May 10, 2018

Gospel: Jn 16:16-20
A little while, and you will see me no more; and then a little while, and you will see me.” Some of the disciples wondered, “What does he mean by, ‘A little while, and you will not see me; and then a little while, and you will see me’? And why did he say, ‘I go to the Father’?” And they said to one another, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand.” Jesus knew that they wanted to question him; so he said to them, “You are puzzled because I told you that in a little while you will see me no more, and then a little while later you will see me. “Truly, I say to you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.“

Reflections
I am not to blame if, from now on, I go to the non-Jews Paul was more successful in converting many non-Jews outside Israel to the Christian faith, than in drawing his fellow Jews to Jesus. Our labors for the Lord will not always bear fruit. A devout mother will not always be able to turn her son away from a life of crime; a teacher will not be able to motivate all students to become the best they can be; a Christian missionary may be rejected and persecuted. And yet in the end what matters most is not the fruit of our labor but our fidelity to our mission and vocation.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2018