A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now? Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”
Jesus speaks to the disciples about their belief in him. Although they say that they realize that Jesus knows everything and that he comes from the Father, Jesus questions their faith. The unity between the Father and the Son is not evident in his description of the disciples being scattered in fear to their own home. In their heads, they believe in Jesus’ divinity, but because of the division that fear will stir up in them, their conviction will mean, as Jesus says, “You will leave me alone.” During Pentecost, the disciples will receive the Holy Spirit and respond to God’s stirring up in them in a way that is described in the Acts of the Apostles: “When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.” To share in the unity of the Father and the Son, how can I make myself always receptive to the work of the Holy Spirit?
God, help me understand that the love you and Jesus share you desire me to share in as well. There is no limit to your generosity; just as Jesus is not alone because you are with him, he wishes the same for me, offering peace and strength. As Jesus said to the disciples, “I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” But the limits of my perception see only a small part of your love and filter its purity, much like a prism breaks up pure sunlight into many splinters of light. Give me the grace, Lord, through the aid of the Holy Spirit, to take to heart the purity of your love.
Father in heaven, give me what I need today to know and do your will. Help me rest in the confidence that you are with me through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.