Building His House

05-07-2023Weekly ReflectionDr. Scott Hahn

Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year A)

By His death, Resurrection and Ascension, Jesus has gone ahead to prepare a place for us in His Father's house. His Father's house is no longer a temple made by human hands. It is the spiritual house of the Church, built on the living stone of Christ's body. As Peter interprets the Scriptures in today's Epistle, Jesus is the "stone" destined to be rejected by men but made the precious cornerstone of God's dwelling on earth (see Psalm 118:22; Isaiah 8:14; 28:16).

Each of us is called to be a living stone in God's building (see 1 Corinthians 3:9,16). In this edifice of the Spirit, we are to be "holy priests" offering up "spiritual sacrifices" - all our prayer, work and intentions - to God. This is our lofty calling as Christians. This is why Christ led us out of the darkness of sin and death as Moses led the Israelites from bondage in Egypt.

God's covenant with Israel made them a royal and priestly people who were to announce His praises (see Exodus 19:6). By our faith in Christ's new covenant, we have been made heirs of this chosen race, called to glorify the Father in the temple of our bodies (see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Romans 12:1).

In today's First Reading, we see the spiritual house of the Church being built up, as the Apostles consecrate seven deacons so they can devote themselves more fully to the "ministry of the Word."

The Lord's Word is upright and all His works trustworthy, we sing in today's Psalm. So we can trust Jesus when He tells us never to be troubled, but to believe that His Word and works come from the Father. His Word continues its work in the world through the Church. We see its beginnings today in Jerusalem. It is destined to spread with influence and power (see Acts 19:20), and to become the imperishable seed by which every heart is born anew (see 1 Peter 1:23).

El Evangelio de este quinto domingo de Pascua recoge un fragmento del discurso de Jesús durante la Última Cena. Los discípulos están entristecidos por la inminente marcha del Maestro. Para consolarlos, el Señor les revela profundas verdades de fe que podemos meditar, mientras nos vamos acercando a la fiesta de Pentecostés.

En primer lugar, Jesús pide a los suyos que no se turben, que tengan fe, confíen en Él y en sus obras. Les habla entonces de lo que Él llama la “casa de mi Padre” en la que “voy a preparar un lugar para vosotros” (v. 2). No es malo pensar en el Cielo en medio de la tribulación. De hecho, “frecuentemente nos habla el Señor del premio que nos ha ganado con su Muerte y Resurrección –comenta san Josemaría a propósito de este pasaje–. El Cielo es la meta de nuestra senda terrena. Jesucristo nos ha precedido y allí, en compañía de la Virgen y de San José, a quien tanto venero, de los Ángeles y de los Santos, aguarda nuestra llegada”.

Con motivo de la pregunta de Tomás sobre cómo seguir a Jesús hacia donde Él va, el Maestro revela a sus discípulos que Él es “el Camino, la Verdad y la Vida” (v. 6). Sobre esta expresión misteriosa comentaba san Agustín que es como si Jesús le dijera a Tomás: “¿Por dónde quieres ir? Yo soy el Camino. ¿Adónde quieres ir? Yo soy la Verdad. ¿Dónde quieres permanecer? Yo soy la Vida. (…) Los sabios del mundo comprenden que Dios es vida eterna y verdad cognoscible; pero el Verbo de Dios, que es Verdad y Vida junto al Padre, se ha hecho Camino asumiendo la naturaleza humana”.