Do not let your hearts be troubled. I am going to prepare a place for you. The passage that constitutes today’s Gospel Reading is part of a series of discourses given by Jesus as they sat for what would become their last meal together in the upper room (Last Supper). Jesus was aware that the Last Supper was going to be the last big act that he was performing with the twelve before his passion, and consequently, he must have intended the discourses to open the eyes of the twelve not only into what was about to happen, but also into understanding how their lives had become intertwined with those impending events. It was a defining moment in Jesus’ relationship with his disciples. 
Although in its original context the discourse was given before Jesus’ passion and death, today, we read it in light of the resurrection and in anticipation of the event of the ascension (which will be celebrated in two weeks’ time). Jesus’ ascension, even if it was not as eventful as his passion and death had been, was still bound to create some unease within the group. Jesus’ resurrection and subsequent appearances to the members of this group was slowly restoring normalcy and calming the turbulence that had been caused by Jesus’ arrest and execution. They were not yet ready to once again live through the experience of their Master and leader leaving them. As it were, they were still  too young to become orphans. 
To lift up their spirits, Jesus’ assured the disciples that all was going to be well. He let them know that they needed not to let their hearts be troubled for there was nothing that could happen to them that would be beyond their ability to deal with: “ I have prepared you. I have taught you. You should be able to handle it.” Moreover, Jesus’ ascension was going to be a gain for the disciples: ‘ It is good that I go, for I am going to prepare a place for you so that where I am, you also may be.’ Where was Jesus going, and why was it a good thing for the disciples, and for us?
Jesus had accomplished his mission and was ready to go take his place at the right side of the Father. Through his life and ministry, Jesus had successfully effected the necessary reconciliation between God and creation, and for those who were hearkening to his message and had come to believe in him, his going back to the Father was a cause for joy. The reconciliation that Jesus had come to make possible becomes complete when creation finally rests with God. Jesus going back to the Father initiates this process, for  no one goes to the Father except through Jesus. When Jesus assumed the flesh, he took in himself the nature of creation in its entirety. Each creature that had been subjected to eternal damnation on account of Adam and Eve’s sin was given a lifeline in Jesus Christ. Jesus nullified our sentence when he hang on the wood of the cross and gave us new life by his rising from the dead. And when the time came for Jesus to ascend back to the Father, he took with him this new creation he had redeemed by his blood. It is for this reason that the disciples were to be glad at Jesus’ going away. It was a move in the right direction, an indication that the battle had been won for us. All that remained was our final union with the Father, the culmination of our salvation. 
The going away of Jesus was not to become an occasion for sadness on account of the disciples not knowing what to do in Jesus’ absence. The disciples needed not to worry because they had been fully initiated into the ‘way’ of Jesus and were well equipped to continue on the path Jesus had carved for them. They needed not to worry because they had been with Jesus, had learnt from him, and were now possessing in themselves the necessary skills to faithfully live their discipleship even in Jesus’ physical absence.