Analysis of John 15: 1–8

Analysis adapted from Invitation to John by George W MacRae, S.J.:

This passage is from the farewell discourse of Jesus, which in John, is long. It covers John 13:3—John 17:26. (In John, the final discourse takes up almost one quarter of the entire gospel.) These chapters are not unified in form and content, mostly because they are composed of variously distinct portions of discourse. Chapter 14 alerts us to this problem in that it is complete in itself, ending in what appears to be a final remark of Jesus. Yet there are three more chapters of discourse to follow. The result of this collection is a very long section characterized by repetition, variations on the same themes, sometimes even contradiction. But there is an overall unity of themes throughout the chapters, such as the departure and return of Jesus, the sending of the Holy Spirit, the mutual love of Father and Son, the new commandment of love, and others.

What is most distinctive about these discourses, however, is the tone of them. There is nothing of the air of confrontation and challenge that mark the discourses of the Book of signs (the first 11 chapters). Even the use of symbols and misunderstanding is greatly lessened, thought Jesus does not explain as clearly as the disciples exuberantly claim in 16:29. What accounts for the change in tone is that these discourses are addressed to the disciples—and thus to the Christian readers of the gospel—to help them (and us) to interpret the death and resurrection of Christ.

Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 21, 2024

What it means to belong to Jesus

John 10: 11–18

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Music Meditations

• “The Lord Is My Shepherd” (composed by John Rutter) [YouTube]
• “Untitled Hymn” (“Come to Jesus”) (Chris Rice) [YouTube]
• “Shepherd Me, O God” (sung by John Michael Talbot) [YouTube]
• “Give Me Jesus” (sung by Fernando Ortega) [YouTube]

Opening Prayer

Lord, on this good shepherd Sunday, I will give thanks because in You I will never perish! No one will snatch me from Your hand. Your Father, who has given me to You, is greater than them all, Amen. Eternal God, Lord, I was once a sheep going astray; but I have now returned to You the Shepherd and Overseer of my soul!

Companions for the Journey

From “Living Space”, a service of the Irish Jesuits:

Today is known as Good Shepherd Sunday because, in each year of the liturgical cycle on this 4th Sunday, the gospel is always taken from the 10th chapter of John where Jesus speaks of himself as the “good shepherd”.

In today’s passage Jesus emphasizes the self-sacrificing element in his own life: “The good shepherd is one who lays down his life for his sheep.” He contrasts the good shepherd who owns the sheep to someone who is simply hired to look after them. The hired man thinks primarily of his own welfare and, if he sees a wolf coming, he takes off, leaving the sheep to be attacked and scattered in fear and terror. Jesus, on the other hand, will not be like a hired person: “I lay down my life for my sheep.” Perhaps he contrasts himself with those mercenary religious leaders among his own people—and to be found in every religious grouping—who do just what is expected of them but have no real commitment or sense of responsibility to those in their charge.

He knows his sheep

Secondly, the good shepherd knows his sheep and they know him. There is a mutual bond of love and intimacy. That love is compared to the deep mutual relationship that exists between Jesus and his Father. “My own know me just as the Father knows me.” Again the hired man or the self-interested leader will not have such a relationship with his charges. The Second Reading speaks in similar terms when the author says, “Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us, by letting us be called God’s children, and that is what we are.”

One shepherd and one flock

Thirdly, the good shepherd deeply desires that many other sheep should come to identify themselves with him. “There are other sheep I have that are not of this fold, and these I have to lead as well.” The ultimate goal is that “there will be only one flock, and one shepherd”, that the whole world will be united together with its God and Lord. This is the meaning of the Kingdom which is at the heart of the Gospel message.

This is a goal which preoccupies us still today. There are still so many millions of people who have not yet heard the message of a loving God, a God who sent his only Son to die for them. They seek meaning and happiness in their lives by pursuing all kinds of other goals which inevitably turn to ashes: material abundance, status in the eyes of others, power over others, mistaking pleasure and hedonism for happiness… In so doing, they reject Jesus the Good Shepherd. “Because the world refused to acknowledge him, therefore it does not acknowledge us.” This is something we must learn to accept as a fact, even if it is hard to understand and even harder to take. No matter how closely we follow in the footsteps of our Shepherd, in fact, the more closely we follow him, the more likely it is that we will be rejected and even attacked. More tragic still, however, there are so many people who claim Christ as Lord, many of them very good and sincere people, who are often divided, even bitterly divided among themselves. Here, more than anywhere is there a need for all to follow one Shepherd and form one flock. Otherwise how can we give witness to the love of Christ if that love is lacking among the servants of Jesus?

Lastly, there are those who, though incorporated through baptism into the Body of Christ, consistently behave in a way which totally distorts people’s understanding of Christ and his call to discipleship, fulfillment and happiness. Probably, most of us have at one time or another failed in our call to give witness to the truth and love that is to be found in Christ. Jesus emphasizes that, in giving his life for his sheep, he is doing so of his own will. It is not just by force of circumstances. His death is to be the living proof that “the greatest love a person can show is to give one’s life for one’s friends”. This is the proof that Jesus truly is a Good Shepherd.

On the face of it and looked at with purely secular eyes, the life and mission of Jesus seemed an utter failure. Even Jesus’ friends and admirers must have shaken their heads in sorrow as they saw him die on the cross. Jesus himself said “It is finished.” But, for him, the words had a completely different meaning. What do you think He meant?

