The Gospel according to John (16:5-11)
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Now I am going to the one who sent me,
and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’
But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts.
But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go.
For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.
But if I go, I will send him to you.
And when he comes he will convict the world
in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation:
sin, because they do not believe in me;
righteousness, because I am going to the Father
and you will no longer see me;
condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.”
Reflection:
My friends, today, Jesus again speaks about “the Advocate”, the Holy Spirit that He will send to us after His suffering and death. It’s not surprising that this connects with the Gospel for this past Sunday, which is from a little earlier in the Last Supper discourse in John’s Gospel. In that Gospel, Jesus tells His disciples that the Spirit, who is the “Spirit of Truth”, will be with them always. We see the presence of that Spirit in the Sacraments that we celebrate in the Church. I think the biggest lesson that Jesus’ followers had to learn was that they would have to “jump into the deep” without His physical presence with them. To say that was scary is probably an unbelievable understatement!
I went through something like that (though on a much, much, MUCH smaller scale) in my own life. Sixteen years ago, I was laid off from my job in IT – the first time that had ever happened to me in my career. While I was out of work, I did my best to keep my hopes up, my spirits up, and to trust that God would help me find a job to support my family. As the months went on, I was having zero success. I’m sure those who have ever been in that kind of position can affirm that is pretty normal.
It was my lovely wife’s idea to re-invent myself and go from IT administration/networking to IT Project Management instead. I studied for and passed the certification exam for my PMP (“Project Management Professional”) credential, and turned to working as a PM. I had no idea how it might go, but I trusted that God wanted me to go in a different direction. Amazingly enough, only a month or so later, I got a contractor PM job, which turned into a full-time, permanent position. Yes, there were certainly bumps along the way, but God blessed my willingness to try something different.
Now, I’m not saying this to say how good I am at changing direction. Like most folks, I would rather not do that! I’m saying it to show, in a very small way, that Jesus was telling His disciples to look at things in a different way, and to trust Him. That’s the lesson of our lives, I would say. It’s never easy or comfortable but if we are open to what God is calling us toward, He can do amazing things in our lives and the lives of those we touch. Can we be willing to dive in, and trust God to be with us through whatever comes?
Action for the Day:
In a quiet moment today, ponder how open you are to God calling you to places that maybe are not the most comfortable for you, in your work life, or your faith life or life in general. Ask God to help you to have a heart that is open to Him, and then watch what He will do through you!
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