Call to worship
At the Last Supper, Jesus told his close friends not to be afraid when he would no longer be with them. He assured them that They would accomplish great things. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We offer ourselves As living stones to build his church.
- To the point: Jesus’ words in this gospel from the Last Supper discourse are reassuring ones: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Yet Thomas and Philip, who hear Jesus also tell them that he is leaving, are not reassured and question him anxiously. The leap from the Jesus at the Last Supper to the Jesus after the resurrection is one giant step, one the disciples have not yet taken. But we have taken this leap. We are an Easter people. We have received the Holy Spirit who empowers us to know Jesus, through him to know the Father, and to do the works of Jesus. Believing this mitigates all troubles, all anxiety.
- Connecting the Gospel (John 14: 1-12) to the second reading: Peter confidently invited people to “Come to Christ” and named them “a people of Christ’s own” because had an Easter faith; he encountered the risen Lord. He made the leap that the troubled anxious disciples in the gospel had not yet made.
- Connecting the Gospel to our experience: Being troubled and anxious is a fact of our stress-filled lives. “Do not be troubled” the surgeon says to someone before major surgery; “Do not be troubled” a parent says to a child wakened by a nightmare; “Do not be troubled.” Having faith in our journey is the only way we can truly not be troubled.
Centering prayers
The Gospel
(John 14: 1-12)
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”
Jesus, as your disciples,
our hearts are troubled.
Is there some escape, we ask, from
war, gun violence, racism, climate change.
Be with us now, please.
To know you is to know and love
the Father and the Spirit.
And that is everything. No fear there.
You are our way, our truth, and our life.
Wherever you abide is the place that
we always want to be –– circling
in eternal, self-giving love,
with you, the Father and your Holy Spirit.
The First Reading
(Acts 6: 1-7)
Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men,
filled with the Spirit and wisdom.
Lord, choose us as your children who
will give care to the poor,
will wash their feet as you did,
will go out to spread the word of God.
Fill us, please, with wisdom and the Holy Spirit.
The Second Reading
(1 Peter 2: 4-9)
Let yourselves be built into a spiritual house.
Dear Christ, please call us
to be a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people of your own.
We want to be with you
in the middle of the
human race and all creation,
calling your people out of darkness into light.
Copyright © 2023, Anne M. Osdieck
Music for reflection