Further reflection:

• Reflections on Fourth Sunday of Easter (year B) from “First Impressions” >>

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

I know mine and mine know me

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

• Who are the people who give of their life for your safety?
  How much compassion do you think they have for you as a person?
  How much personal risk do they live with in order to be faithful to your well-being?
• Would you find it more difficult to live your life with a one-time personal risk or daily caring for a person with special needs?
• Who do you think Jesus was talking about when he said he has other sheep not of this fold?
  How does Jesus lead them?
  How do they hear his voice?
  How could you help them feel like they belong to the one fold?
• How does being successful smart, rich, or powerful make it hard at times to look on Jesus as the shepherd of our lives?
• Do I believe that Jesus knows, me—really knows me?
  How does that make me feel?
• How does it make me feel to know that Jesus came to earth, lived and died for love of me?
  What kind of a response does that knowledge call from me?
• From Sacred space, a service of the Irish Jesuits:
  How do imagine the voice of God—the voice of a demanding father, a complaining mother, a moralizing preacher, or the voice of a lover?
  Do I hear Jesus’ voice, or do I sometimes ignore it?
• In which people do I hear the voice of the Good shepherd speaking to me?
  Who, in your contemporary world, would you name as “good shepherds”?
• Have I ever encountered anyone in my life who was merely a “hired hand”—doing what he or she did for money, not for love?
  Did I trust this person?
  Was his or her concern for me personal or merely transactional?
  Did this person ever make any personal sacrifices on my behalf?
• Have I ever acted as a ‘hired hand” when someone or some cause needed me to make a greater effort?
• Have I ever met a “bad shepherd”—one who pretended to look out for the welfare of others, but in actuality was uncaring, or worse, a predator?
• Who or what are the “wolves” in my life—
  The wolf of anger and resentment
  The wolf of busyness or achievement
  The wolf of fear,
  The wolf of failure,
  The wolf of brokenness
  In dealing with these “wolves” did I turn to Jesus, my good shepherd?
• Who are the “false shepherds” that I have listened to in my life?
  How did they mislead me?
• I am to bring other sheep also. Do I make other feel welcome in my life, my job, my church?
  Do I make a difference, and if so, how?
  Do I answer this question in terms of power and success or in terms of nurturing another?
• If I am in a position of shepherding—caring for or advising and teaching those more vulnerable, what are my responsibilities in terms of safety, honesty, understanding, personal sacrifice?
• Have I ever found myself in a situation where I was called on to put my own well-being at risk in order to respond to the needs of another?
  Did I do so?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

Read the following verses from Psalm 118, then re-write it in the second person (e.g., “I thank you Lord, for you are good...”). Feel free to play with the language—this is your letter to God, not the psalmist's. By what salutation do you greet your Good Shepherd (My Lord, Dear Jesus, Dear Friend, Beloved, etc.)?

Give praise to the LORD, for he is good; his mercy endures forever.
I called to the LORD in my distress; he has answered and freed me.
The LORD is at my side; I do not fear. What can mankind do against me?
The Lord is at my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on my foes.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man;
it is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.
I shall not die, I shall live and recount the deeds of the LORD.
I will thank you, for you have answered, and you are my savior.
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad.
Blest is he who comes in the name of the LORD. We bless you from the house of the LORD;
the LORD is God, and has given us light.
You are my God, I praise you. My God, I exalt you.
Give praise to the LORD, for he is good; his mercy endures forever.

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Let’s think about the sheep.

Many people have a problem with the passage because they object to being thought of as sheep. Who are the sheep typically thought to be? Stupid creatures, prone to dangers and worse without someone to lead them, to think for them, to warn them of dangers. (In all honesty, many Catholics resent being referred to as “the flock” because of the many instances in our near and distant history in which the ordinary Catholic was told who was wrong, who was holy, who was sinful, who was good, how to vote, told that their job was to obey unquestioningly their bishop, who carries the shepherd’s crozier.) There has been a movement since Vatican II to own our own consciences, to question even ecclesiastical leadership when bad behavior came to light, a movement to demand moral and financial transparency from our religious and civil leaders. To people who feel that ordinary people have in the past been dismissed by their civil or religious leaders, the sheep reference is insulting.

Let’s look at it another way: there is something about sheep that is exuberant, something about sheep that is abundant, something about sheep that is honest, whole, and life-giving. What makes sheep lovable is their vulnerability, their honesty, the way in which they are always hopeful. According to scientists, sheep feel pain, sadness and loneliness. Sheep are not aggressive, seeking power and dominance. With sheep, what you see is what you get; there is no subterfuge, no hidden agenda. Sheep struggle and do not do well when handled roughly or mistreated; when handled gently and kindly, they are very mild-mannered and agreeable.

I’m thinking that alternatively, our culture values the wolf of busyness, the wolf of achievement, the wolf of needing approval, the wolf of always having to be right and in control. Or maybe it is the wolf of failure, the wolf of despair, the wolf of brokenness, because we are not “wolfish” enough.

How many of us are dealing with wolves in our lives right now? Are we wolves in the lives of others because that is how success works? Is life really a zero-sum game? If so, there is certainly no place for sheep. Have there been any sheep in your lives? Have they brightened your day, made life better? Have you been a good shepherd for them? Is that necessary? Do you possess any wolf qualities? Do you possess any sheep qualities? Be honest. Which are more Christ-like? Who needs the good shepherd—the sheep, the wolves, or both?

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

By Sr. Terry Davis, SND

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is also known as “Good Shepherd Sunday”. Because the Gospel describes this image of God, that is where my reflection carried me. I am often reminded of the time I wandered into a church, was surprised by the large number of children and was treated to an hour of listening to different children’s choirs. One song in particular still lingers and it is “Do you know your Shepherd’s Voice?”

In the Gospel, Jesus states, “I am the good shepherd and I know my sheep and mine know me.” This implies a relationship that is so much more than a list of moral codes and religious practices. Jesus is calling us to a deep and intimate relationship, in which we know and hear his voice, and this is reciprocal.

I have listened to the song numerous times and it still calls to me, in the innocence of the voices and in its compelling questions: Do you hear? Are you listening? This is the chorus:

Do you know your Shepherd’s voice
Are you list’ning with your heart
Have you stopped to hear Him calling
Felt the peace His words impart
As the world shouts its orders
That are easiest to hear
Won’t you draw away and listen
To your Shepherd.

(Text and Music by Susan Lord)

Here is a link to one YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-Oy1Cwi0SM There are many more versions that you can watch. I suggest, however, that you close your eyes and simply listen to the children singing. Perhaps you can then take some time to let their questions find a home and an answer in your heart.

