When we pray we believe that what we are praying will be received and it will be.
Friday, 27 May 2022
Saturday, May 28, 2022 - Do you remember to add at the end of your prayer the words “not my, but your will be done”?
To read the texts click on the texts: Acts 18:23-28; Jn16:23-28
The death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus will be the event that will enable the disciples to pray, not only in Jesus’ name, but like he prayed. Through this event, the disciples will enter into a new relationship with Jesus and with God through him. This relationship will be a relationship of love. As God showed his love for the world in sending Jesus, and Jesus showed his love for the world by accepting the cross, so the disciples have shown love for Jesus and God by accepting and believing that Jesus has come from God.
In the last verse of today’s text the entire mission of Jesus is summarized. Jesus has been sent by God and has come from God. After completing the mission entrusted to him, he is returning to where he has come from: God. The story of Jesus, which began with his coming from the Father ends, but also continues with his ascending to the Father.
Prayer in Jesus’ name and praying like Jesus
means to believe, before we receive something, that it will be given to us. It
is a confidence that God is on our side. We may not always be able to see at
first glance how what we receive is for our good, much like the cross that
Jesus carried. However, it means that we continue to trust and believe that all
will be well because God is always in control of any and every situation.
Thursday, 26 May 2022
Friday, May 27, 2022 - What causes sorrow in you? Can you be described as primarily a “happy” person? If No, why not?
To read the texts click on the texts: Acts18:9-18; Jn 16:20-23
Jesus explains in these verses how the disciple’s sorrow will turn to joy. The metaphor of child birth is used to explain the in-breaking of God’s kingdom. Just as the birth of a child turns the pain of the mother into joy, so the in-breaking of God’s kingdom will turn the disciples’ sorrow into joy. Jesus’ appearance to the disciples after his death will be the cause of their sorrow turning to joy. This joy will not be temporary, but permanent, and no one or event will be able to take it away. This is because the whole of life’s perspective will change and the disciples will become a new people, a new creation. On that day, all the questions of the disciples will cease because nothing will need to be explained. It will be as clear as it needs to be.
Sorrow and joy are common everyday experiences of all
humans. Sorrow is caused when things do not go the way we expect them to or
when people do not respond in the way we want them to. When our expectations
are not met, we feel sad and upset. However, after the resurrection of Jesus
and his presence among us in his Spirit, sorrow can never be an enduring
experience for a believer. It is always temporary. Joy is permanent. This joy
is not caused by the happening or not happening of events, it is not caused by
our expectations being fulfilled, but by a realization that, in Jesus, God
always wants what is best for us and will never do anything that is not for our
good and for his glory. It is a realization that, in Jesus, we are loved
unconditionally by a God who is Father and who always wants what is best for
his sons and daughters.
Wednesday, 25 May 2022
Thursday, May 26, 2022 - Can you be courageous even when it seems that the whole world is conspiring against you?
To read the texts click on the texts: Acts 18:1-8; Jn16:16-20
In the first verse of today’s reading, 16:16, the focus is turned back from the Paraclete to the impending departure of Jesus and the response of the disciples to that departure. The first “little while” in this verse refers to the time before his death, which Jesus sees as fast approaching, whereas the second “little while” refers to the events after his death to his resurrection appearances and even beyond. The disciples are not able to understand the meaning of Jesus’ words and keep questioning among themselves what they mean.
Though they have not addressed Jesus with their questions, he is aware of what they are discussing. Yet, he does not answer their question directly, but moves the question to a new direction. A new teaching is introduced by the use of the words, “Amen, amen”. There will be contrasting responses to the death of Jesus. The disciples will weep and mourn, whereas the “world”, which here must be translated as those opposed to the revelation of God in Jesus, will rejoice. However, this will only be a temporary response. The pain and sorrow of the disciples will soon turn to joy.
It is easy to be happy and believe that God is
on our side when things go the way we want. However, when we are faced with
obstacles and difficulties, when we do not get the due we think we deserve and,
when the road is steep and the going is difficult, then we begin to wonder if
God is on our side. The text of today is a call to believe, even in the most
difficult circumstances. It is a call to know that there will be joy, even in
the midst of pain, and happiness, even in the midst of sorrow. It is a call to
have faith and see the risen Jesus, even as he hangs on the cross, and to see
in the crosses that we have to carry every day, our own resurrection.
