RBWords

     Entrances and exits are part of any good drama!  "Coming from" and "returning" are important themes in the Gospel of John.  We learned right at the beginning of the Last Supper account:  "Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father."  The "Prologue" to the gospel speaks of his coming into the world.  Theologians refer to this theme as "Exitus/Reditus."  In the immediate context of the "Farewell Discourse" Jesus is dealing with a frightened and bewildered group of people, his disciples.  They are frightened because they are aware that he is about to "leave" them and "go to the Father."  They do not have the entire perspective that we have!  Jesus tries to comfort them with the closing words of the first part of the "discourse."  He speaks of the peace that will come with the Holy Spirit, which will be given to them after his resurrection.  Of course, they have no idea that there will BE a resurrection of the kind that Jesus will have.

     From our perspective, the Holy Spirit is the presence of God in the church.  Pentecost is a past, present and future reality.  But it is easy to lose that perspective in times of trouble.  At my anniversary celebration this past Sunday, I spoke of the "tumultuous" times in which I entered religious life and was ordained.  More recently, the sex abuse scandal has created a new form of tumultuous times.  We must recall Jesus' words.  The Holy Spirit comes to all of us and not just to Pope and Bishops!  They receive what they need to fulfill their roles in the Body of Christ, but we too receive what we need.  It is this Holy Spirit that is the peace that Christ gives - his assurance that he will be with us.  AMEN