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/A sort of “Examen”:

Adapted from “Sacred Space”, a service of the Irish Jesuits:

Not only does Jesus welcome everyone into his flock, but if I’m not there, he invites me in
Jesus loves me and invites me to love him just like he knows and loves the Father… that is a serious depth of love.
I take a moment to imagine being loved in this way.

Do I hear Jesus’ voice, or do I sometimes ignore it?
If he comes searching, am I going to listen?
“they will listen to my voice”
How do I imagine the voice of God? A hectoring father? A nagging mother? A moralizing preacher? A roaring sergeant major?
No, it is the voice of a lover, who knows me in my uniqueness and calls me by name.

The true voice of Jesus tones in with the deepest desires and hopes of the human heart—for love, justice, forgiveness and fulfillment. Other sheep will hear his voice and will not find it strange. He speaks a language all can understand—the language of the heart. He speaks the language of self-sacrificing love and faithful love for all.

Of all that you say here, Lord, your last words hearten me the most: “I must bring the other sheep also, so there will be one flock, one shepherd.” Your voice will now be heard mainly through the lives of others, through my life… where I share goodness and love and all that goes with them, your voice, O Christ, will be heard.

Jesus, I look back over my day and reflect on the ways in which I have listened to your voice, on the ways I ignored or rejected your voice calling me to be in in your presence, wrapped in your love and care. I reflect on ways in which I have brought your love and message to others whom I have encountered this day… I pray in thanksgiving for all the beauties with which you have surrounded me, all the graces that have been presented to me this day, whether I was aware or not. I pray for greater consciousness of your presence and for openness to the needs of others in my life.

Thank you. Thank you.

Poetic Reflection:

How does this poem/prayer by Thomas Merton remind you of Psalm 23 (The Lord is my shepherd) or of what we need the Good Shepherd to help us with in our lives?

Teach me to go to this country beyond words and beyond names.
Teach me to pray on this side of the frontier, here where these woods are.
I need to be led by you.
I need my heart to be moved by you.
I need my soul to be made clean by your prayer. I need my will to be made strong by you.
I need the world to be saved and changed by you.
I need you for all those who suffer, who are in prison, in danger, in sorrow.
I need you for all the crazy people.
I need your healing hand to work always in my life.
I need you to make me, as you made your Son, a healer, a comforter, a savior.
I need you to name the dead.
I need you to help the dying cross their particular rivers.
I need you for myself whether I live or die.
It is necessary.
Amen.

(from A Book of Hours, Ave Maria Press, p. 67)

Closing Prayer

Dear Jesus, I believe that you are the good shepherd. I believe that you love me. I believe that you will never leave me. I trust you.

Help me to spread your love and care to those in need of comfort and reassurance, and to those who may not realize their need for your comfort and reassurance.

Reflections on Fourth Sunday of Easter (year B) from “First Impressions”

Acts 4: 8-12 // Psalm 118 // 1 John 3: 1-2 // John 10: 11-18

by Jude Siciliano, O.P.  <jude@judeop.org>

Have you noticed how often we pray the psalms...at least some of us? Nuns, monks, priests, deacons pray the psalms, many psalms, every day. (It’s called the Divine Office. The prayer book they carry with those Psalms is called a Breviary.) But what about the rest of us Catholics? Some pray the psalms when we make retreats, others pick up their Bible daily to pray a psalm or two as part of their prayer. Does that describe us, is that what we do?

When asked, “How many Scripture readings are there at your Eucharistic celebrations?” we tend to say: “Two at daily mass, three on Sundays.” Notice we usually do not count the psalm response (“Responsorial Psalm”) to the first readings. I would suggest, for some, psalms are treated like a second-class form of scriptures, not as important as the rest of the biblical books.

As an overview: there are 150 poem prayers we call “The Psalms.” They are divided into five books (Psalms 1-41; 42-72; 73-89; 90-106; 107-150). The particular numbering might vary. The fivefold division is an imitation of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures. They were used in liturgical settings and for personal prayers – and still are. Jesus’ parents would have taught him the psalms. The psalms we call “Responsorial Psalms,” are frequently put to musical settings for our liturgical celebrations.

Every time we come to Mass, Sundays and weekdays, as well as for baptisms, funerals, and weddings, there is at least one psalm at each service. There are Psalms of praise, thanksgiving, petition, confession of sin, and lament. They are poetic prayers and so fit many human moods, needs, and hungers. You can find a psalm to express your mood and need for the day.

Did you notice the Responsorial Psalm after the first reading today? It was taken from Psalm 118 and is a thanksgiving psalm (suitable to pray more than on just Thanksgiving day). It can express, or even stir us, to thanksgiving and, if needed, make us aware of our all-loving God and the gifts God gives us daily. Psalm 118 has 29 verses. Nine have been chosen as a response to our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. We will focus on the chosen nine, but for a fuller reading why not go to your Bible and pray the full Psalm 118 from the Book of Psalms?

As poetic prayers the psalms can touch us, as poetry does, at a deeper level than ordinary words. They can help us slow down, stir our imagination to play with different words and images. So, for example, to pick a word from today’s Psalm 118, where and to whom do we go for “refuge?” How do we do that? How is God our refuge?

Psalms encourage us to pause over a word, or image; ask questions; explore the feelings the psalmist stirs up; cast a loving gaze on God. We do not just read a psalm and move on to what’s next, as when we read historical or informational document. We can approach a psalm from different perspectives. For example, how would a young person, widow, newlywed, infirmed senior, etc. hear and pray this Psalm? Try praying the psalm with one of them in mind.

Psalm 118 is prayed by a thankful person. There are about 20 psalms of thanksgiving; some are personal, others are the grateful prayers of the community. Thanksgiving psalms seem to overflow with joy and receptivity. The person praying a thanksgiving psalm seems surprised by God. We can sense that wonder and surprise when the psalmist prays, “By the Lord has this been done; it is wonderful in our eyes.” Thanksgiving psalms build up a relationship of gratitude with God. Doesn’t that happen when someone does us a favor, or surprises us with a gift we haven’t earned and our singular response is, “Thank you?”

