Reflection for the 5th Sunday of Easter-2020

Written on: May 6, 2020

Fifth Sunday of Easter

1^st Reading: Acts 6:1-7
2^nd Reading: 1^st Peter 2:4-9
Gospel: John 14: 1-12

So much in today’s readings!  I will focus on John’s Gospel.

Jesus said to His disciples:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.  You have faith in God; have faith also in me. . .if I prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself so that where I am you also may be.”

As we listen to Thomas and hear Jesus try to convince the disciples not to be upset but to trust, we hear Jesus telling them that He is the way, the truth and the life.  Once again Jesus was trying to help the disciples understand where He was going for they had been with Him for so long.  However, Phillip and his friends all wanted to see the Father. Phillip just didn’t “get it.”

How frustrated do we humans get as we insist on having the answer we want now.  This reminds me of myself as a youngster, pestering my mom with the question “why” when I couldn’t do something. This wasn’t too often because Mom knew how to handle me with one of her looks. I was always curious. I recall one evening when the sun was going down I asked about going out to play.  Of course, I got a “no.” I wondered why, until I looked out the window and saw darkness prevailing.  Seeing was believing for me to understand. Through these little things I learned to trust Mom.

As I dove deeper into Christ’s conversation with Philip, I found we had much in common, especially needing to see to believe.  At this time, through life’s situations, my faith and trust have deepened through the good example of others who surround me and through graces I receive daily.  For this I am grateful.

This part of John’s Gospel is so filled with love, peace, faith and trust, especially as I ask Jesus / God to be with me daily. Many years ago Sr. Ann Cecilia taught me a simple prayer: 

“Jesus, I believe; help my unbelief.”

This would have been good for the disciples, too!

Sister Joan Marie McCann, GNSH has a passion for healthcare. Even before she joined the GNSH 60 years ago, she worked as an X-Ray technician. Now a BSN, she served as rehab unit manager at St. Mary’s hospital in Langhorne and worked in hospice care at Keystone Home Care in Bucks County. A kidney transplant recipient herself, Joan volunteers at the Gift of Life Family House, supporting patients undergoing transplants and their families.

Feature photo courtesy of Bruce Hong/Unsplash

This entry was posted in From our Sisters and tagged: answer, believe, believing, Christ, conversation, disciples, Easter, Faith, father, God, graces, grateful, humans, Jesus, John's Gospel, life, love, Mom, now, peace, pestering, Phillip, seeing, Sun, Thomas, trust, truth, unbelief