Tuesday of the 7th week of Easter year A
Theme: Trust in providence
In the 1st reading of today, we see the farewell speech of St. Paul to the people. He has worked zealously among the people and taught them about the good news of the kingdom. He is now ready to move on and continue his ministry of preaching the good news of Christ to a new audience, even though he is not completely certain of what awaits him in the future. He trusts in providence and believes that if he is doing the work of God among the people, he is assured of Gods help in his work. The statement of Paul is very encouraging and can come from one who is certain that he or she has done what is expected from him or her.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, we must emulate St. Paul in our mission here on earth, by trusting in Divine providence. If we are carrying out the mission of Christ, we must be assured of the fact that God will always intervene in our mission and grant us success in all that we do. However, this does not mean that we will not encounter difficulties and challenges, no, it simply means that we are assured of victory at the end of our mission. We see that in the missionary endeavors of so many followers of Christ.
Dear friends in Christ, two examples that readily comes to mind for me is the challenges encountered by Jesus Christ, for the redemption of humanity. We also see the challenges and difficulties that was encountered by St. Paul in his missionary journey, it was not an easy journey for him also. In view of this dearly beloved in Christ, we cannot expect that our own discipleship will be completely free from challenges and difficulties; the good news is that at the end of it all, God will grant us victory, let this be always your source of great strength. In our journey of faith there are bound to be challenges and difficulties from time to time, do your best, be prayerful and trust in providence.
Also, in the gospel reading of today, Jesus points out the fact that he has accomplished the task given to him by his heavenly father, what is left is the glory of God. That is why Jesus raised his eye to heaven and said, “The hour has come, father glorify your son, so that your son will glorify you…”. Dear friends in Christ, today’s liturgy is encouraging us all to give our best in the mission of Christ that has been entrusted to our care. May the Lord bless his words in our hearts, in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.