The first reading incorporates a verse from today’s psalm: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” (Acts identifies Jesus as the one who suffered, was rejected and then exalted by God.) The psalm encourages us and the community to give thanks for God’s marvelous deeds and, when necessary, to seek refuge in God who is trustworthy and will not fail us. “It is better to take refuge in the Lord God.…” Notice how the psalm uses repetitions. “Give thanks to the Lord….”, addressed to the community (The opening and closing verse), and, “I will give thanks to you for you have answered me.”, addressed to God. By repetition the psalmist is doing what we do when we want to stress an important point, we repeat, or use similar words for the same purpose.

Grateful acknowledgment of God’s gifts leads us to the Eucharist, our community prayer of thanksgiving. (The Greek word “eucharistes,” means to give thanks.) For what, or whom, shall we give thanks in our celebration today? The gifts of creation; our family; church community; sufficient food; good medical care, etc.? And, as we pray our psalm of thanks, we are also aware of those without food; healthcare; safety for their families; employment, etc. The psalm of thanks stirs our awareness of others in our world who are without and challenges us to ask, “How can I help them so they too will give thanks to God?”

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FAITH BOOK
Mini-reflections on the Sunday scripture readings designed for persons on the run.

From today’s Gospel reading:
Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Reflection:
There are a lot of voices out there that can only distract and scatter us. Perhaps we’ve paid too much attention to them at times in our lives. Through hard experience we have learned that they don’t have our best interests at heart and if we listen to them we are scattered. But the voice of the Shepherd, Jesus tells us, wants to gather us. His voice can help us keep our wits about us in an often misguided world.

So we ask ourselves:
Can I name the “false shepherds” I have listened to? How did they mislead me?
Where and how do I listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd?

Third Sunday of Easter, April 14, 2024

We are witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus

Luke 24:35–48

The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way,
and how Jesus was made known to them
in the breaking of bread.

While they were still speaking about this,
he stood in their midst and said to them,
“Peace be with you.”
But they were startled and terrified
and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled?
And why do questions arise in your hearts?
Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.
Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones
as you can see I have.”
And as he said this,
he showed them his hands and his feet.
While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed,
he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
They gave him a piece of baked fish;
he took it and ate it in front of them.

He said to them,
“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you,
that everything written about me in the law of Moses
and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.”
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
And he said to them,
“Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.”

Music Meditations

• “Christ in Me Arise” [YouTube]
• “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” (Amen Choir of First Baptist Church and National Philharmonic) [YouTube]
• “Open My Eyes, Lord” (by Jesse Manibusan) [YouTube]

Opening Prayer

How do we recognize you in our daily lives, O Lord? Do we ever fail to be mindful of your care and your presence, your comfort and your reassurances? Help us to live our lives fully in your presence and help us to bring the joy of your presence to others as we remember those especially in need of your love at this time…

Companions for the Journey

From “First Impressions” 2015, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:

Who are these “two disciples” featured in the opening line of today’s gospel? Well, this is the continuation of the Emmaus story. After Jesus’ death the two were leaving Jerusalem when Jesus met them on the road to Emmaus. He opened their minds to understand God’s plan revealed in the Scriptures. Then they recognized the Risen Christ when he broke bread for them. The two disciples’ witness to the community is interrupted by the appearance of the Risen Christ himself, who wastes no time in offering them peace. They, like the people Peter addressed in Acts, had acted “out of ignorance” by deserting Christ in his moment of need. With Jesus’ words their failures are also “wiped away.” In fact, their vision, like a newly-cleaned window, has been cleared and now they begin to see with the eyes of faith.

It’s clear from today’s narrative and the Emmaus account that the presence of the risen Lord with us is not easily recognizable. What the Christ did for the disciples on the road to Emmaus, he does also for the gathered disciples in Jerusalem. “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” This part of the story suggests a primary spiritual practice for us disciples who are also on a journey, a road trip of sorts—turning our attention to the Scriptures. Each of us is in a unique place in our lives. Each of us needs to come to experience the risen Christ accompanying us on the journey so we can celebrate our joys and receive strength during the rough passages. We are not on our own, even when suffering and struggles tempt us to feel that way.

It isn’t just a matter of “reading the Bible” is it? Or, taking a Bible class—as helpful as that can be. Instead, we need to be “devotional” readers, inviting the Spirit of Jesus to “open our minds to understand the Scriptures” in the way he did for his incredulous followers. Note the sequence: after their minds were opened to the Scriptures and they came to understand the events that had just happened, Jesus commissioned his disciples and us to be “witnesses of these things.”

Life is never static for us. It is always in flux; we are “on the road.” Along the way the risen Christ appears to us and, like his disciples, we don’t immediately recognize him. But he would be more readily recognizable to us if we followed the guidance of these resurrection stories: continue to gather in community, especially in hard times; break open the Word for one another; share the bread and wine of the Eucharist and then, well prepared, witness to the risen Christ through our words and actions to help others come to believe that, “He is risen!”

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

You are witnesses of these things

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

• Why is the physical resurrection of Jesus important to us?
  Why are there so many conflicting stories of this event?
  Have you ever in your life tried to explain the inexplicable?
• Do the wounds of Jesus, which still exist in His resurrected form, tell us something important about Jesus?
  About God?
• In this gospel, there is an assertion that the disciples came to know Jesus in the breaking of the bread. What does that mean for me?
  What, exactly, does it mean to “know” someone?
• Jesus was unrecognizable at first. Are there people I my life whom I miss seeing for who they truly are?
• What am I anxious about or fearful of?
  What absolutely terrifies me?
• How did Jesus react when he met his friends for the first time after they had abandoned them?
  How have I greeted someone who has hurt me?
• What do Jesus’ outstretched hands mean to me?
• What does it mean to me to have Jesus say “Peace be with you”?
  Is it merely the absence of conflict, or something deeper?
  Can I talk to Jesus honestly about my struggles and doubts?
  Do I think He understands?
• When Jesus asks: “Do you have anything to eat?”, does it ground me in the reality of the risen Jesus and not some ephemera?
• What is the difference between meeting someone and encountering someone?
  How do I encounter Jesus in my ordinary little life?
• How do I encounter Jesus in others?
  Is the encounter different with different people?
  What elements are present in these encounters: love, fear, forgiveness, irritation, anger, hope, concern?
  Which elements do I mirror the most?
  What do I need to do in order to encounter Jesus in others more effectively?
• Have I recently encountered Jesus in the poor, the sick the needy, the annoying, those deserving and those undeserving?
  How did it go?
• What would it mean to open my heart to Jesus? Is it scary? Why?
• In what concrete ways can I be a witness to the message of Jesus?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican style/Asking Questions:

From “First Impressions 2012”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:

It’s clear from today’s narrative and the Emmaus account that the presence of the risen Lord with us is not easily recognizable. What the Christ did for the disciples on the road to Emmaus, he does also for the gathered disciples in Jerusalem. “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” This part of the story suggests a primary spiritual practice for us disciples who are also on a journey, a road trip of sorts—turning our attention to the Scriptures. Each of us is in a unique place in our lives. Each of us needs to come to experience the risen Christ accompanying us on the journey so we can celebrate our joys and receive strength during the rough passages. We are not on our own, even when suffering and struggles tempt us to feel that way.

A little self-examination might be appropriate at this point:
How attentive am I to the reading/proclamation of the Scriptures at Eucharist? If I am a Lector, how well do I prepare to help people hear the message? If I am in the pews do I ever prepare for liturgy by reading the Scripture passages in advance? Do I read and pray the Scriptures daily? Do I turn to them for guidance when I come to crossroads and the need to make important decisions that will influence the course of my future? I make a simple plan to do one thing that increases my involvement with the scriptures.

A Meditation in the Ignation Style/Imagination:

Adapted from “Sacred Space”, a service of the Irish Jesuits:

I am there in that Jerusalem room as two of the disciples begin to recount their meeting with Jesus on the way to Emmaus. Did the story surprise you? How did you react when you turned around and a stranger was in the room with you all? How did others react? When did you recognize that it was Jesus? How did you recognize him? How was he different? What feelings did you experience as you saw his hands and feet? How did you react when he asked for something to eat? How did the others react? Can you sense the emotions of Jesus as he greets you, his friends, for the first time since you thought he was taken from you forever? What did he tell you about how the law and what was written in the prophets and the psalms was fulfilled through him? What did you understand that to mean? Did the phrases repentance and forgiveness of sins as central to the preaching that must be done in his name surprise you? What would you have said was the most important message you would wish to impart? Do you feel ready to go forth with Jesus’ mission? Do the others? Pray for the strength and the insight to carry on Jesus’ mission to the world you live in now, picking especially one or two instances where it would be most important to get the message of Jesus concretely to those you encounter…

Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

From At Home with the Word:

Jesus opens the disciples’ minds and presses them to understand the true import of the scriptures now fulfilled, telling them: “You are the witnesses of these things”. His message is urgent, as his time on earth is coming to a close. He wants them to know that the hope of salvation depends on their witness and asks them to carry his message of hope to the nations. Many families in America have no dwelling, no security and very little hope. Give these families hope.
Find a local Habitat for Humanity or similar charity where you can volunteer.
Enroll in a bible study course so you can understand more fully how Jesus is the culmination of God’s relationship with humanity, as described in scripture.
Consider how you can tell someone of your reason to hope.

Literary Reflection:

Read the following poem by Mary Oliver. How does she view Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist and in her life?

“The Vast Ocean Begins Just Outside Our Church: The Eucharist”

Something has happened
To the bread
And the wine.

They have been blessed.
What now?
The body leans forward

To receive the gift
From the priest’s hand,
Then the chalice.

They are something else now
From what they were
Before this began.

I want
To see Jesus,
Maybe in the clouds

Or on the shore,
Just walking,
Beautiful man

And clearly
Someone else
Besides.

On the hard days
I ask myself
If I ever will.

Also there are times
My body whispers to me
That I have.

Closing Prayer

From a reflection on the Gospel from Creighton University:

Lord, be with me as I try to pay attention to the many ways that you seek to encounter me in my life. Keep me close to you so that I may grow in the love you shower so abundantly. And help me to respond like the disciples by sharing those encounters with sisters and brothers of the human family.

Easter Triduum 2024

Holy Thursday (John 13:1-15)

Commentary:

From: “First Impressions”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:

Foot washings were a part of hospitality in this culture. The roads were dusty and guests coming for a visit or meal would welcome the chance to have the dust from the road washed from their feet. Normally the washing would have been done before the meal and was the task of the youngest or lowliest servant or slave. The importance of the event is underscored by Jesus’ breaking the pattern of what was customary and acceptable: he interrupts the meal and does the washings himself. His final hour is at hand and he is already emptying himself. His dying has begun; our new life is about to begin. In fact, a sign of the community’s new life brought about by Jesus’ action will be that they will be “foot-washers”, servants to the needy among them. But much more is implied by his actions.

John is writing for a community like our own who, since their baptism, have many things from which they need cleansing. This account is encouraging for the community members who have failed, as Peter did, to live up to their Christian calling. After he betrayed Jesus, Peter must have been heartened by his remembrance of this incident and the possibility Jesus holds out to be washed from the soil of the road. Since the incident also took place at the table, the suggestion is that forgiveness is offered us through the meal we share in remembrance of Jesus. In our Eucharist, the first thing we do is ask for forgiveness of our failings. It’s as if each eucharistic meal begins with a foot washing. And we are the grateful recipients as we are reminded that what Jesus did for Peter, he does for us.

Thus, there is another way we can imitate the example of the One we call “teacher and master.” We can follow the example he set for us. Besides the call to service, so evident in the foot washing, another response Jesus may be asking of us tonight is to forgive one another as he has forgiven us. Since the ritual will be performed in many places of worship this day, we may want to look around at who else is present at the table with us and wash their feet by forgiving them what we hold against them.

