Acts 13:26-33 Ps 2: 6-7, 8-9, 10-11ab Jn 14:1-6

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer The Daily Reflections

Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the light” (John 14:6). Certainly that rings a bell with many of us. It is one of Jesus’ most powerful and in many ways most provocative moments, stated at the commencement of the Last Supper. For me however the essence of John 14 comes just before this when Thomas asks, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” If you continue reading Philip says, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us” (John 14:8). Can you imagine the anguish Jesus must have felt? He is being called to atone for the sins of man, on the brink of subjecting himself to hours of torture, and those who have followed him, have witnessed the numerous miracles, have beheld him transformed, are doubting him.

And so Jesus answers them in kind, “Have I been with you for so long that you still do not know me?” (John 14:9). Were the Bible transcribed more modernly I would expect a surprised emoticon of some sort to follow, considering all that the disciples have beheld. However, I’m left asking myself if it’s not just the disciples that have experienced Christ, that know what he stood for? I cannot claim to have seen Christ but I have felt a spiritual connection and yearning. I have faith in the accounts of the Gospel and a fairly clear idea of the life that Christ lived. So is my trust in Christ? Do I let tomorrow take care of itself (Matthew 6:34)?

Not hardly. In fact, I spend every effort in college striving to exert control over my future. To choose my path and make sure that I have that power of choice. On the day that you read this I will be one week out from taking the MCAT, a test I will have put countless hours into studying. I will study not just its content, but strategies for how to dissect the test itself in order to be successful. In some ways this seems to illustrate a lack of faith in God’s plan to me. Before I lose relevancy to the passage, let me tie it back. Oftentimes I believe we Americans are similar to Thomas. We live in a society that expects monetary success, values the four bedroom house, slick car, and golf clubs. For many of us this has always been at our fingertips because our parents and their parents have worked hard to make it possible. But where is all of that in the way, the truth and the light?

Jesus doesn’t call us to a life of monetary success, nor is our salvation secured by it; it is merely an idol many place in front of him.