There is something missing.
It is the Holy Spirit. That part of God that will invigorate us and our Church to accomplish the will of God.
And without the Spirit, the apostles have that great debilitating feeling of loneliness. However much joy they have received from experiencing the resurrected Christ so that they could put right all that they did wrong before the crucifixion, there would still be that stomach-numbing pain of losing Jesus from their lives
At that moment they need to gather their thoughts and cling onto the Jesus they know.
And for us this scenario for the apostles can be one that we can take comfort from but also learn from.
For some us the relationship we have with Jesus may not be as strong as it once was and it might lead us to live our lives in a way that veers away from that which God wants of us. Sometimes this may be obvious and we already appreciate it, but sometimes it is a series of subtle changes that, all together, take us away from God. Let us use this last week of Easter as an opportunity to recall the Jesus we once knew and allow him back into our lives.
For others we constantly cling to Jesus in a way that may stifle our own personal development. Like our relationship with our parents mature from one of need and demand to one of love and respect, so our prayer life should mature too, whereby we can be open to Jesus about our concerns as the closest friend we could possibly have. But do we cling to him like a child, desperate that he might leave us? We know he won’t, so let’s take the opportunity to talk to him as a friend.
In our relationships with those around us, have we lost touch with people who love us? Are there people whose lives would be transformed if we spoke to them with love in our hearts? Are there opportunities to remove years of anguish in family bonds or friendships so that we can be like we were with love that bound us together? Let’s take steps to address them.
Let us also reflect on what is missing in our own relationship with God. What stops us from loving him fully? What makes us remote from him? What makes us fearful that we may never see him again? This week is an ideal time to consider all these things in prayer and bring them before Our Lord next Sunday, when we receive the Holy Spirit at the great celebration of Pentecost. Let us be ready next week for the Spirit to move us, to lead us on and prepare us for the great place in heaven that Our Lord so desperately wants for us. Let us make this week one where we come so much closer to Christ.
Gospel John 17:11-19 ©
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:
‘Holy Father,
keep those you have given me true to your name,
so that they may be one like us.
While I was with them,
I kept those you had given me true to your name.
I have watched over them
and not one is lost
except the one who chose to be lost,
and this was to fulfil the scriptures.
But now I am coming to you
and while still in the world I say these things
to share my joy with them to the full.
I passed your word on to them,
and the world hated them,
because they belong to the world
no more than I belong to the world.
I am not asking you to remove them from the world,
but to protect them from the evil one.
They do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
Consecrate them in the truth;
your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world,
I have sent them into the world,
and for their sake I consecrate myself
so that they too may be consecrated in truth.