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

In today’s gospel John says that Jesus, “was fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power....” Then we are told that Jesus rose from supper”, and I wonder, is this going to be one of those, “Oh, oh, here it comes” moments? Will Jesus use the power he has been given to overcome his enemies? Will he name and condemn his betrayer? Will he smite the Roman army? Dash over to the Temple and cast out his religious opponents and banish the unfaithful? Will he break his previous pattern of patiently instructing his disciples, dismiss them and go get a better and brighter crop of followers? What will Jesus do when he rises from table with all that power available to him?

Well, he certainly surprised his disciples. And he continues to surprise us this day. Jesus rises and washes his disciples’ feet. That’s not how they, or we, would use all the power, were it available to us. How do we know? Because it isn’t the way power is usually used in our world: nations dominate nations; one ethnic group purges its rival; one religion proclaims its dominance over others; some parents, by word and example, teach their children to succeed at any cost; some church officials cut off dialogue over disputed issues; news commentators shout down one another on talk shows; businesses take over weaker rivals, etc. It does seem that when some nations, organizations, religions and individuals come to power, other groups must shudder and say, “Oh, oh, here it comes!” – and suffer the consequences. Having power is not necessarily a bad thing and Jesus’ life and today’s gospel are examples of ways to use power to the benefit and for the good of others. His use of power is also an example to us.

Do I see myself in a position of power, even if it is just being the dominant one in a relationship? Where have I ever misused the power that I had by taking advantage of the neediness of another? Have I ever admitted that “my feet were dirty” and needed washing by the mercy of God? Have I shown that mercy to another? How do humility and pride fit together? I speak to Jesus about the ways I have taken advantage of the power I had, including the power one has as a “victim”. I ask for him to wash me clean of these tendencies and fit my heart for serving others.

Good Friday (John 18:1–19:42)

Commentary:

Exaltation of the Cross
Sept. 14, 2008
by Catherine Wolff

My early school days were spent at St. Agnes Grammar School up in San Francisco. I’m old enough that seeing a movie was a major treat in those days, and the nuns who ran St. Agnes must have invested all their savings in the one movie we had in our library – a Spanish film that came out in the mid-1950’s called The Miracle of Marcellino.

My memory of the exact plot is a bit sketchy –Marcellino was a poor little orphan who had been taken in by the monks in a very austere monastery, and there was an episode having to do with a scorpion bite, and a miracle involving bread and wine. But I do have vivid, enduring memories of the conversations that Marcellino would have with Jesus. He was a lonely little boy who visited the chapel regularly to pray out loud in front of a crucifix that seemed to be at least 15 feet tall. After a while Jesus, from way up on the cross, started talking back in a deep, rich, sorrowful voice. It was a great comfort to Marcellino but it was absolutely terrifying to me as a 6 or 7-year-old. I was worried that any number of crucifixes that hung all over Catholic 1950’s San Francisco would start speaking to me, but really what was most disturbing was that Jesus was somehow still hanging on the cross, now, today.

Now this was in the days just before Vatican II, when there was still considerable emphasis on the cross as ransom for sin, and on our personal and collective culpability in Jesus’ suffering and death. The story of the cross was told in terms of the sacrifice necessary for the redemption of our sins, one that we find in the Synoptic Gospels. This was a story that implied that God was deeply offended, that he required appeasement, recompense, and that since no mere human could make up for the estrangement that we humans had chosen, God had to send His own son to make amends, and to require of Him the ultimate sacrifice of death.

But there is another way to understand the cross. If we consider God’s love to be the real basis for hope, instead of the terrible ransom of Jesus’ life, we can tell another version of the story. It starts with creation itself, where God begins to reveal Himself, freely and forgivingly, as we see in today’s first reading about his care for his hungry and confused people wandering in the desert. And in this story creation is not an event that is contained in the past but is actually ongoing in history, ongoing in our hearts.

The next phase in this unfolding revelation of God’s love is the Incarnation. This is not a desperate salvage job, where God has to intervene in human history to help set it right. We already see him intervening continuously throughout the Old Testament, through the covenant which He kept so lovingly and faithfully and His People kept so badly. The Incarnation is God breaking directly, physically, into history in human form in the person of Jesus. In fact, the great Franciscan Duns Scotus made a powerful argument that the Incarnation is God’s primary redemptive act. He said that the Incarnation was first and foremost in God’s mind from the beginning. It could not have been dependent on, or occasioned by, any action of humans, especially sin.

The language of John’s Gospel, which we hear today, does not stress Jesus’ death as ransom, sacrifice, atonement, as the Synoptic Gospels do. In John and Ephesians, in Duns Scotus and Karl Rahner, the crucifixion is part of Jesus’ glorification, not only a sacrifice but a manifestation of the lengths to which God is willing to go to bring us closer to him.

All of Jesus’ work was redemptive, all of it ennobled our human nature he took on for us – his healing, his teaching, and as we heard from Paul today, his obedience unto death, even death on a cross. Jesus was a prophet in a long tradition that believed in the power of suffering to atone for wrongdoing, and because he was so faithful to God’s will, he come to understand that he was to die, and that his death was a sacrifice for others.

Jesus resolutely accepted his fate, and his faithfulness persisted throughout his terrible suffering and into his death. But so did the Father’s outpouring of love. We know that because Jesus was raised from the dead, and we are given new life in the Kingdom that came about as a result.

And yet that Kingdom is often so difficult to realize. We still suffer. You do, I do. I think of my long walk with my brother down the road to his death from brain cancer. I think of my friend Mary who has carried her schizophrenic brother for twenty years now. I wonder where so many Katrina victims are – they never came home again. And when I see pictures of children in Darfur it seems as though much of humankind is still nailed to a cross.

How can we find hope in our suffering, in the suffering of Jesus on the cross? How can we come to comprehend the reality that the cross contains not only the suffering but also the incarnation and the exaltation of Jesus? That it contains not only failure and scandal and pain but also victory and the promise of eternal life? Jesus already triumphed, and yet you and I here today are not yet capable of living fully in the Kingdom he established.

