The Healing Journey

July 30, 2023

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.”
— Jesus

John 14:1-6 is one of the most frequently read Gospels at funeral Masses. We have heard it many times … but have we really let the words fill our hearts? It is among the final discourses of Jesus to his disciples on the night of the Last Supper, as his Passion was about to begin. Soon he would endure the agony in the garden, where he was betrayed and taken before the High Priest and later before Pilate, where he was condemned and crucified. As he spoke these words to his disciples in the upper room, he knew all that was about to happen, and these words had special meaning:

Jesus said:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house, there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.”

“Thomas said to him, ‘Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’

The promise that Jesus made to his confused and anxious disciples is the same promise he makes to each one of us. It’s a promise that he has fulfilled for our deceased loved ones. Jesus’ words at the Last Supper still resonate with us, centuries later. “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” “Have faith in God and have faith in me.” “There are many dwelling places in my Father’s house.” “I am going to prepare a place for you.” And “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself so that where I am, you also may be.”