May 20

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Tuesday, May 20, Easter Weekday

JOHN 14:27-31a

I give you peace.

Prayerthoughts
a. Perhaps primary among the virtues of the Christian is the whole thought of peace. Am I truly a peaceful person? Does anger overcome me too often?

b. The Lord refers to how the world gives peace. What does that mean for me?

c. The Lord tells us not to let our hearts be troubled. What troubles me most right now?

d. The Lord is looking for the apostles to be happy about his return to the Father. What are my feelings about my own death?

e. The Lord wants us to strengthen our faith in Him. What are the best ways for me to strengthen my faith?.

f. The early believers in Jesus sometimes felt that the devil was coming in some form. There is evil in our world today. What are the biggest evils in the world, and can I do anything about them besides pray for the people involved? (This is the task of the  meditation.)

g. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will carry out letter f.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

ACCEPTANCE OF PAIN

+ The first reading is during Paul’s first missionary journey (46-49 AD)

- there may be an element of exaggeration here,

- but Paul’s determination is striking

- Paul is stoned because he is speaking blasphemy in the Jewish mind

- and yet, immediately after it, he goes right back into the thick of things—to the same town and continues what he is doing

- and in explanation, he says some very important words for anyone dedicated to the service of Jesus:

It is necessary … to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.

+ What Paul suffered was not fake

- his suffering was real—people really didn’t like him: they hurt him; in some instances, they tried to kill him; they tried to get others to shun him

- for the follower of Jesus today, the same applies

- there will be real trials, real problems with what happens if we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior

- Paul’s message to us as an educator is this: we must undergo those trials

- Jesus at the Last Supper discourse in the Gospel had already said it:

- the peace that he is preaching is not the same as the world gives

- the world saying peace at all costs—pain and conflict is bad

- Jesus’ peace implies that there will be personal trials to insure the peace of Jesus

+ Generally we do not like to undergo trials for anything, let alone for the chance to have eternal life, even if we want to grow in the spiritual life

- we see those trials come to us in various ways:

- first we see the trials in our own bodies: we don’t like the sicknesses, the weakness, getting old, the dependence on drugs and medical personnel and treatment, the special regimen that disease causes

- there are also trials coming from our belief in Jesus—moving us to act in certain Christian ways that are difficult

- our human natures urge us to complain, or give up, or become angry, or take it out on others or the like

- but Jesus assures his followers that he, Jesus, has control of the “ruler of the world” as he calls him in the Gospel

- the Lord will guide us all the time if we turn to him

+ People who want deeper spiritual lives must be accepting of the trials that happen to them

- we have to resolve to seek God’s peace in whatever circumstances in which we find ourselves, even when things don’t seem to be going the way we want them to go.

MEDIA PRESENTATION