“You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I.”
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus speaks during the Last Supper of his ascension and the Advocate coming to the disciples. By saying “If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father,” he seems to address those among the disciples who don’t want him to go. They want to hold on to the life they have and not begin new life with the Holy Spirit. Aware of this, Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.”
God, help me understand that there have been times in my life when I was not attentive to the Holy Spirit and was unable to rejoice when I saw myself or others moving in a good direction; that is, “going to the Father.” Maybe this was because I wanted to hold on to the good that I did have and was afraid that God would fail to take care of me or others on the new path. Help me also understand, God, to be as sensitive as Jesus so that I don’t find myself an obstacle of the Holy Spirit. Give me peace; let me not be troubled.
I think of my restlessness and how the leaves of a cottonwood blow every direction and yet stay connected to the tree. Let me trust that every day, God shows me the path to return to him if I see him at work throughout the day.
Today, the sixth Sunday of Easter, let me celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and make way for the Advocate. In the second reading from the Book of Revelation, John says of the New Jerusalem: “The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb.” In that city, God is everything—the destination, the cause itself of joy, even the light to see by. Why would I not take joy in finding the source of that light?