Reading 1
Acts 18:1-8
Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.
There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus,
who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla
because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome.
He went to visit them and, because he practiced the same trade,
stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.
Every sabbath, he entered into discussions in the synagogue,
attempting to convince both Jews and Greeks.
When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia,
Paul began to occupy himself totally with preaching the word,
testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.
When they opposed him and reviled him,
he shook out his garments and said to them,
“Your blood be on your heads!
I am clear of responsibility.
From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
So he left there and went to a house
belonging to a man named Titus Justus, a worshiper of God;
his house was next to a synagogue.
Crispus, the synagogue official, came to believe in the Lord
along with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians
who heard believed and were baptized.
Gospel
Jn 16:16-20
Jesus said to his disciples:
“A little while and you will no longer see me,
and again a little while later and you will see me.”
So some of his disciples said to one another,
“What does this mean that he is saying to us,
‘A little while and you will not see me,
and again a little while and you will see me,’
and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?”
So they said, “What is this ‘little while’ of which he speaks?
We do not know what he means.”
Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them,
“Are you discussing with one another what I said,
‘A little while and you will not see me,
and again a little while and you will see me’?
Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices;
you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”
Meditation: John 16:16-20
A little while and you will no longer see me. (John 16:16)
In each of our lives, there are people we miss terribly. Some have moved away, some have died, and some have just lost touch with us. In each case, losing their friendship can be painful. So we do what we can to recall them: We look at their pictures, we read their letters, and we try to remember all the great times we had with them. But there’s no substitute for actually being with them. At times we would give anything to have them beside us once again.
The apostles would feel a similar pain when Jesus was taken away from them. After seeing him die on the cross, they would weep and mourn, just as Jesus prophesied (John 16:20). But they would have much more than memories to get them by. They would be eyewitnesses to his resurrection! Their joy would indeed be complete once they had seen him risen from the dead and understood their mission to proclaim his gospel to the ends of the earth!
As the spiritual descendants of the apostles, we can have the same joy they did. But we’re also human, and we can’t hide from reality. When some great misfortune occurs, Jesus can seem very distant, almost as distant as he did to the apostles after the crucifixion. The Lord has promised us he will return again, but what about the challenges and trials we face right now? And what about the evil that is in the world? All these things can cause us to wonder whether God has abandoned us.
The answer is, he’s never left us! Jesus is not only with us, he’s within us, by the power of his Holy Spirit. If you are struggling right now, call on the Spirit for whatever you need: healing, peace, wisdom, even joy! Cast your burdens on the Lord, and remember the words of St. Paul: “Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).
“Lord, may I see your face, especially in the midst of my trials. When the world tells me to give up, may I hear your voice speaking words of hope and encouragement!”
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