Jesus, I Trust You!

FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD

26 April 2024   EASTER FRIDAY 4

WORD of the DAY 

Jesus said to His disciples: Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me… (John 14: 1)

How shall I live this Word?   

We are in the discourse of “farewell” of Jesus, where he delivers His last will. What is striking is how Jesus, despite being His last moments, thinks of the disciples, of what they can feel, of the difficulties they can encounter with great tenderness. He would have been right to be embittered, disappointed by the behavior of his own: he just announced the betrayal of Judas, the denial of Peter; and instead, we hear him say: “Let not your heart be troubled. Have faith in God and also in me”! in all this Jesus asks for trust. Trusting is a way of putting oneself, of acting. It refers to the virtue of faith, having sure roots, firm persuasion: emet/’aman in Hebrew that indicates being founded on a rock that prevents us being swept away by the storm. In reference to God, it is leaning on Him; it is our AMEN with which we conclude all our prayers. Jesus asks us this, “to be stable, secure” in Him. Is it an imperative, a command? Or rather an invitation, a prayer? Jesus implores his disciples – and therefore us today – to remain attached to him… this is our life: to remain in him!

Lord Jesus, we repeat to you with strength, and with all our life: AMEN!

The voice of Pope Francis – Regina Coeli 10 May 2020

Do not let your heart be troubled” (v. 1). It also tells us, in the tragedies of life. But how to ensure that the heart is not troubled? Why is the heart troubled? The Lord indicates two remedies for worry. The first is: “Have faith in me” (v. 1). It would seem a bit theoretical, abstract advice. Instead, Jesus wants to tell us something precise. He knows that in life, the worst anxiety, the upset, comes from the feeling of not making it, from feeling alone and without reference points in front of what happens. This anguish, in which difficulties are added to difficulties, cannot be overcome alone. We need Jesus’ help, and for this reason Jesus asks us to have faith in Him, that is, not to rely on ourselves, but on Him. For deliverance from turmoil passes through entrustment. Entrusting ourselves to Jesus, making the “leap”. And this is deliverance from turmoil. And Jesus is risen and alive precisely to be always at our side. Then we can tell Him, “Jesus, I believe that You are risen and that You are beside me. I believe that You listen to me. I bring to You what troubles me, my worries. I have faith in You and I entrust myself to You.

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