Tuesday, 24 May 2022
Wednesday, May 25, 2022 - What contemporary symbol describes Jesus for you? How will you share this symbol with at least one other person today?
To read the texts click on the texts: Acts 17:15,22-18:1;Jn 16:12-15
The Paraclete is mentioned for the last time in the Farewell Discourse in these verses. Jesus has taught the disciples all that they are to know and understand about the present time. There is nothing more about the present that he can say to them. What they need to know about the future will be revealed to them at the appropriate time and when the Spirit that is sent comes. This means that, even when they are faced with the future which is uncertain, God’s presence will be with them. They are not alone. The Paraclete is the “spirit of truth” since he comes from Jesus, who is “the truth” and will guide the disciples into the way of truth, into the way of Jesus. Since the Paraclete will be sent by Jesus, he will only explicate and make clearer what Jesus has already said. He will not give a new teaching but will continue what Jesus has begun. As Jesus taught what he heard from God, so the Paraclete will teach what he hears from Jesus.
He will also declare “the things that are to come” which here means the preparation of the disciples for the time after Jesus. This also indicates that the words of Jesus are not time bound, but available anew for every succeeding generation of disciples. The Paraclete always makes the teachings new and relevant for the times. Just as Jesus made God visible through his words and actions, so the Paraclete will make Jesus present through the inspiration and support he provides to the disciples.
The Paraclete thus makes Jesus present even after his death, resurrection, and ascension to the Father. He is the teacher and witness of all that Jesus has said and done. That is, the Paraclete enables the Christian community, at any time in its life, to reach back to the teachings of Jesus and “remember,” and bring Jesus’ teachings to life afresh with new understanding. However, the Paraclete’s role as teacher is also creative. The Paraclete enables the word of Jesus to move forward from its moment in history to the present life of the church. The Paraclete gives new meanings to the teachings of Jesus as the changing circumstances of faith communities and the world demand.
The Paraclete that Jesus sent two thousand years
ago is the same Paraclete that is available to us today. The presence of the
Paraclete will be seen and felt when we make the teachings of Jesus relevant
and alive today. The idiom, symbols, and language that we use have to be
understood by contemporary hearers. All too often, language about Jesus is too
pious and even outdated and so, does not touch the lives of many. If we open
ourselves to the working of the Paraclete in our lives, we will be able to make
Jesus present even now.
Monday, 23 May 2022
Tuesday, May 24, 2022 - If people heard you speak and saw your actions today, would they recognize you as a follower of Jesus?
To read the texts click on the texts: Acts 16:22-34; Jn16:5-11
These verses continue the farewell Discourse which was begun in 14:1. Since Jesus had been physically present to the disciples, he did not need to give them instructions about the time when he would not be with them. However, since that time has now come, they need to be informed about how they are to handle the future without him. They are dismayed and troubled, even though they know that he is going to the Father. They must realize and accept that it is to their advantage that Jesus goes. If he does not go, the Paraclete cannot come. Jesus’ departure, which means his death, resurrection, and ascension, must precede the Paraclete’s coming. When this happens, Jesus will have completed the work given to him by the Father and the Paraclete will continue the work begun by Jesus.
The Paraclete’s work in the world will be to bring people to trial. This, however, is only one of the many functions that the Paraclete performs. It will bring out into the open the true meaning of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and the “world”, which here means those who rejected Jesus, will be held accountable.
The “world’s” sin is exposed because they have not believed in Jesus as the one who was sent from, and by, the Father. This means that the focus is not on one particular act, but on the attitude of rejection. Though the “world” might assume that Jesus’ death is the end, it is mistaken and, in this is righteousness exposed. Jesus’ death is not the end; rather, it is the completion on earth of the work entrusted to him by the Father. It is to be seen in the context of obedience to his Father’s will for him and the world. The final judgment will be that of the “ruler of this world”. By his death, resurrection, and ascension, the devil, the embodiment of all that is opposed to Jesus, will be judged. It will be proved, through this decisive act, that God has triumphed in his Son.
The “world” continues to be opposed to Jesus and
to love. However, Jesus continues to be present to the world in his Spirit,
made manifest in his disciples. It is the task of the disciples inspired and
guided by the Spirit to continue to expose the sin of the world and bring the
world to judgment. While this may be done by verbal proclamation, it must also
be, like in the case of Jesus, a proclamation that is shown in action.
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