Thursday of the 6th Week of Easter
Acts 18: 1-8; John 16: 16-20
Dc. Larry Brockman
A period of turmoil! That’s what our life on earth is, a period of turmoil. The reading from Acts describes some of the turmoil of the birth of the Church. People are persecuted by the authorities; some reject the message of the Apostles; while doing his evangelical mission, people like Paul must continue to work at their trade, and that means Paul lives basically mouth-to-mouth in his mission of evangelization as he travels around the area. It is a chaotic time, the birth of the Church. Jesus Gospel message all but says that the Apostles should expect this; that they will feel like they have been abandoned- Jesus will be gone for an uncertain “little while”, they will be left on their own without the physical presence of Jesus to guide them day by day as they had become accustomed to, to give them constant inspiration and guidance. And yet, Jesus is telling them to hold up, stand tall, be firm, endure, because their weeping and mourning will turn to joy.
This message apples equally well to us today. In the course of our lives, our mission, we will miss the presence of our Lord and savior. It will seem like he is gone to us. True, we never saw and talked to and felt the physical presence of the Lord as the Apostles did. But we have the Scriptures that remind us of His life and presence among us, and the Resurrection and everlasting life, and the Spirit who will descend on us at Pentecost. Even more importantly, we have the Eucharist, which is His real presence whenever we want it.
But still, there will be times when we will feel abandoned. Times when we are depressed over our sinfulness; or when we are faced with the difficulties and problems of life; or we lose a loved one or something very dear to us. In these times, we may feel abandoned. It is then that we need to recall these words of Jesus to his faithful: “But your grief will become joy”!
Tags: Everlasting Life