For Sunday
Easter 5A
Collect
Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Reading
Reflection
Many of us know this passage as “the funeral gospel” in much the same way 1 Corinthians 13 is “the wedding reading”. We have a kind of context for when we receive this that is not dependent on the context of the gospel, but the context in our lives.
But we receive it this week in the midst of Easter. A time when we experience the exquisite confusion of Jesus’s death and resurrection. When the disciples begin to reckon with Jesus going away forever, but with the understanding that he isn’t truly gone for good.
We don’t have that exquisite confusion ourselves. But we do have a kind of disquiet with how to approach this all theologically. And with our own kind of literal interpretation governing our beliefs.
So we hear Thomas not knowing the way and nod along. Because we know there’s obviously no roadmap. So literal, but also, so real, right? We don’t know how to cope with life, let alone death. How to keep going and how to navigate this crazy world!
And we may think Philip’s response is naive theologically, but darn it if we don’t also do the same. Telling God to prove it over and over. Telling our leaders to make it simple. Our teachers to just get to what we need to know. Rabbi, what’s on the test?
But their answers are standing right before them. The Way has been revealed in the teachings and person of Jesus. He’s right in front of us. We just have to look.