Daily Reflection for Tuesday, May 17, 2022
Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners,
We encourage you to reflect on Tuesday’s readings at this link:
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051722.cfm
If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: Acts 14:19-28
Responsorial: Psalm 145:10-13, 21
Gospel: John 14:27-31a
Our reflection on Tuesday’s readings:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. John 14:27
I recently heard a homily that has stayed with me. The homilist was recalling his years-ago conversation with an old seminary classmate. The homilist had poured out an endless litany of gripes while his friend listened attentively and with understanding. When it was the friend’s turn to speak, he quietly counseled: “Remember, there is always hope and God is in charge.” What struck the complaining priest so powerfully was knowing that his friend was already the victim of a terminal illness that would soon result in his premature death.
In today’s gospel, Jesus offers his disciples the gift of His peace. It’s important to notice the timing of Jesus’ promise. It is the Last Supper, the night of His betrayal and the eve of His death. The disciples are troubled and confused, unsettled and fearful at the news that He will no longer be with them. The “peace” Jesus offers is clearly not a promise of endless serenity or deliverance from suffering and hardship.
Jesus’ promise of peace extends to us, too. But can we, any more than the disciples, expect that hard things will not happen to us and to those we love just because we have faith in the Lord?
In his "Way of Trust" reflection, Fr. Ron Rolheiser explains that the faith that leads to Jesus’ peace delivers us not from hardship but from our constant anxiety, worry, and fretting. That is not to excuse us from doing what we can to right the pain and suffering of others and even ourselves. But it is to acknowledge that there are things beyond our power to control. Those are the things we must simply surrender to God. Says Rolheiser:
This is the essence of faith, to believe that someone benign and concerned with us is ruling the universe and we can stop our unnecessary fretting. To have faith is to believe that mother and father are home, aware of the situation, and in charge.
The faith that brings Jesus’ peace is trusting that we are in the good hands of God who loves us unconditionally and who cares about what happens in our lives.
May you trust in God’s loving care and experience the peace Jesus promised.
Wishing you God’s blessings,
Jean Galanti