In today’s Gospel Story (John 14:1-12) Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father, except through me . . . Do not let your hearts be troubled, You have faith in God; have faith also in me”. The majority report sees this Story as another example of Jesus letting his followers come to know him better, and in a more meaningful way. As usual, the minority report can be much more personal.
The reading from Peter, “let yourselves be built into a spiritual house”, suggests a process, a journey. The basis of this journey is our effort to be open to the Spirit as She shows us what it means for us to be disciples of Jesus in our every day living. We come to know Jesus by spending time with him. Some say just wasting time with a good friend. No agenda or talking points, just being together. One of the ways we do this is through having a “prayer practice” of some sort that we do every day. There is no one size fits all practice. There are many — Centering Prayer, Jesus Prayer, Rosary, just to mention a few. As we continue with our practice we notice the values we use to make our choices every day begin to change. Our practice becomes an anchor point to our day as we go where it takes us. The Irish poet and mystic Pádraig Ó Tuama, says, “Prayer is a small fire lit to keep cold hands warm. Prayer is a practice that flourishes both with faith and doubt. Prayer is asking, and prayer is sitting. Prayer is the breath. Prayer is not an answer, always, because not all questions can be answered.” As over time we remain faithful to our prayer practice we come to know ourselves quite differently, and we come to experience Abba in our real everyday living. We also find there are no words to describe all this, but to us it is real. Truly a journey
Jesus often went off by himself to spend time alone with his Abba. This was his prayer practice. Then he went through his days spending time with the people his Abba brought into his life. In both places he was with his Abba. He listened to people and met their needs. He did not force himself on anybody. We see from the stories that not everybody accepted what he had to say. Often his teaching was threatening to people who had their own interests at heart, even as it is today.
One word that can describe how Jesus lived is compassion. He was aware of people’s suffering, and he did what he could to alleviate it. Being compassionate, or living compassion, is not something I can do on my own. I can’t just make up my mind and suddenly be compassionate. Compassion is an effect, a consequence, of the time I spend in my prayer practice. It is part of the journey Peter is suggesting. While I consent to moving in this direction, it is something I recognize happening in me. The people in my life show their true dignity, with perhaps even a new intensity. I freely consent to what grace is doing in me.
Peter suggests we are on a journey to “be built into s spiritual house”, but we remain very much in our own every day reality. Again, Padraig, “The only place to begin is where I am, and whether by desire or disaster, I am here. My being here is not dependent on my recognition of the fact. I am here anyway. But it might help if I could learn to look around.” And this is what we do, we look around. I become aware that I am beginning to see things differently, to see the people in my life with a new depth and richness, and myself in ways I’ve not thought off before. Humility starts banging on my door. It’s not about me, it’s about what I say “yes” to. As the poet Jessica Powers, puts it, “Humility is to be still under the weathers of God’s will, It is to have no hurt surprise when morning’s ruddy promise dies”. I’m learning that having things go my way is much overrated. I notice I’m beginning to forgive folks for hot being who I want them to be, itself a great lesson in freedom and peace. My desire to live compassion, weak though it may be, becomes a powerful presence in my every day living.
Jesus reminds us to “Do not let your hearts be troubled, You have faith in God; have faith also in me”. We have no need to worry as we recognize there are some differences in how we live and think. When he tells us he is going to prepare a place for us, this is what he is doing now in our every day living. Our contribution is our prayer practice. From time to time we are aware of this happening as we begin to see life through a different lens and find ourselves with different interests. In my own journey, I’ve never been all that interested in poetry, but lately I’ve come to appreciate poets can say things the rest of us cannot, and poetry continues to offer insight to my every day living, something for which I am most grateful. Again Padraig, “Prayer can be a rhythm that helps us make sense in times of senselessness, not offering solutions, but speaking to and from the mystery of humanity.”
We come to be aware of Abba, God, as a verb happening in and around us, at times through us, and especially in the folks Abba brings into our lives. We need them as they need us — all part of Abba happening. Fr Arrupe speaks of “finding God in everything”, which especially these days can be difficult. In our tradition we don’t try to understand so we can believe, we believe so we can understand. Our time in prayer leads us to become aware that everything in our life is somehow of Abba. This is not something we can prove, but it is what we know and experience. Again Fr Arrupe, “Teach me how to be compassionate to the suffering, to the poor, the blind, the lame, and the lepers . . . Teach me your way so that it becomes my way today”, perhaps another way of trying to live “I am the way, the truth and the life”. Just sayin . . .