1“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going.” 5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
These past weeks, we have lost some members of the Silliman community to unexpected deaths.
First was a 20-year-old accountancy student who had a condition in her pancreas. She was rushed to the hospital on a Sunday, had an emergency operation Tuesday night, and midday of Saturday, she expired.
The second was another student, a first year MedTech student who met a vehicular accident in Lanao del Norte while she was on semestral break.
Then there was a very prominent businessman and socio-civic leader in the community who was mercilessly gunned down in broad daylight.
Three different lives, three different circumstances, three different experiences of grief and pain, but one message of truth: that one day, we shall all depart from this earthly life in a time we do not know, and in a circumstance we can never tell.
Such a realization is truly hard-hitting. It is humbling, and it leaves us shaken to our very core. It is a perpetual reminder that life is brief, and that we really have nothing to boast when all is said and done.
When our time comes, we will all leave this world the same way we were ushered into it — in utter nakedness and simplicity, with no one to truly witness and understand it all except God and God alone. As Job put it so profoundly, “Naked I me from my mother’s womb and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” (Job 1:21)
In several occasions, Jesus tried to explain his own death to his disciples. The Lord wanted them to understand the inevitability of his passing as part of God’s redemption plan.
The disciples, however, were not receptive. They refused even the very idea of Jesus having to undergo suffering. The whole idea of death and suffering was just too offensive for them. It was a reality they were not willing to fully accept and comprehend. It was a truth that greatly troubled their hearts.
How could a young man like Jesus even think about death? He had so much to live for. He had so much to give to the world. But in the midst of their unwillingness to understand, Jesus continued to speak to their hearts. He commanded them to put their absolute trust in God alone. He reminded them of a place beyond this physical world, a place Jesus referred to as the “Father’s house with many rooms” which he was to prepare. He assured them he would come back and take his disciples where he was going.
And most of all, he assured them that everything he ever said about life beyond this world was true and worth believing, “…if that were not so, would I have told you…?” What powerful words from Jesus — words that every skeptic would have to face and every cynic would have to wrestle with.
If all these claims about the eternal life Jesus offered were not true, would he even have spoken of them? Was Jesus lying when he spoke about the eternal life he offered to those who will truly believe, or was he saying the truth that would set us all free?
Moreover, are we ready to face God? Are we cognizant that one day, we shall breathe our very last, face the full consequences of everything we have ever done, and hear God’s final and ultimate verdict on us?
Just like the disciples, some would think that it’s way too early to think of such things. There is so much to do. There is so much to finish. There is so much to enjoy in this world — and we are right!
The reminder for us, however, is that while we continue to pursue our tasks, while we endeavor to life meaningfully and significantly in this world, we also remain mindful of our finiteness, and of what is beyond what our eyes can see.
More importantly, may we always remember the call and invitation of Jesus Christ to trust him with all of our hearts, to walk with him in meaningful relationship, and to live our lives in ways that are godly, just, and compassionate.
As we remember our dearly departed loved ones and friends this season, may our troubled hearts remain hopeful that beyond all the misery and pain we see in this world, lies a place of genuine rest for God’s people.
May we also come before the Lord humbly each day knowing that while we are still in this world, we will need every help, every strength, and every wisdom from the Lord to live with sense and meaning, to understand that we need to hold on to Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life, to trust him with all our hearts, and to serve him faithfully and sincerely until the very end.
