RBWords

     Many parents are familiar with the reaction of their small children when one of both of the parents leaves the house to go somewhere, especially if the absence will be for a few days!  The children are worried and ask question after question.  It is the abandonment that they fear the most, and a certain return seems impossible to fathom through the fear of loss.  Military families probably experience this more than most, or families where one or both parents have to travel for a living.  The disciples in the Last Supper scene in the Gospel According to John display the same kind of anxieties.  Jesus continually tries to reassure them: "Do not let your hearts be troubled...."  But the fact is that he will be leaving them.  Even if it is part of a divinely ordained plan that he is putting into effect, the disciples are not in a position to understand that.  The WHY? question keeps hanging in the air!

     The "peace" that Jesus offers is the peace of faith and confidence in him as the one whom God has sent.  The "world" cannot offer an ultimate peace of that kind.  Jesus' peace must endure considerable hardship at times.  I know from my pastoral experience that to those with strong faith comes endurance.  Our current pandemic experience becomes almost unbearable without faith that God will see us through it.  Jesus must return to his Father.  The Holy Spirit will come to be our guide through the light of Jesus' teaching.  The departure is painful to the disciples but they (and we) are the successors to Jesus' mission.  By virtue of our baptism, the Holy Trinity dwells within us.  To experience the resurrection we must experience death, just as Jesus did.  Can we accept his encouragement? "Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid!" [AMEN]