Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter
(Acts 19:1-8; John 16:29-33)
John’s gospel sees life as a struggle between doing good and
doing evil, between light and darkness. Everyone
has experienced this choice although for some acting justly comes more easily
than for others. In today’s gospel passage,
Jesus provides consolation to those who may be having a tough time.
The disciples thank Jesus for being their guide to what is
true and good. Jesus, however, must warn
them that the struggle is not over. In
fact, he tells them that it is only about to begin. He will be arrested, and they will be scattered. However, just as he is not alone but has the
Father’s company, they will have his company.
With him or, better, in him, they will be able to choose rightly.
Many prefer not to think of life as a constant struggle to
do what is right. To them such an
approach sounds gruesome and boring. They
like to think that any decision made according to what they value is a good
one. They likely have the resources to rescue
themselves from bad choices. We
Christians, however, stand with the poor without such resources. We strive to follow Christ in everything we
do. We know that he will lead us to the
fulness of happiness.
