Sixth Sunday of Easter
What has our world become? This virus has flipped our worlds upside down. So many of us are feeling isolated, depressed, stressed, unbalanced, or alone. You can feel this wave of sadness and fear every time you turn on the TV and see everyone around the world being affected by it. And many of us are probably wondering where is God in all of this?
It may feel like God has forsaken us, that He got up from His throne and left. This can leave us feeling confused and angry. But God will never leave or forsake us even though it may feel like it at times. He is in the midst of this universal pain and He wants us to trust that He is there. One of my favorite Bible quotes from Psalm 23 that I tell myself when things are hard is, “even though I walk through of valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil for my God is with me.”
In the Gospel this week we see Jesus teach us about forming a deep union and relationship with Him when we obediently show our love for Him. Jesus so desperately wants us to know Him and remain in Him, but do we truly do this? Just looking at these times today our faith in Jesus is being tested. Can we truly hold onto those promises that Jesus told us? One promise, in particular, that Jesus said is so relevant to our world today, “I will not leave you orphaned, I will come to you.” We might think, “where is my Father in all of this chaos? But Jesus, full of peace and love, promises us that He is never going to leave us and that He will come to us when we need Him. Like a father comforts His child God wants to comfort us and let us know that He has not left, He is with us.
Another thing Jesus says that is so relevantly striking to today, is that, “in a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me…” I have one atheist friend who says he’s even more convinced God doesn’t exist now during all of this. The world may no longer see God, but brothers and sisters, we still see Him. As His disciples it is our call and duty to spread His light and love to all those around us who are in pain and are suffering during this time.
This week let us pray for our hurting world because so many of us are suffering and losing hope. Let us pray, brothers and sisters for us to see Jesus, in the midst of all of this chaos. We need to realize that Jesus, the King of the Universe, has not left His throne. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Jesus, we trust in you because You are Lord overall. You are Lord over the world, your people and over this virus. Help us to cling to hope for You are our hope. You will not leave us orphaned. Let us fix our eyes on Christ and continue to pray for our world and the church. Jesus, we trust in You!
