May 7, 2023

5th Sunday of Easter (A)

“Faith—the Formula for a Troubled Heart”

Msgr Thomas Gervasio

Today’s Gospel takes us to the Last Supper. Our Lord had just told his apostles that he would be with them only “a little while longer,” that one of them would betray him and that Peter would deny him—news that shook the apostles to their very core. And still, Our Lord says what seems impossible: “Do not let your hearts be troubled…have faith…”

Few of us get through life without troubles, and when they come along faith can be a struggle. It’s hard to feel confident of God’s presence when the ground beneath us is rocking and shifting. Have you ever asked God, “Why me?” It is a question put most often to clergy and doctors. It is a question that arises when a daughter is the only one of five teenagers killed in an accident; or when one receives the diagnosis of a cancer that is inoperable. Faith is hard when a wife prays for an end to her husband’s abusive behavior and the abuse continues. Faith is hard when a young adult struggles with ongoing doubts about God’s existence and the value of religion. Faith is hard when parents pray that their child will stop making harmful and even destructive choices in life and see no change. And faith is surely shaken at the death of a loved one.

Still, Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled…have faith. Ordinarily these are words that elude us, words that are too simplistic, unable to calm our fears, soothe our grief, and lift our worries. Such words are usually meaningless unless they come from someone we can really trust, from someone upon whom we can depend, from someone we know loves us and will be always with us. These words are not uttered by just anyone. They have meaning because they are the Lord’s words—God “who can neither deceive nor be deceived.”

It took time for the apostles to trust in these words. Time was needed to calm their fears and anxieties. Think of it—even after seeing the Risen Lord, they continued to be “troubled.” The Lord appeared to them many times over the course of forty days.

He knew that they had to realize that in the midst of their troubles Jesus was there. He is also there for us—in whatever we experience. As it took time for the apostles to trust the Lord, it takes time for us as well.

St. Paul endured many hardships before he could confidently write: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

What of us? When we feel weary, or at the point of tears, when times get rough, when everything feels so hard, we must ask, “What is stronger our fear or our faith?” Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled…have faith.” He did not say, ‘You shall not be tempest-tossed, you shall not be work-weary, you shall not be discomforted,’ but he said, “You shall not be overcome.”

Today we might make this our prayer: My Lord and God, the troubles of life can be so crippling. We can worry about what the future may bring. I realize that you know what is best for me. Help me to remember that you are with me always. I place my trust in you alone. May whatever difficulties I experience, never obscure the truth—that is that You are faithful and that I am always safe in Your hands. Your grace will never abandon me for you are a God of immense love and infinite mercy.