Homilette for Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter

(Acts 14:19-28; John 14:27-31a)

Jesus defies many of our hopes when he promises us his peace. We think of peace as the absence of conflict – a respite in the constant struggle to make ends meet or to please those around us. For our brand of peace we may take a cruise or find an apartment miles away from the helter-skelter of work.

But Jesus indicates in the gospel that peace is a condition of psychology not geography. As he is about to undergo the worse of human upheavals in the crucifixion and yet is undisturbed because of his relationship with the Father so he urges us not to worry about the predicament in which we find ourselves. Rather, we are to be confident of his love which conquers any and all of the troubles that the world slings at us. For sure, it is a tall order, but we have the assurance of his resurrection to show us that our trust is warranted.