Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Dramatic change, of any sort, is disruptive. You can never, even if you wish, to go back to how things were before. Some dramatic change is exciting – new home, new spouse, new child, new job; some change is devastating – sickness, death, isolation, betrayal. In either instance, you must face the challenge of life and move forward.
Our Gospel today represents that moving forward after a dramatic change. Jesus was crucified; he died and rose from the dead. An apostle that his companions loved and spent years with was found to be a traitor and, as tradition points to, ended his own life. What a dramatic change!
Undaunted by this change, the apostles, allowed the Spirit to move in their midst and chose Mattias as a new apostle.
Each of us has experienced this kind of change, and we can be easily tempted to fall permanently into despair, confusion, doubt, or anger, or we can, like the apostles, allow the Spirit to move in our midst. This doesn’t mean we give up or that God desired that we suffer at the moment, but rather that we trust that God can bring something great out of our change.
There is no easy answer for life’s significant changes, but they can be moments of grace that help shape the world around us. What moments have redefined the way you live? Have they led you to a place of darkness? Or have you let them open you up to the movement of the Spirit?
Reflection by Fr. Etienne Huard, OSB
Posted in Daily Reflections, Lenten Resources