John 14:1-12
Jesus said to his disicples:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Jesus Promises Closeness
“Do not let your hearts be troubled” can sound less like comfort and more like a stretch right now. When Jesus speaks of leaving and preparing a place for his disciples, it brings some calm, but it cannot erase the unease. They know this departure will cost something.
Jesus isn’t content with our knowing about him. His desire is that we know him, dwell with him, trust him. He suggests that only one thing should truly trouble the heart: separation from that relationship. His promise to prepare a place is not about distance, but closeness—ensuring that love and communion endure, even through loss, confusion, and fear. In that promise, searching hearts find their home.
Jesus does not promise to spare us trouble or loss. He promises his closeness—walking with us, inviting us to follow in freedom, and helping us trust that even the trials that beset us can open onto deeper union.
—Fr. Martin Connell, SJ, serves as dean of Arrupe College at Loyola University Chicago.
Prayer
Lord, when my heart is troubled and the future feels costly and uncertain, help me trust your promise of closeness and your desire to dwell with me. Grant me the grace to remain rooted in relationship with you, even amid loss, confusion, and fear.
—Fr. Martin Connell, SJ