Gospel & Reflection
Gospel & Reflection for the Fifth Sunday of Easter.
John 14:1-12
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Trust in God still, and trust in me.
There are many rooms in my Father’s house;
if there were not, I should have told you.
I am going now to prepare a place for you,
and after I have gone and prepared you a place,
I shall return to take you with me;
so that where I am
you may be too.
You know the way to the place where I am going.’
Thomas said, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus said:
‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one can come to the Father except through me.
If you know me, you know my Father too.
From this moment you know him and have seen him.’
Philip said, ‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.’ ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip,’ said Jesus to him ‘and you still do not know me?
‘To have seen me is to have seen the Father,
so how can you say, “Let us see the Father”?
Do you not believe
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words I say to you I do not speak as from myself:
it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work.
You must believe me when I say
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;
believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason.
I tell you most solemnly,
whoever believes in me
will perform the same works as I do myself,
he will perform even greater works,
because I am going to the Father.’
Reflection
Friends, born without toes on his right foot, and no fingers on his right hand, Tom Dempsey’s dream of playing professional American Football seemed just that – a dream. In the eyes of coaches and commentators, he was incomplete. He did not possess what was considered obvious and essential to NFL success. However, Tom Dempsey was a young man full, not just of dreams, but also faith in God. So, while the world saw what he lacked, he trusted in what God saw in him and what he carried – a ton of faith and perseverance. That faith and perseverance helped him achieve not just his dreams but saw him become an American Football legend.
In spite of his considerable impediments, with the help of a modified shoe, Dempsey became a kicker for his local High School team in Wisconsin. He then went on to play college football. After college, even though many said it would be impossible and most professional coaches and teams turned him down, one coach and one team did not. Tom Fears, Head Coach of the New Orleans Saints, had no fear or regret in drafting Dempsey as their number one kicker; and on November 8th, 1970, Tom Dempsey made American Football history when he kicked the longest field goal ever, 63 yards. It was a record that would remain unequalled and unbroken for forty-three years. Not bad for a man with half a foot and an malformed arm, but perfect for someone who had faith in Jesus Christ, whom he said, “gave him the strength to do what he dreamed”.
In our Gospel for this weekend, Jesus is preparing His disciples for his departure, for His going away. This news hits them with an unexpected ferocity. So much so, they become immediately anxious and afraid. St. Thomas, ever the realist, expresses their distress when he says, “Lord, we do not know where you are going; so how can we know the way?” This question reveals not just the fearfulness of the apostles but how they are also feeling the weight of their own limitations. They obviously believe that they do not have what it takes to live up to what Christ was expecting of them.
Everything was fine while Jesus was with them. They could hide their own shortcomings in the shadow of His strength and power. But without Christ, there is nowhere to hide, and so they immediately feel incomplete and inadequate for the task ahead.
They think that without Jesus with them, they will be like a severed limb, lacking what was essential for being a true and faithful disciple, but that they would also be adrift, without direction or course, unsure of the ‘way’ that will lead them to God.
However, Jesus moves to reassure them.
He encourages them to move past their fears and feelings of inadequacy, assuring them that just as God was in Him, so too, He would be with and in them, always. His presence within them would bring out the best of their character, helping them to be what God was calling them to be – devoted and daring followers. So, while they were focused on what they felt they lacked, Jesus saw what they were carrying within them, and through the Holy Spirit, He would take and use the best of their character to achieve God’s higher purpose for them within the world.
Friends, all too often both in faith and life, we can dwell on what we feel we are lacking, instead of having faith and trust in what we have. We sometimes think that we are not good enough, not holy enough, not talented enough. We might feel that we are not prayerful enough, not worthy enough, not perfect enough. However, Christ reminds us that there is more to us all than what we see and think. We carry plenty within us, that through the working of the Holy Spirit, God can use for our and His own good. His strength and purpose for us can be perfected even in our self-considered shortcomings.
So, on this Fifth Sunday of Easter, let us never be fixated on what we think we lack, but focus on what we carry always within us, and that is God. Trusting in Him, we too can be like Tom Dempsey and his record-breaking kick. Our lives and faith can reach distances we never imagined possible once we trust in Him who made, and loves us, exactly as we are – the One who is always our Way, our Truth, and our Life.
Fr. Richard
