Archbishop of Sydney

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Saint Mary's Cathedral, Sydney
Acts 6:1-7; 1 Pet 2:4-9; Jn 14:1-12

By + Cardinal George Pell
Archbishop of Sydney
20/4/2008

In the first and last readings from the Acts and John’s gospel we are still in the post resurrection period; before the Ascension in the gospel account and afterwards in the Acts of the Apostles.

In the latter reading the new Christian community is still settling down after the period of Pentecostal enthusiasm and developing strategies and structures to cope with emerging needs and the frailties of human nature. The non-Jewish convert widows claimed they were being overlooked in the distribution of the community’s food and goods, unlike the Jewish widows.  So the Twelve Apostles appointed a number of deacons and ordained them by the laying on of hands to do the physical tasks, such as the distribution of food, while they would devote themselves to teaching, preparing and delivering their sermons and instructing their converts.

At this stage the number of converts was increasing steadily and a goodly number of Jewish priests submitted to the faith.

Rather than reflect on the vagaries of human nature, which has not changed much in thousands of years, we might use the time to speak about Jesus, the way, the truth and the life; indeed the only way people can come to God the Father.

St. Peter describes Jesus as a precious cornerstone, who never disappoints those who rely on him, but Peter also concedes that many do not see Jesus in this pivotal role. For many he is simply a stone that has been rejected by the best builders. They have stumbled over him and been brought down, because they remain in the darkness of unbelief and have come into the light.

Meanwhile, at an earlier stage, Jesus was reassuring his followers and urging them not to be troubled. They were not so much worried about Our Lord, but about what might happen to them when he was gone. He tells them there are many rooms in his Father’s house; in other words heaven has plenty of space for them too, as well as for many other different types of people. I chose this passage from St. John for the funeral of my father, who was not a Catholic and not a religious type at all.

Experts over the centuries have written many learned treatises of what Our Lord meant by claiming he is the way, the truth and the life. How do these three realities relate to one another? It is probably true to say that Jesus is not simply proposing himself as a moral guide, nor simply as a leader to be followed, but as the only avenue to salvation. In other words just like the description of him as the gate in chapter ten of John’s gospel.

St. Augustine once explained it in these words: "Every man is capable of understanding the Truth and the Life, but not all find the Way. The wise men of the world understand God as eternal life and as a truth which is knowable. However the Word of God which is Truth and Life in the presence of the Father, has become the Way on assuming a human nature" (sermon 141).

Both the Old Testament Jews and the Qumran community looked on themselves as "the Way". So did the early Christian community as they followed Jesus. So John’s language reflects this development in the image across three different communities. Today the largest of the new communities which have grown up in the Church since the Second Vatican Council calls itself "the Neo-Catechumenal Way".

Two final points before concluding; the emerging claims to the divinity of Jesus as the Son of God were disturbing and provocative to pious Jews, who defined themselves as proudly monotheist; believers in only one great God for all creation and against the polytheism of the surrounding pagan peoples.

This is the background to Philip's request and Jesus’ response that He and the Father are one; that when they saw Jesus, they were seeing the Father in some real sense. We are confronting the mystery of the Trinity, where Father and Son and Spirit are distinct, but there is only one God. Jesus brings God down to our level (and even lower given the suffering he endured) and gives us true insights into Godliness. Therefore we can pray the Our Father as Jesus taught us standing or kneeling before the crucifix, because the Son will transmit our prayers to the Father in his godly unity.

The final verses of the gospel passage have Our Lord claiming that his disciples will perform even greater works than He did, provided they believe. It seems almost blasphemous to accept this, but Our Lord is talking about works, not comparing us with him as persons.

Some years ago I got into trouble by suggesting that in some way St. Josemaria Escrivá, the founder of Opus Dei, went beyond the achievements of St. Augustine. Although St. Josemaria was a competent theologian, he was not a giant like Augustine. But I justified my claim by pointing out that St. Augustine, bishop in the small North African town of Hippo, had not founded a world wide movement with some tens of thousands of members. So too I suppose I could acknowledge that Our Lord never staged a World Youth Day!

Let us pray that God will bless our efforts on 15 – 20 July this year.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.