Reflection for Friday, May 12, 2017: 4th Week of Easter.

Abstract

During his final sharing at the Last Supper Jesus poured out his heart to his disciples. He knew what was looming ahead for himself and for them. And he knew he could not prevent the terrible events ahead for himself nor for them.|So Jesus had a final piece of advice for them: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith in me also" (Jn 14:1).|No matter what happens, have faith in me!|And isn't this the same piece of advice Jesus gives to us today, especially as we confront challenging dilemmas in our personal lives and in our world? The heart of being a follower of Jesus then and today remains the same: a one-on-one personal relationship between the ourselves and Jesus!|But how often this perspective is missing! How frequently we hear Christianity demeaned as merely a set of external obligations prescribed by religious authorities. The Christian faith is reduced to a checklist of do's and don'ts required for admittance into heaven. The institutional checklist is typically gathered under the three categories of creed (beliefs), code (moral teachings) and cult (worship).|But this is a caricature of authentic Christian faith: the one-on-one personal relationship with Jesus is absent -- the soul of faith is missing! The institutional dimensions come to life only to the degree they embody a personal relationship with Jesus.|Today's Alleluia Verse is an invitation from Jesus to come to him and to abide in a personal relationship with him, "I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me"(Jn 14:6).|Today we bring our hearts – especially our troubled hearts – to Jesus and take seriously his invitation, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith in me also" (Jn14:1).