If You Love Me, Keep My Commandments

We all have family members, teachers, or close friends that we looked up to and would do anything for. Our parents, for example, may have taught us how to live a Godly life. A mentor may have taken us under their wing and taught us how to navigate through the hectic world of business. We may have had a teacher who showed us tremendous patience and perseverance. There might have been a close friend who helped us through very difficult times. None of us have been without these life examples. Then, as we continue on through life, we fall back on the examples we’ve been given many times over. That should put us in the proper frame of mind to accept today’s Gospel. Jesus says to His disciples: “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” We loved our parents, our mentor, our teacher, or our friend and, because of that love, we wanted to emulate their example—said another way, “keep their commandments.” The same may be said of the relationship between Jesus and us. It is because we love Jesus that we want to keep His commandments and want to pass on what we  have been taught to others. That’s discipleship in action. We never lived in Jesus’ time. We never experienced His teachings in person. Yet, we believe He was born, gave us a perfect example of how to live during His public ministry, and suffered death for our sake. But even death does not break this relationship, for whenever we are  about to do something important, we remember what we have been  taught. Then the spirit of the one who taught us rises in our heart. We love Jesus and so we receive His commandments and keep them— all for love.

That’s the message of today’s Gospel. Jesus calls His disciples to walk in His way of love through obedience to the will of the Father. True love is more than sentiment or good intentions. As important as these may be, they are not the proof of love. True love for God is expressed in obedience, and obedience is expressed in love. Jesus promised to give His followers (and that’s us) the best of gifts: the Holy Spirit as Counselor and Helper to bring us safely through the challenges and adversities we must face in this life. The Holy Spirit is also the Giver of life – the life of God – and the Spirit is the One who guides us along the way. We can never stop learning because the Spirit leads us more and more into the knowledge of God’s love. 

Jesus also promised His followers the gift of peace. Peace is more than the absence of conflict or trouble. Peace includes everything that leads us to good. So, trust in God, have faith in His promises, and obey His word and that will lead us to peace and safety in God’s presence. That is why a Christian need not fear or be troubled by anything. 

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life

In today’s Gospel Jesus tells His disciples He is going away, but that He is preparing a place for them and will come back and take them with Him. Thomas hears this and thinks, “…we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Thomas, the doubter, again wears his feelings on his sleeve. Jesus responds, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one  comes to the Father except through me.” Now Phillip has the courage to speak up and asks Jesus to show them the Father. Jesus tells him, ‘if you know me, you know the Father. If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father in me.’ Now that’s pretty heavy stuff for His disciples to grasp. Let’s dig a little deeper. 

When Jesus proclaims: “I am the Way,” He’s not simply giving advice or direction. He personally is “the way,” and we cannot miss it. He leads and guides us personally every day. Jesus also is the Truth. Lots of people can probably say, “I have taught you the truth.” Only Jesus can say, ‘I am the Truth.’ Moral truth cannot be expressed in words alone; it must be demonstrated by example. Jesus’ whole life on earth was a demonstration of truth. Jesus is the Life. He not only shows us the path of life (Psalm 16:11) but He also gives the kind of life only God can give—eternal life. What consolation we can draw as followers of Christ knowing the person we are following is the Way, the Truth and the Life! Yet we must recognize that, even as followers, and as much as we try to avoid it, we are all inevitably going to encounter troubles, difficulties, and sometimes more than we think we can handle!  Jesus knew this and He knew His disciples would have to face adversity and trials after He left them to return to His Father. So He assured them that His departure was not only for their good, but also to secure a place for them in God’s house – a place of refuge, peace, and everlasting happiness. Jesus assured that safe passage not only for His apostles but also for us. 

Despite the assurance, His apostles were anxious about Jesus’ leaving. So Jesus moves away from talk about going away and returning, to again asking them to trust (or believe). Trusting (believing) has been the common thread in the Gospel for the last several weeks. The conclusion, then, is if we do trust Jesus, when He says to us, “Amen, amen I say to you,” we surely must listen up. And here is the stunner of this passage: all the works that Jesus just encouraged His disciples to recall will be small potatoes compared to what we 

will do. Jesus promises we “will do greater works than these.” And we know, Jesus promises His assistance, His support, His power through the coming of the Holy Spirit. 

