Today’s gospel is part of John’s long discourse about what we’ve come to call the Last Supper. Our gospel starts with Jesus’s encouraging words,’ do not let your hearts be troubled’. But their hearts were troubled. They knew Jesus crossed the line when he drove the merchants and money lenders out of the Temple. They were more than troubles when Jesus told them that one of them would betray him. He warned Peter of his cowardly denial. It had to be an intense meal. The disciples looked at one another suspiciously, are you the betrayer? Am I the betrayer? Do not let your hearts be troubled. How can we know the way without you? They found it difficult to trust Jesus’s words, Believe in God, believe in me.
I read something in Facebook this past week. Often times people will say,’ we’re all in the same boat’ living thru this pandemic. But the writer said, we’re not all in the same boat but we all in the same storm.
This could be said of the today’s gospel; the disciples were all in the same storm of fright and confusion trying to cope with Jesus’ warning of betrayal and denial. They were bewildered when he told them he was going away. But each of them was in his own boat wondering, ‘it is I Lord?’ why are you leaving, what will I do? How can we know the way?
As we all live thru this never ending storm of lock down and isolation and as we worry over loved ones, each one of us is in our own boat. It could be the boat of unemployment and unpaid bills. It could be the boat of anxiety about family members. It could be the boat of loneliness and isolation. It could be the boat of anxiety about our own health. It could be a boat of any number of possibilities. But it’s our boat tossing us about in our common storm.
In a way we are experiencing what the disciples experienced when they were caught in a violent storm on the Sea of Galilee. They cried out, ‘Lord save us’ and Jesus calmed the sea.
In these times it is hard to trust the words of Jesus, ‘do not let your hearts be troubled’ but we are troubled and wonder how long will this last?
These words of Jesus challenge all of us; Trust in God, trust in me.’
Founded by St. Paul of the Cross, every Passionist takes a special vow to spend his or her energies in promoting remembrance of the sufferings of Jesus, the memory of the Cross, and reflection of the meaning of the Cross for the world.
