I am the way: At 6, 1; Pt 2 and the way to truth and life in Jn 14

I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me.
John 14:6

The Fifth Sunday of Easter in Year A intertwines three texts focusing on Christ’s identity and the mission of the Church. Acts 6:1-7 narrates the election of seven deacons as the community grows and internal tensions arise; the Twelve delegate table service to seven men filled with the Spirit, allowing them to focus on the Word and prayer. 1 Peter 2:4-9 presents the identity of the baptized: living stones built on the cornerstone, a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. John 14:1-12 offers Jesus’s farewell discourse: do not be troubled; I am going to prepare a place for you; I am the way, the truth, and the life; whoever sees me sees the Father. The three texts depict the same movement: Christ leaving and leaving the Church as his continued presence in the world.I. The First Reading: Acts 6:1-7With the community’s growth, Greek-speaking Jews complain that their widows are being neglected in daily distribution. The Twelve convene a meeting of disciples and propose: “It is not right for us to abandon the Word of God to serve at table. Choose seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom” (Acts 6:2-3). Seven are chosen, including Stephen, filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip. After prayer, the Twelve lay hands on them. “The word of God spread; and the number of disciples grew greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many priests adhered to the faith” (v.7). The election of deacons reveals the organizational wisdom of the early Church: the Word demands dedicated servants who do not scatter, and concrete service to the most needy also requires devoted servers.II. The Second Reading: 1 Peter 2:4-9“Coming to him, a living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight, you yourselves as living stones are being built into a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:4-5). Peter applies each baptized person the vocabulary reserved in the Old Testament for Israel: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a special people acquired for God, to proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (v.9). The identity of the baptized is theological, not sociological; it’s not what they do that defines them, but what they have received. The rejected stone becomes the cornerstone, and each baptized person is a living stone in this same construction.III. The Gospel: John 14:1-12In his final meal discourse, Jesus prepares the disciples for his departure. “Do not be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you” (John 14:1-2). Thomas asks, “Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus replies, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (v.6). Philip requests, “Lord, show us the Father, and it will be enough for us.” Jesus responds with a question: “Philip, have I been with you all this time and you do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (v.9). The works Jesus performs are not done by himself; the Father who dwells in him does them (v.10). He adds, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (v.12). Jesus leaving becomes more present, not less: believers will do greater works because they will receive the Spirit.IV. Mary and the Priesthood of Silence1 Peter calls the baptized “a royal priesthood” to offer spiritual sacrifices: Mary performed this priesthood eminently and uniquely. At Jesus’s Presentation in the Temple, she offered her Son to the Father with her hands, forty days after his birth. On the Cross, at the foot of the cross, she offered him again to the Father who was dying: not as abandonment but as maternal consent to the redemptive sacrifice. Mary is the royal priesthood in its highest form. John 14 says “do not be troubled”: Mary is the model of this peace. Simeon announced that a sword would pierce her soul, and she did not flee. Acts 6 shows the community electing servers so the Twelve can focus on the Word and prayer. In the Cenacle, according to Acts 1:14, Mary is the model of silent service that does not seek prominence but perseveres in prayer with the community. John 14 says whoever believes will do greater works: Mary, who believed more deeply, became the channel of grace through which the Spirit continues to work his works in the world for centuries after the Ascension.