Gospel is part of Jesus’ farewell discourse; Jesus talks about his departure from his
disciples. First, he will be arrested, taken away and crucified; secondly, after the
resurrection, Jesus will return to the Father but he will not abandon his disciples; he will
send the Holy Spirit to accompany them. This is the background of Jesus’ saying, ‘do
not let your hearts be troubled, have faith in God, faith in me’. Many hearts are troubled
in the world due to the pandemic, families grieving their loss. While scientists, doctors
try to find a way out of this crisis, people of faith are confronted by the mystery of
suffering in life; we do not have answers to many mysteries of life. We hear the soft
voice of Jesus keeps saying in our hearts, ‘have faith, courage, I have conquered the
world’ [John 16:33]. Jesus says, know that ‘I am the way truth and life’. In Jesus, you
find what life is, its ultimate purpose. It is by pondering Christ’s life, we get the strength
to face setbacks and crosses; everything directs us to know that life is a movement in
God’s love; love shapes and keeps life for eternity. When we confess, Jesus as truth,
we accept his life of service, become caring people, just as the early church, bringing
Christ to others by looking after each other! Jesus is life; the way of living love leads to
abundant life; love burns all negatives in life just as fire burns and purifies!
‘Let nothing disturb you’, says Jesus! Fear, if drives one to despair, is an obstacle to
inner transformation, on the other hand faith/trust is freedom to venture life, to
sacrifice, search and invest in the good and beautiful, what a true mother is all about! A
mother’s paraphrase of 1Corinthians 13 [a tribute to mother-child relationship]: ‘Though
I speak with the language of educators and have not love, I am as blaring brass or a
crashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of planning my child’s future and understanding
all the mysteries of the child’s mind and have ample knowledge of teenagers and
though I have all faith in my children, so that I could remove their mountains of doubts
and fears and have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed
and nourish them properly and though I give my body to backbreaking housework and
have not love, it profits me not. Love is patient with the naughty child and is kind. Love
does not envy when a child wants to move to grandma’s house because ‘she is nice’.
Love is not anxious to impress a teenager with one’s superior knowledge. Love has
good manners in the home-does not act selfishly or with a martyr complex, is not
easily provoked by normal childish actions. Love does not remember the wrongs of
yesterday and love thinks no evil-it gives the child the benefit of the doubt. Love does
not make light of sin in the child’s life [or in her own either] but rejoices when he or she
comes to a knowledge of the truth. Love does not fail. Whether there be comfortable
surroundings, they shall fail; whether there be total communication between parents
and children, it will cease, whether there be good education, it shall vanish. When we
were children, we spoke and acted and understood as children, but now that we have
become parents, we must act maturely. Now abides faith, hope and love-these three
are needed in the home. Faith in Jesus Christ, eternal hope for the future of the child
and God’s love shed in our hearts, but the greatest of these is love’! There is no fear in
love!