John 14: 1-6
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place 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 except through me.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Remain Close to Jesus
“Do not let your hearts be troubled.” … Yeah, right, Jesus. Have you seen the news lately? The world feels like a patchwork of broken systems, bruised hearts, and burdens too heavy to bear. For the naturally worried among us — the overthinkers, the worst-case-scenario planners, the 3:00 a.m. wide-awake crowd — “do not let your hearts be troubled” just doesn’t cut it.
But, Jesus does not say it flippantly. He says it to people who are about to watch him die, people with a real reason to panic. Jesus does not offer a solution to the chaos, but he does promise a way through it. And Thomas, bless him, says out loud what everyone else is thinking: we have no idea where you’re going, so how are we supposed to know the way? Jesus, himself, is the way.
It’s simple, but it's certainly not easy. We get through what we get through by remaining close to Jesus, by following him when the next step is all we can see. Today, when your mind starts racing and your heart starts pounding, stay near Jesus. He is the way.
—Jackie Schulte is the Head of School and Dean of Faculty Formation at Creighton Preparatory School in Omaha, Nebraska.
Prayer
Lord Jesus,
when our hearts are troubled
and the way is unclear,
keep us close to you.
Help us follow you one step at a time,
knowing that you are the way.
Amen.
—Jackie Schulte