Move forward with hope

Fourth Sunday of Easter – C

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tries to give the crowd around him some insight into his true identity. But they cannot let go of their preconceived ideas about the Messiah. Even if he can heal the blind and feed the multitude with just a bit of bread and fish, how dare he assert that he and the Father are one! For this blasphemy they attempt to stone him and eventually will arrest and crucify him.

If we have followed the examples of Thomas and Peter, dying to our stubbornness and limited perspective and centering the needs of God’s people over our own, we will be opened to hear more clearly Jesus’s voice.

But more than that, we will be drawn into intimate communion with Christ and with all who follow him. That personal relationship Jesus has with the Father is also ours with Christ through the bond of the Spirit that unites us all.

Personal, self-giving, open to a wider vision, grounded in love, not fear: the promise of this kind of relationship enables us to always move forward with hope. To live the paschal mystery is to reject the cynicism, negativity, and despair that keep us and others locked up in the past. In our ministries, let us be people of the paschal mystery, who persevere together, filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

This post was first published in “GIA Quarterly: A Liturgical Music Journal.”

Image credit: Photo by oatawa from Getty Images Pro.

Read more reflections on the Sunday readings here:

• Prune our hearts
• Heed and follow
• New life in Christ
• Now what?
• We are Loved and Longed For