5th Sunday of Easter

Don’t be afraid to ask directions!

Fr James McTavish, FMVD

St Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits, was a man who discovered many secrets of the spiritual life in a self-imposed exile in a cave. He learned to discover the movements of the Spirit within and eventually produced his now famous, spiritual exercises. Many people have benefited from the insights of St Ignatius by attending Ignatian retreats. The focus of such a retreat is to put order in the inner life. Sometimes we are a little disordered externally because inside is a little chaotic! If you listen to the love life or emotional life of many people today it is quite disordered! Why? It can often be a reflection that inside all is not quite in order.

One important insight that St Ignatius had was the importance of asking. This may seem rather obvious and it is often overlooked. How vital it is on our Christian lives. Often we limit our asking to asking only for material gains – but we have to ask will this actually help us to love God and our neighbour more when we already have more than we need and are still not satisfied. Maybe it is better to ask for a sense of gratitude for all we already have and the gift of knowing how to enjoy it more. We should never be afraid to see what is lacking in us and then to present our petitions to God.

In the gospel of John today (John 14, 1-12) the disciples are asking Jesus all sorts of things and he responds to them. Thomas tells Jesus that he does not know the way and Jesus gives him that well known reassurance “I am the Way.” Surely a prayer that our Father will endeavour to respond to is when we ask to be able to follow Jesus more in our everyday lives. Asking helps you not to get lost. They say, well most women say, that men do not like to ask. They say that men would rather be lost, struggling to find their way with the map, than ask directions. We should try hard to overcome this tendency as we do not know the way to heaven by ourselves!

When Jesus says he is the Way it reminds us that he became man for us and for our salvation. Everything he said, lived and suffered is for us and for our salvation. The challenge for us is to live the very mysteries of Christ’s life in our flesh, or rather to let him live them in us. It is not just to look at Jesus and admire him. He wants us to join him. There is a film by Woody Allen where a bored woman goes to the cinema to watch a film about a handsome man who is dancing. Every time the man is searching for a partner she cries as she wishes it could be her. The amusing thing is she goes to watch the film every day until one day – a big surprise. The protagonist of the film steps out of the screen and invites her into the film to dance with her. In a sense, this is when we really start to grow in our following of Christ –when we don’t merely remain as spectators but we really enter into the drama. That is why Jesus makes the invite to those who love him, “Follow me!” This invite is ever relevant for every follower even today because the Lord is alive.

Of course we have a lot to learn so that we can truly let him live in us and love in us. One thing is fascinating – life takes on a new meaning when we really make an effort to follow the way Christ shows us. It is not that we totally change and become holy in one instant but every step counts. He can build us up step by step or brick by brick. In fact in the second reading today (1 Peter 2, 4-9) St Peter says “like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house.” And Jesus is a wise builder – he can use every experience even the ones that we find negative or would want to reject for not being of good enough quality – “The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” This refers first and foremost to Jesus as he was the first one to be rejected but it also applies to the way he works. He is the world’s greatest recycler! Even our sins, which really are our garbage, when it is presented to him can be transformed by his mercy in the sacrament of reconciliation, and actually make us more humble and stronger people.

How can we know the answers to the questions we have then? Why to keep asking if there are no ready answers? The first reading gives us a clue – the disciples dedicated themselves to the Word of God – “they dedicated themselves to prayer and ministry of the Word” (see Acts 6, 1-7). How many treasures and pearls there are hidden in the Word of God. How many answers to the many questions we have are hidden there. Will we spend some time each day reading the Scripture? How about increasing your prayer time by 5 minutes each day? Don’t say you don’t have time. An easy solution is to take 5 minutes off our TV time or Facebook time! Wow, that can be a real sacrifice. Good luck and I wish you well.

Don’t be afraid to ask directions – God has given us a Way in Jesus. There is no need to be lost any longer, just follow the Way indicated. Of course, to really know the way we need to pray, to spend time daily with God’s word. If not we reach old age singing the old song of Frank Sinatra “And now, I’ve reached the end, I did it my way”! Let us not do it our way but God’s way – and this is to follow Jesus, the Way. Amen.