Deep into his missionary journey, we still note the persevering attitude and intense zeal of Paul to share the Gospel of Jesus. We further note the growing communities as he continued his journey as well as the growing strength of opposition in the places he visited. We, however, cannot diminish the ministry and almost veiled role of the Holy Spirit in the life and ministry of Paul. Somehow, to further the cause of the Kingdom of God, pieces of cloth were made instruments to minister to the great needs of the ever growing Gentile communities. With Paul empowered by the Holy Spirit, he passed on and shared the varied gifts of the Holy Spirit to other faithful and trusted disciples of the Lord Jesus. As Paul prayed and interceded, the power of the Holy Spirit was further manifested in the lives on men and women who were similarly led by the Spirit of Jesus.
In today’s brief Gospel reading, Jesus speaks words that proclaim his unlimited compassion and love for his disciples. At the beginning of this Gospel passage, the apostles are feeling pretty good. They’ve had a good meal and delightful wine. Jesus is talking about leaving them, which they can’t seem to comprehend. But he’s also assured them that God loves them and will give them anything they ask for in his name.
Jesus then dampens their good feelings, indicating that their life together will come to an end. Not only will he be taken from them; they’ll all abandon him. They’ll be scattered. They’ll leave him alone, by himself. It’s here that Jesus proclaims that his love and compassion for them is without limit. He tells them, “Yet I can never be alone; the Father is with me. I tell you all this that in me you my find peace.” Now, even before they have abandoned him, he goes beyond lightening the burden of guilt and beyond the forgiveness it implies. He promises them a peace that presupposes total absence of guilt and forgiveness of sins.
The apostles, of course, at that moment could not comprehend what Jesus was implying. But after his resurrection they certainly must have recalled his words each time he appeared to them and spoke the single word of greeting, “Peace!”