JOHN 14: 1-14

Jottings on John…Easter 5…Revised 2020

Years ago my wife & I land at Dublin airport, pick up a car, & head towards the B & B we’ve booked to stay in. We have clear directions: down the highway, turn off at such & such a road, then turn left at the pub on the next corner. Do you think we can find that, ‘pub on the next corner’? No way! 

Three times we re-drive that stretch with no success. We spot an elderly gent beside the road, so we pull over, & ask if he can direct us. He says, “Sure & the pub’s just up there a wee bit, on the corner.” We say, “It may be up there on the corner, but we can’t find it!” Our old gent simply says, “I’ll come with you & show you the way!” 

So he hops into the car with us, & off we go; rather more than ‘a wee bit’! Our passenger suddenly says, “ Turn here”. So we turn where he says, & with a triumphant pointing of his finger, “There it is! Didn’t I tell you, now?” Would you believe we still can’t see this pub on the corner! But sure & it is there. Completely hidden by a hedge of trees so thick no-one who didn’t know it was there could possibly find it!

We thank our guide profusely. He says, “Goodbye to ye. I don’t suppose we’ll ever meet again in this world, but we’ll meet again one day in Heaven!” and off he goes.

What still strikes us though, is that our new Irish friend has the very essence of Gospel in his heart: “I’ll come with you & show you the way” is at the heart of today’s passage from JN. Can we perhaps recall other personal examples of being shown the way, have someone walk the Way with us, rather than just give us directions? Such personal stories resurrect Jesus’ offering Himself as the Way.

(If  you’re observing Mothers’ Day, you may think of our mothers (& fathers) as those who, hopefully, don’t just give us directions but walk the Way with us.)

Jesus does more than come with us & show us the way; Jesus Himself is the Way. He doesn’t beckon us from around corners, nor hide behind hedges; not anything like that. Jesus’ Way is an inner Way that leads us to become like Him. John often points to Jesus’ Signs. Jesus is Himself a package deal like no other!i

Brian

Afterthought: It was almost as hard to drop the car off at the airport as it was to pick it up! No one seemed too bothered to take it off our hands before we had to board our outbound flight. Do we shake our heads in puzzlement, or give thanks that there are more important things in life than taking possession of things - or people!