We are more like the Hebrews wandering around in the desert, complaining about wretched food and ravaged by serpents. In the rather mysterious passage we heard earlier, Moses had to appeal to God who told him to make an image of the serpent, mount it on a pole, and to have everybody who had been bitten look at it, and as a result, actually live. God had his people confront that which terrified them, and in doing so they were healed.

In fact, Jesus recalls that very event in the gospel we heard today – He tells us that as Moses raised up the serpent for his people, the Son of Man is also lifted up so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. The Son of Man lifted up on the cross is a dreadful sight to see. It requires us to confront not only Jesus’ suffering but our own demons, and our own suffering borne in His body.

This is a powerful lesson of the cross – that we cannot turn away from suffering. We must assume our crosses as faithfully as Jesus did; we must suffer in order to be healed. In being healed we will be able to accept Jesus’ reassurance that the cross is the occasion for the great manifestation of God’s love for us, not a condemnation of the world but a promise that the world is saved.

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

We want to be careful how we view about suffering and death during these days. I wonder how we can think of them as positive? In the Scriptures of the Jewish people, suffering and death are to be avoided and, where possible, alleviated. The hope we have as Christians is that God will do away with both at the end. It seems to be always the poor who suffer the most, who always are the victims. So, during these days we might wish to become more fully involved with God’s plan to alleviate suffering by alleviating the suffering of the poor by deeper involvement in social programs. Good Friday, for example, should not be a day that keeps a silence of inattention to the suffering of others. If we keep a silence this day it may be to ponder the suffering of those around us and to resolve to do something about it. For example, was a victim of the death penalty. The church has a very strong stand against the death penalty, and yet we seem unable to eradicate this evil. Sr. Helen Prejean, SCJ has worked tirelessly on behalf of those on Death row. What can you do to get involved in this issue? For starters, here is a prayer she has written that you might want to pray every day:

God of Compassion,
You let your rain fall on the just and the unjust.
Expand and deepen our hearts so that we may love as You love,
even those among us who have caused the greatest pain by taking a life.
For there is in our land a great cry for vengeance
as we fill up death rows and kill the killers in the name of justice,
in the name of peace.
Jesus, our brother,
You suffered execution at the hands of the state
but you did not let hatred overcome you.
Help us to reach out to victims of violence
so that our enduring love may help them heal.
Holy Spirit of God,
You strengthen us in the struggle for justice.
Help us to work tirelessly for the abolition of state-sanctioned death
and to renew our society in its very heart
so that violence will be no more. Amen.

Easter Vigil (Mark 16:1-8)

Commentary:

From “First Impressions”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:

For those of us who have experienced the death of loved ones over this last year, this feast brings a message of comfort. Our bonds with our beloved dead are not perpetually broken, left in ashes. Our faith assures us that we, with them, will rise again. Those of us approaching the end of our lives, because of sickness or advanced age, also are encouraged today. What seems like a certain victory for death, is not. God has the last laugh over death and so our faith assuages our fears.

But this feast isn’t just about the next life. Resurrection also challenges us for this life; what difference will the resurrection make for us now? There is enough evidence in our world to urge us to stay in whatever tomb we dwell. The world is a scary place, especially these days and withdrawal from meaningful engagement with it is a temptation. We have lots of help if we want to skip out and disengage: alcohol, work, long hours in front of the tv, going through the motions until retirement, avoiding the large social problems around us, etc. We can take refuge in the day-to-day routine, it numbs us and facilitates our exemption from new life. For those injured by life, the fear of the unknown future also keeps us in the tomb. The heavy stone that covers a possible exit to new life helps us stay sheltered and protected from what seems threatening -- and yet holds the promise of renewal. The resurrection says God has other plans for us. God does not leave us on our own as we face the heavy task of emergence from the tomb. What the women saw as an insurmountable burden (“Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”), God was already addressing. The stone was removed and new life had already left the place of death and is spreading that life just up ahead in Galilee.

The young man at the tomb, dressed as a heavenly messenger, refers to “Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified.” The emphasis here is on the human Jesus. The references to Jesus as a Nazarene and as the one crucified, are also derogatory terms. He is from a small town, not respected by the more urbane people of Jerusalem (“Can anything good come from Nazareth?” John 1: 46) and he was crucified – he suffered the death of a criminal. Yet this very one from Nazareth, crucified as a criminal, the messenger tells the women, has been raised. This is Isaiah’s Suffering Servant whom we heard about yesterday, Good Friday (Isaiah 52:13-53-12), the one who was misunderstood, rejected, condemned and executed. What a complete reversal has just happened!

But the resurrection comes only through Jesus’ death—he is “the crucified.” Mark won’t let us forget that the shadow of the cross is still present in this new age inaugurated by Jesus’ resurrection. Our world may not believe in the resurrection; the word may be very strange to moderns. But people certainly know about the cross and suffering. Even unbelievers will say, “I have a heavy cross to bear.” We keep the crosses of our world in mind as we celebrate the resurrection. The cross casts its long shadow over our earth and its peoples. The messenger reminds us that our God is no stranger to pain. God isn’t just the God of sunsets, pretty flowers and innocent children. A sober appraisal of our world will not allow us such a clean, sterile God. We look at the recent mass killings in two of our cities, the half million in our country who have died of the Covid virus—not counting 125 million worldwide who have had or died from the virus; the 25% of our children in this country below the poverty line; sex slavery and spousal abuse, etc. Jesus is called the “crucified one,” and we are reminded that our God entered our world, the world we know all too well, whose sorrow seems to dwarf the “lilies of the field” and the “birds of the air.” We gathered with the suffering messiah and the tormented of the world at the cross on Good Friday. We believed our God was there with us, despite the fact that we got no immediate answers and were defeated. Evil seemed so large and powerful, we felt impotent and dwarfed. We need Good Friday to remind us that we are not alone in our suffering; God is no stranger to our pain. In Jesus, God too has lost everything in death. After it was all over, we asked the same question the women did, “Who will roll away the stone?” Who will open the tomb; who will set us free and destroy death? On Good Friday and Holy Saturday we and the women weren’t thinking too optimistically; we weren’t thinking “Springtime thoughts.” Dead bodies don’t rise on their own. But the Genesis story tonight reminds us that God can create from nothing. God spoke over the formless wasteland and into the darkness of the abyss and created light. God can completely reverse a helpless situation. And God did; for while God stood with us at the cross on Good Friday, God has also acted boldly and unexpectedly on Easter morning. Once again, as in Genesis, God spoke a mighty word, this time into the tomb’s darkness. Again God created light for us. God rolled away the stone of death with a life-giving word. God now turns towards us as we ask the women’s question, “Who will roll back the stone for us?” God responds, “I will.”

