Today we begin the last week of the Easter Season. All this time we have meditated on the “ripple effects” and “shock waves” of Jesus’ resurrection on the early Christian community, as well as on our lives of course. It is the lengthiest liturgical season in our calendar (apart from Ordinary Time), a season so full of insights and lessons from the many narratives and discourses we have been reading all along.
In the Gospel, there seems to be a note of relief at having arrived at last at the end, a tone even of near-exasperation. As the disciples said to Jesus, “At last you are speaking plainly without talking in veiled language!” They then affirm their conviction regarding Jesus: “We are convinced that you know everything. There is no need for anyone to ask you questions. We do indeed believe you came from God.”
But Jesus is quick to dispel their complacency by asking them pointedly, “Do you really believe?” And He even foretells what would happen in a few hours with His eventual arrest and crucifixion: “An hour is coming — has indeed already come — when you will be scattered and each will go his way, leaving me quite alone.”
But Jesus says this not to simply scold or scare His disciples or to give them a dose of sarcasm. He explains, “I tell you all this that in me you may find peace.” Then, in a magnificent display of straightforward encouragement and assurance, Jesus declares, “You will suffer in the world. But take courage! I have overcome the world.”
Imagine that. These were the words of someone who was just hours away from arrest and execution. What a shock they would indeed seem to us. But Jesus certainly knew what He was saying on that fateful night before He died. And somehow we understand it all now. Like the disciples, yes, we might also at times be complacent and unsure of our faith in God. Nevertheless, with Jesus speaking to us plainly and no longer in veiled language, we affirm our commitment to Him. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB
Reflection Question:
Have you at times been complacent and unsure of your faith? How did you get out of that complacency?
Lord, it is not always easy to understand Your Word or Your ways. Grant me wisdom to understand them.
St. Claud, pray for us.
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