5th Sunday of Easter, Year A, Shaftesbury

Jn 14:1-12
I'm only going to offer a brief for today because we have an appeal at the end of Mass on behalf of the Bishop’s new fund for training seminarians.

The thought I want to offer you today is the reason why the gospel text we heard today is given to us to consider during the Easter season.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled, trust in God still and trust in me"
Now, the reason why this is an issue, the reason why a question could arise in your head, is that the words of the Lord that we heard in that gospel text were not words He said AFTER He rose from the dead on Easter Sunday -in that sense, they are not words that belong to the EASTER season. He said these words before He died, at the Last Supper.
And yet, the church calls on us to reflect on these words NOW in the Easter season.

So, why did it make sense to reflect on these words in the light of His Resurrection?
And the simple answer is that the power of these words takes on a new significance when they are read in the context of His Resurrection.
What the Resurrection manifests to us is that He has the power to do what He said. He has the power to lay down His life and take it up again (Jn 10:18), as He said.
And so, if we return to the words He said before He died, if we return to though promises He made when He seemed to be in weakness, looking at those words again in the light of the Resurrection should mean that we have confidence in His promises.

He HAS the power to fulfil His promises. He has shown that "the Father and I are one"(Jn 10:30). And so we should have a renewed sense of comfort in hearing His words, “Do not let your hearts be troubled, trust in God still and trust in me".