I’ve experienced has been my bike rides through our lovely town. I usually take the Radnor Trail to avoid the traffic but since there are so few cars on the road these days, I’ve been able to enjoy the local roads and all of the charming houses, many of them surrounded by trees and plants in full bloom, bursting with color! We really do live in a beautiful neighborhood and I’m enjoying it in a new way during this otherwise gloomy time; that’s been a real silver lining for me.
The disciples we heard about in today’s Gospel could certainly use a silver lining as they suffered under the dark cloud of their beloved Jesus’ impending death. And, Jesus, well aware that he is about to suffer a grueling death on the cross, offers them a silver lining. He starts off his address, recorded by St. John as part of our Lord’s Last Supper Discourse, by cheering up his disciples with a reassuring, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.” He goes on to tell them that he is going to prepare a place for them in his Father’s house. This is heaven he’s talking about, the heavenly Jerusalem, a place that will outshine even the nicest of our homes by a factor of infinity; God’s that good. The Book of Revelation gives us a stunning description of this place where Jesus is going to prepare a place for us. We read in chapter 21 of the Book of Revelation that the walls are made of jasper, the city street is pure gold, the foundations of the city wall are layer upon layer of precious stones – sapphire and emerald, topaz and amethyst – and the 12 gates of the city are each made of a single pearl. That’s where we get the saying about the pearly gates of heaven. Wow – that’s some impressive real estate! And then, in answer to a question that Thomas, one of the disciples, asks, Jesus even gives them directions to this place. “I am the way, the truth and the life,” he instructs them – and us. He gets even more explicit, telling them that there is only one way to get there. “No one comes to the Father except through me.” No GPS can give us clearer directions.
Jesus – the way – has shown us the way through his life’s example, loving God and neighbor, always doing the Father’s will – even when it means dying on the cross – caring for everyone, and especially for the most vulnerable – the poor, widows, lepers – all of those marginalized by the rest of society.
And, as we see in today’s first reading, the early Christians addressed the needs of the most vulnerable that they discovered in their midst – the Greek speaking widows – by coming together and working for the good of all. As they were awaiting the time when they would be welcomed into the heavenly Jerusalem, they increased the number of believers in the earthly Jerusalem by their good example of following our Lord’s teachings – the way he had laid out for them. That’s the truth that our Lord, Jesus, came to teach us. It’s the way to a fulfilling life here and eternal life in that dwelling that Jesus has gone to prepare for each of us.
Many of you are already following the way Jesus has taught us during this coronavirus pandemic, reaching out to your neighbor living alone, making sandwiches with our youth group for the homeless in Philadelphia, and countless other ways, I’m sure. If you haven’t done so yet, I encourage you to get involved in caring for those in need; there are so many ways to help them during these challenging times.
Our gospel today ends with Jesus’ astounding statement that those who do so will accomplish even greater works than he did himself. What that means is that we can amplify the work that he started 2,000 years ago right here and now, making his truth and life evident in our world today. It’s a message that the entire world needs to hear and experience – especially at this moment in time.
Today’s reading from the First Letter of Peter calls us to be living stones, built around Jesus, the cornerstone. While natural stones are strong and solid, but lifeless, we are called to be strong and solid and alive in our faith. And, Peter directs us to build upon the foundation that Jesus, the cornerstone, has laid so that we can be built into a spiritual house; there’s that image of a house again.
As continue this Easter Season – a season that celebrates new life – and prepare for the feast of Pentecost – it’s only three weeks away – let us be assured by our Lord who tells us, “do not let your hearts be troubled.” As we continue to live under this cloud of the coronavirus pandemic, let us look for the silver lining he offers us – a place in God’s heavenly dwelling – and follow him, the way, the truth and the life, as we continue the work he began – right here and now in our world today. Our faith is founded on trust that God works in history to bring about the unimaginable. Those who choose to accept Jesus’ invitation to place their faith in him and the Father can believe that the true way to life is found by following him through the struggles of this life to a life eternal that God offers us through his Son. The Gospel tells us that Jesus gave his life for us and has entrusted us with his mission. In turn, he asks for our trust so that as we give our lives to take on his mission we will bring it to fruition in new and greater ways, ways as faithful and creative as those devised by our Christian ancestors, the way that leads us to eternal life!