THE WORD
Ac 19,1-8 / Jn 16,29-33
Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. Now we realize that you know everything and that you do not need to have anyone question you. Because of this we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now. Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”
IN OTHER WORDS
“I have told you this, so that you might have peace in me.” Life can be so stressful and troublesome, as many of us surely have realized. We see many of our brothers and sisters going around with faces lined with worry, and shoulders stooped as if laden with heavy burdens. And then we may have seen others going around smiling and cheerful, as if they had no cares in the world. But if we get to know them better, we nd out that they have also their share of problems, frustrations, and burdens. For such people, the admonition of Jesus is realized: “In the world you will have trouble, but take courage…I have conquered the world.”
It is a display of complete trust in God when we lift up to Him everything that is bothering us. We trust that if he will not remove our burdens, he will give us the strength to carry them. It is the conviction that God knows what we are going through and that in the end everything will be all right. It is an act of complete surrender to God’s will when we accept all that is happening in our life. When we do this, we can begin to experience peace. It is the peace that removes all anxieties, removes all fear. Peace is also when we believe that everything is according to God’s will, and that it will all end up well.
- Fr. Gil Alejandria, SVD | CT, Manila
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
