Sixth Sunday of Easter

Sixth Sunday of Easter

You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. -John 14:28

If you loved me, you would rejoice…

I do not like goodbyes. I have never liked them. Is it because I am afraid of never seeing the person again?

I remember the day that my oldest son left home. He was 21 years old. He was getting married and he was moving to another city. He was moving out AND moving away.

I cried for days.

Eventually I would come to realize that while life with my son had changed, it had not ended. Our relationship had just gone on to a new place, a new beginning. So while I missed him, I also rejoiced that he had been given new opportunities, a new life.

If you loved me, you would rejoice…

When someone we love dies, we are sad. We mourn. We don’t like good-byes.

And yet we people of faith know we are also supposed to rejoice. We know that while our life with our loved one has changed, it has not ended.

We know that, while we miss them now, the day will come when we too will go to the Father who is greater than all of us, and we will experience a joy we have never known.

And we will never mourn again.

Dear Jesus, thank you for helping us on our journey to the Father. Help me to remember that death is not the end and that my loved ones are with you and someday I will be with you, too. Please give me that peace that only you can give. And help me to spread the Good News, so that we may all rejoice. Amen.