Gospel: May 9, 2024
(Thursday)
6th Week of Easter
Psalter: Week 2 / (White/Red)
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 98: 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4
The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
1st Reading: Acts 18: 1-8After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, following a decree of the Emperor Claudius, which ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to visit them, and then stayed and worked with them, because they shared the same trade of tent making. Every Sabbath, he held discussions in the synagogue, trying to convince both Jews and Greeks.
When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was able to give himself wholly to preaching, and proving to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. One day, when they opposed him and insulted him, he shook the dust from his clothes in protest, saying, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. I am not to blame if, from now on, I go to the non-Jews.”
So Paul left there and went to the house of a God-fearing man named Titus Justus, who lived next door to the synagogue. A leading man of the synagogue, Crispus, along with his whole household, believed in the Lord. On hearing Paul, many more Corinthians believed and were baptized.
Gospel: John 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.”
Reflection:“Eyes of faith”
In John’s Gospel, there are several levels of seeing reality. The first level is the manner of seeing, commonly, with one’s physical eyes (blepō). The second level indicates a manner of seeing with observation (theōreō). The third level connotes the manner of seeing in the eyes of faith (horaō). In today’s Gospel, Jesus told his disciples that in a little while they would not see him but in a little while they would see him. Jesus explained to his disciples that they would no longer see him with eyes that merely observe (theōreō) but with eyes of faith (horaō). Jesus cautioned them that they would weep and mourn while the world would rejoice. However, Jesus also gave them the assurance that their sorrow would turn into joy. Jesus also told them that the world (those who rejected Jesus) would hate them because this same portion of humanity hated Jesus first (Jn. 15:18). Thus, we as Jesus’ followers, need eyes of faith that enable us to find deeper meaning in suffering, which can only be found in our identification with Jesus. And Jesus, in turn, will never let us down. If we are with Jesus, every suffering will eventually, surely, turn into joy.