I am the Gate for the Sheep

What can shepherding teach us about God and our  relationship with him? Let’s go back to the time of Jesus. At the end of  each day the shepherd brought his sheep into a shelter. They knew the voice of their shepherd and  came at his call. So familiar was the shepherd and his sheep, that  each was called by a distinct name. The sheep pen, then as now, is an enclosure open to the elements and so the owner could have  a view of everything that was going on. It is not covered or roofed over like a barn or shed; it has no door either, just an  opening. Its walls are open to the sun, the sky, rain and wind. They are often made of rough stones with a layer of thorn  brush along the top similar to the picture above. They can be quite dirty, smelly places, but their main purpose is to provide  protection. At night, after the sheep are in, the shepherd just lays down  in the doorway. He becomes the gate.  There is no legitimate  access to the sheep except through him. So anyone who tried  to climb over the wall to get in was obviously up to no good.  If a predator tried to enter, the shepherd would be disturbed. The shepherd, therefore, put his life at risk to protect his  sheep, truly becoming the gate. 

This imagery would have been familiar to those listening to Jesus, but where was he headed? “Jesus used this figure of  speech but the Pharisees did not understand what He was telling them.” (John 10:6). Since they had not gotten the picture yet, Jesus goes for the  jugular – he becomes direct and explicit, “I am the Gate… Whoever enters through me will be saved…I came so that you  might have life…” He clearly reveals that he is God. Suddenly  the whole illustration makes sense with devastating clarity. Amidst the storms of life, Jesus is saying He is the only one  through whom we can be safe and secure. Anything or anyone else should be avoided. 

Finally, Jesus refers to finding “pasture”. “Pasture,” to a sheep,  is food. A theme of John is that the word of God is our true  food. Jesus will lead us, His sheep, through His Word, to true understanding of God, true relationship with God and with  each other. Yes, Jesus is “the” Gate – the only gate to heaven.

In the Breaking of the Bread

The Road to Emmaus is a very well-known and gripping story because it  is, in many ways, our own story when we lose hope and the desire to move  on because our dreams have been crushed.

Some of the saddest words in our language begin with the letter D: disappointment, doubt, disillusionment, defeat, despair and death. All of  these are summed up in the words of Cleopas and his companion to the 

unrecognized stranger on the Emmaus road. They had left a demoralized and disillusioned group of disciples with the events of Good Friday fresh  in their memories. We can understand their confusion, can’t we? The 

Master they had loved and followed had been made a public spectacle,  exposed to ridicule and put to death on a cross. 

Now, the reports that Christ’s tomb was empty only confused the disciples  more. Their entire world had come apart. The two downhearted disciples  summed up the situation when they said, “we had hoped that he was the  one who was going to redeem Israel.” Human hope is a fragile thing, and  when it withers it is difficult to revive. Why was it difficult for the disciples to recognize the risen Lord? Perhaps, they saw the cross as defeat and couldn’t comprehend the empty tomb.  And yet, as we heard last week some doubted even after Jesus appeared to  them.

So, we find these two disciples in retreat, leaving Jerusalem, scared,  dejected, and perplexed. Here was a walk of sadness and gloom, of  frustration and doubt; a walk filled with deliberation and discussion, but without answers and understanding, and therefore, without comfort;  going, but without sense of mission and purpose.  Jesus draws near to them as they were in the darkness of despair. He draws near and he walks with them. They couldn’t recognize him still struggling  with confusion and unbelief but also because Jesus keeps them from  recognizing him because there was another “teaching” moment coming.  So they drew near to the village to which they were going. Jesus acted as  if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us,  for it is toward evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed  and broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly their eyes were open and they  knew he was alive!

Jesus appears to us often in the strange places and events of our lives and  through the many strange people we may encounter. We often fail to  recognize him as well. Yet we experience his presence at every Mass in 

every church in every corner of the world in the Breaking of the Bread. This is truly the gift Jesus has left us as a memorial to his passion, death  and resurrection and as a promise of new and eternal life for each of us. 

So the question might be: on our own “Road to Emmaus”, do we struggle  with unbelief like those two disciples or are we ready to embrace the Risen Christ and become true disciples telling the world by our lives the hope there is in Christ’s resurrection?