Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter
When I read today’s Gospel passage I was reminded of a little book I read number of years ago entitled Sleeping With Bread (written by Denis, Sheila, and Matthew Linn). It talks about the spiritual power of gratitude and the benefits of the daily practice of reviewing one’s day in light of God’s grace. I initially picked up the book as I was intrigued by the title. It seems during WWII many young children were displaced from their homes or orphaned and were placed in refugee camps. These children had been deeply traumatized—abandoned, fearing for their lives and not knowing where their next meal would come from. Many of them experienced such fear at night they could not fall asleep. Someone came up with the idea of giving each child a piece of bread to hold on to as they went to sleep. In this way the child would go to sleep remembering they had had enough food to eat that day, at the same time knowing they would have food the next day as well. This simple act had a wondrous effect for those little children.
In today’s Gospel passage from John, the disciples tell Jesus they now understand what he has been saying to them and that they truly believe in his divinity. Jesus has related many things to his beloved friends, including the trials, suffering and persecution that lay ahead for them. Jesus knows they do not fully comprehend what will happen to him and that, in their terror, they will even abandon him in his final hours. He also knows the abandonment and fear they themselves will experience after he leaves them. Despite their weakness, and even betrayal, Jesus tenderly reassures: “I have told you this that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world."(Jn 16:33) These precious words carry so much power that about this verse Martin Luther remarked, “Such a saying as this is worthy to be carried from Rome to Jerusalem upon one’s knees.”
I find the image of a caretaker tucking a frightened child into bed and offering a piece of bread deeply touching and so very tender. But this simple gesture of love and caring was just enough to get them through the night with enough hope to face the next day. It did not change any of the circumstances in the immediate world of the children, but it did change the way that child perceived the world around them. Jesus offers the same comfort and hope to his disciples—and to us. Living in the present world with all its traps and trappings, it is easy to live in perpetual state of “controlled panic.” All around us we see and hear pain and suffering and injustice. There is precious little hard evidence that this “world” has been conquered by Jesus. But he is asking us to hold onto him and his words—to believe far beyond what we see and experience in this present world. And we are called to offer each other “bread” for this journey—remind one another that there is every reason to hope and believe. Today I pray I can hold fast to that truth and love—that promise of hope. And today, may I embrace every opportunity to share it with others.
Heavenly Father God,
Grant me the grace this day
to see the world as it truly is.
May I see through the eyes of Jesus
the hope and redemption he has gained for us all.
With the intercession of Mary,
Through Christ Jesus.
Amen
- Gail Lyman