You don't know what's good for you!

Homily
Tuesday of the 6th Week of Easter
St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center
Year for Priests
11 May 2010

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Jesus endures the self-pity of the disciples in today's Gospel reading. They are focused on what they are losing - their superhero! They are focusing on themselves. It is unusual behavior for friends to be sure. Their good friend is leaving, and none of them really cares where He is going. They are focused on their worries that they will be more alone. They will be less without him. We do this to our friends all the time. We wander why they don't want to spend more time with us. We are jealous that they make plans without us. We are suspicious that they care for us less and less. We are afraid of being lonely, so we try to make our friends feel guilty about our insecurity. Jesus is instructing his friends about his Ascension, and they are uninterested in his trip. They just wonder how things will be different for them. They are whining.

So Jesus tells them that the impending break-up is better for them. It is best for both of us, He says. I guess we cannot blame the disciples for their suspicions. When someone is leaving, there is no guarantee of getting them back. Goodbyes are hard. See you laters are tenuous. But of course we should focus on who is speaking here. It is Jesus who has and will fulfill every promise He has made. He tells them truly that it is better for them that He go.

Jesus' words should teach us that as the Easter season is winding down, it is really starting back up. We are not going back to the way things were before Jesus' Resurrection. His Resurrection is not a fading memory, but an ever more present reality, as the same Holy Spirit that raised Him from the dead will give the same gift of eternal life to everyone who believes in Christ. This is the coming of Pentecost, when the Resurrection becomes a reality not only for Christ, but for every person that belongs to Him. In this Easter season, it is important for us to make this liturgical and theological and spiritual transition, as each day leading to Pentecost we are to be growing in awareness of this gift of eternal life that Christ is sharing with us his disciples. Truly, it is better for us that our friend has gone before us to heaven, and has sent His Holy Spirit to be our advocate.