Tuesday of Fifth Week of Easter
As one who grew up in a military family, moving from place to place around the country, I often had to take leave of friends. And this has only continued for me as a Jesuit, since it is typical of our charism to be “on the road,” continually moving to the next mission. Such leave-taking can be difficult: one simply can’t maintain a friendship in the same manner when the physical separation of several states intervenes.
Today’s readings from Acts and the Gospel of John both feature leave-takings: Paul and his companions establish and then depart from a number of Christian communities; at the last supper, Jesus prepares his disciples for his departure from this world. And in both cases, relationships are transformed. Between his death and Resurrection, and again after his Ascension, Jesus will no longer be physically present to the disciples as he once was. And yet Jesus tells them, Do not let your hearts be troubled, and even, If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father. Change is necessary in the disciples’ relation to the Lord, change that will make way for the coming of the Spirit (as yesterday’s Gospel noted) and make them into heralds of the Gospel (like Paul would be later). The change may be painful now, but it will be fruitful in the future.
In our prayer today, we might reflect on the changes that the Lord Jesus provokes in our relationship with him: when he challenges us, when he calls us to a new labor, when his way of being present to us shifts. Let us pray for openness to these ways that the Lord deals with us, and ask for the grace to see the fruit that God’s action brings.