This story should give us courage to face what has died in our lives and we can be reassured that God stands with us as we grieve our deaths. But God still has something new in store for us. Each of us knows Good Friday; but we are not stuck there. Though we have reached a dead end, some new life will be shown to us, some new possibility up ahead will open for us. We believe the messenger’s words, “He is going before you to Galilee.” The young man’s announcement to the women, “He has been raised; he is not here,” becomes our shout at this liturgy, “Christ is risen!” We love this feast, it bursts upon us with song, drama and color after a drab Lent. But after the glow, does its reality stay with us? So often we have seen good defeated by hostile forces and declared “Finished.” (“Nice try, but you lose.”) Today we celebrate God’s choice to be with our vulnerable humanity, engage death and come out victorious. Now we are asked to believe, with the women, the message at the empty tomb; to take seriously that God has exposed the lies death has given us. Today’s gospel ends with us holding our breath. Will the woman and we, struck with amazement go out following the trail of the risen Christ and trust he will be with us each time we face down death’s debilitating effects on our lives?

Mark has avoided the spectacular in his account. There is nothing extraordinary about the young man at the tomb, or in the fact that the stone was rolled away. In fact, this gospel originally ended with the very next verse, “When the women ran from the tomb, they were confused and shaking all over. They were too afraid to tell anyone what had happened” (12:8). The women go off and tell no one what they have seen. In the original ending there were no appearance stories of the resurrected Christ. By the messenger’s emphasizing Jesus’ humanity (“Jesus of Nazareth”) and his suffering (“the crucified”), Mark is downplaying the glorious and emphasizing Jesus’ sharing our human condition. Mark wants his persecuted Christian community to soberly reflect on the meaning of the resurrection in its own struggling life. He seems to encourage them to face their fears and doubts with hope. To their question, “When will finally we see him?” Mark provides the messenger’s promise, that Jesus is up ahead, in Galilee, the place they expected to meet him when he did return at the end of time in his glory. We will see the glory, Mark is suggesting. That is what now sustains us with hope amid our doubts and struggles.

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:

My name is Mary Magdalene. I have been a close friend and follower of Jesus bar Joseph for almost three years. His understanding and kindness was life-saving to me when my family thought I was insane, when I was, in reality, very depressed. He always welcoming to those who followed him to offer support in his journeys up and down Galilee. In a culture that relegates women to the invisible, especially when men are around, is was so refreshing to be treated as an equal partner in this venture. Jesus and his twelve closest male disciples had decided to celebrate the Seder supper together, as was appropriate. I am not sure what some of the others thought about those of us women who followed Jesus from place to place, or who welcomed them into their home, like Mary and Martha of course, their brother Lazarus was a dear friend of Jesus, so people sort of understood. On the morning after that memorable meal and the events that followed, we heard that Jesus had been taken into custody by the High Priest, but we could not get much detail from inside the compound. It was truly alarming to hear that Jesus had been taken to Pontius Pilate for a further ”trial” and possible sentencing. We were part of the crowd that gathered outside the Praetorium and watched the debacle that ensured. It was almost a forgone conclusion that Jesus would be crucified that day. When I looked at his bruised and battered face, his torso damaged by whips and chains, I could hardly recognize him. I was devastated. He looked close to death even then. It got worse as they led him up to the hill where the unthinkable was about to happen. I and Mary, the mother of James, and Salome followed the procession, painful as it was to see, but kept our distance. The crowd was a bit riled up and we feared for our own safety, but could not stay away. It was absolutely heart wrenching to seen those last hours when Jesus was in such agony. His cry ‘My God, My god Why have you forsaken me?” seemed torn from the depths of his soul. We were paralyzed with grief, but managed to follow Joseph of Arimathea as he took Jesus’ body down from the cross, lovingly wrapped it in burial cloths and laid it in a tomb not far away. Mary and I watched to see where they laid him so that after the feast of the Passover, we could bring spices and oils to anoint the body, since that had not yet been done.

When that day after the Sabbath arrived, we crept out as early as possible, without considering how we were to get into the tomb, because of the huge stone. Still devastated and confused, we worried about this all the way to the burial site. What a surprise to see that the stone had been rolled away! It was frightening to consider who had done this and if the body of Jesus had be stolen or desecrated in any way. So much had gone wrong in these last few days, and the whole situation seemed filled with danger. Our apprehension grew as we saw a young man we did not recognize, dressed in a white robe and apparently waiting for us. He told us that Jesus had risen and that we were to tell the disciples that he had gone ahead and would meet them in Galilee. We were absolutely frozen with fear. When know what was going on, and who knew how those disciples would react to our news. Would they blame us for the information we brought or accuse us of lying? In a panic we fled and retuned to where we had been staying; we simply did not know how to react or what to do. On top of everything that had happened, it was just too much…

Jesus, I place myself in those horrific events and wonder how I might have reacted. I think I might have been frightened as well. Lord, help me to contemplate the mystery that is your death and resurrection, not from 2000 years away, but as if I were really there. Help me to see and feel what Mary and the others did. Help me to remember when I acted out of fear at something I did not understand or was afraid to face. Let me see your kindness and understanding, with the knowledge that you are ahead of me and will meet me in my own private Galilee when the time comes. In the meantime, help me to be strong and hopeful, and helpful to others in my life undergoing trials and sorrows. Be with them as you are with me.