MAY162025

For the next several weeks in the Easter season the Gospel for each day will be taken from what is known as the Last Discourse in the Gospel of John. Jesus is giving his final instructions to the apostles before undergoing his Passion. The Discourse starts: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.” Jesus knows how challenged the faith of his followers will be as they see him undergo his suffering and death. He is urging them to trust in the plan of God even in the times of pain and difficulty. That lesson is a perennial one, of course. We easily get discouraged when we’re on the rough side of the mountain and can wonder where God is at those times. The example and teaching of Jesus point us back toward faith, back toward the reliance on God that led us to follow him in the first place. As one old song puts it, “Don’t turn around. We’ve come this far by faith.”