Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter

"Between Despair and Trust"

The conversation in today’s Gospel reading suggests that the disciples are being tempted by a false sense of security. They say, “Now you are talking plainly and not in any figure of speech. Now we realize that you know everything.” In other words, there is no need to ask questions. The disciples believe that Jesus came from God. They think that it will all be smooth sailing from here on.
 
But, unlike some of the popular preachers and gurus of our day, Jesus does not readily proclaim that things are so simple, so clear, so painless. In response to all this, Jesus poses a simple and direct question that reaches to the heart of the matter: “Do you really believe now?” It’s like the Lord is saying “it isn’t going to be long before you will abandon me and leave me to my suffering, while you will be scared beyond belief and concerned about your own skins.”
 
Believing and trusting in God, in Jesus, is never easy, never without its challenges. Faith must be reclaimed, renewed, strengthened again and again. Just when we think we’ve figured out human life and have some absolute certainties, something comes along to shake us up, to show us how difficult faith is. Just as we daily pray for forgiveness and healing at the Eucharist, so we can profitably pray daily for faith, for genuine confidence in God. Faith and trust should never be taken for granted. “I have told you this so that you may have peace in me.”
 
The Holy Spirit, whose coming we will celebrate this coming Sunday on the Feast of Pentecost, can and does give us peace, a deep trust that Jesus has “conquered the world.” But it is never an easy peace. Our life as followers of the Risen Christ is lived between despair and a too-cheap confidence. Our trust in God and Jesus has to be learned and deepened every day.
 
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With Gratitude and Honor
Gracious God, on this Memorial Day weekend,
we remember and give thanks
for those who have given their lives
in the service of our country.
When the need was greatest,
they stepped forward and did their duty
to defend the freedoms that we enjoy,
and to win the same for others.
O God, you yourself have taught us
that no love is greater than that
which gives itself for another.
These honored dead gave the most precious gift they had,
life itself,
for loved ones and neighbors,
for comrades and country - and for us.
Help us to honor their memory
by caring for the family members
they have left behind,
by ensuring that their wounded comrades
are properly cared for,
by being watchful caretakers of the freedoms
for which they gave their lives,
and by demanding that no other young men and women
follow them to a soldier's grave
unless the reason is worthy and the cause is just.
Holy One, help us to remember that freedom is not free.
There are times when its cost is, indeed, dear.
Never let us forget those who paid so terrible a price
to ensure that freedom would be our legacy.
Though their names may fade with the passing of generations,
may we never forget what they have done.
Help us to be worthy of their sacrifice,
O God, help us to be worthy.