Have Peace

Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Paul then said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. Acts 19:4-6

“Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” John 16:32-33

Piety

“Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”  John 20:29B

Study

Today’s Good News is a lesson in the “be-attitudes:” Behold and Believe.  Jesus is now speaking plainly.  No more parables.  The hours has arrived.  See, everything he has foretold is coming to pass.  Behold.  See what is about to unfold right before your eyes.  Once they behold, they can believe. 

The disciples who have a chance to see will come to believe.  However, most of us will not have direct scientific proof of Jesus on earth.  We believe not because we held the infant in the manger. We believe not because we were fed with the five thousand. We believe not because we stood at the foot of the cross.  We believe not because we had grilled fish on the beach with our savior. 

Even though the disciples behold the trial, execution, and the empty tomb as the story unfolds, they will still bring the passage of Zechariah 13:7B to fruition:  “Strike the shepherd that the sheep may be scattered.”  Only later will those who behold the empty tomb come back together in the locked upper room and believe because they saw living proof and were able to put the pieces together like a detective solving a crime. 

Which brings us to the last of the “be-attitudes:  “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”  John 20:29B

Action

Yoga has been under attack recently.  Some Christians in Georgia protested a class.  However, as Heidi Schlumf writes in the National Catholic Reporter: “As someone who has practiced yoga for nearly two decades, I can tell you that it's actually made me a better Catholic.” She writes:

Yoga is not a threat to my faith. It's been an asset to it -- and it can be for many Catholics and other Christians. Sure, downward dog will give your hamstrings a good stretch. But if you could stand to be stretched in the spiritual department, don't be afraid to sit in lotus, do some deep belly breathing and, yes, even chant, "Om."

What are you doing in this last week of the Easter season to stretch you mind, your body and your spirituality as we march the next six days to Pentecost?