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Ascension of Christ

Unconditional love, peace and unity – a trinity of sorts. I say that because I believe you can’t have one without the others. I thought about it when I read the Gospel of John 14:27-31A, which reads:

Jesus said to His disciples: “Peace I leave you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you. I am going away and I will come back to you.” If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I . And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe. I will no longer speak much with you for the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me, but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me.”

Peace – He talks about giving it, “not as the world does.” How does the world give peace? The world gives peace predicated on conditions: you do this and I’ll do that, you get rid of this and we’ll get rid of that, you promise this and we’ll do what you want. Isn’t that evident as we watch the news? Jesus tells us the peace He gives is different. The peace He gives is unconditional and powerful. It’s given because He loves us. He tells us “do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid” because He’s giving us His peace. Think for a moment about how powerful that is:

Jesus Christ – human and divine. The man who, through His divinity, had the power to escape crucifixion and chose not to. Jesus Christ, the man who admonished His Apostle for responding to His arrest with violence instead of peace. The man who willfully and peacefully endured His crucifixion. Jesus Christ, the purest definition of peace – gives us HIS PEACE! He modeled His peace for us and He GIVES US his peace. How can our hearts be troubled and afraid?

“If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.” When I read that line, I thought of two things. First, the quote: if you love something set it free, if it comes back to you…….Jesus DID come back to us in the form of the Holy Spirit. Second, “the Father is greater than I.” It seems like Jesus is telling the disciples : “you think I can do great things, just wait until you see what the Father can do. Even more so – just wait to see what comes to pass when we’re reunited and working as a team.” There’s no doubt that individually we can accomplish great things but isn’t their much more power and possibility in teamwork?

We can think about that another way: sometimes in our lives we can take on so much work and responsibilities that we “spread ourselves too thin.” We’re beaten down, figuratively. As a result, we don’t perform as well as we should. If we understand this dilemma, regroup and lighten our load, we allow ourselves to become whole again and our performance level increases.

Think of Jesus now. Seeing the needs of the world He left the comfort of heaven to save us. He endured ridicule and persecution as He worked to make the world a better place. He was beaten down, literally. Now He’s going back to the Father. He can become whole again and in a sense, be replenished. As a result, He’ll be able to accomplish so much more than before without risk or fear of persecution. In reality, His work on Earth didn’t end, it continues in a different more powerful way. He is uniting with the Father.

In this unity, through their love for humanity and one another, the Holy Spirit is born and able to descend. Through the Holy Spirit we, as disciples, are filled with courage, fire and hope to continue Christ’s legacy! Sooooooooo……….”if you loved me, you would rejoice.” You think? I say YES, we should rejoice! Come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of your faithful, kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and we will be created and you will renew the face of the Earth. What a promise!

For me, this Gospel symbolizes the power of unconditional love. A love without conditions encourages and results in an unshakeable peace which manifests itself as unity. First, we see it through the Trinity. The unconditional love God has for His Son, the peace His Son exhibits in His humanity which leads to His uniting with the Father. We can see the truth of this in human relationships. as well. Unconditional love expressed in a relationship brings a peace that leads to true unity. It’s what we mean when we say about a matrimony – the two shall become one! So, if there’s “trouble in paradise” one of these elements must be missing!

In truth, our personal life is a microcosm of community life. As family we are called to extend unconditional love. It is our vocation to share love with our spouses, parents and siblings even when we feel they don’t deserve it. Wow! Difficult, right? In a similar way as Christians we are called, or should I say we vow, to share unconditional love with all of God’s creation, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. Wow! Even MORE difficult, right? Can you imagine the peace and unity this world would experience if everyone shared a genuine, unconditional love?

We all receive unconditional, unmerited love from our creator! Seriously, how blessed are we? Shouldn’t we renew our own Christian vow to love everyone we encounter unconditionally? First, let’s re-evaluate our current relationships. Are they strained? If so, what component of unconditional love, peace and unity are missing? While all three are necessary parts of the whole “trinity”, I believe love is truly the binding force – for God is love! Are you loving unconditionally?

When I evaluate the relationships in my life that are strained, I recognize the role I play in it even though I “perceive” it to be someone else’s fault. Maybe I haven’t loved unconditionally. Unfortunately, I have expectations, I calculate merit and I evaluate conditions before I surrender to love. The more I think about it, the more I realize how much stronger we could be as a couple, a family, a nation and a world if we were unified through unconditional love and the peace that comes with it. The Earth would be renewed!

Unconditional love, peace and unity is not easy to acquire. Dare we BEG for GRACE? That’s what it’s going to take – the grace of God! God bless you.

One day during one of my retreat trips to Erie, PA, I decided to take a walk along the monastery property and wound up on a deck overlooking Lake Erie. It’s such a pleasant place to sit with your thoughts. On this particular day, it was quite windy and the water was a bit choppy. I enjoyed sitting there watching the waves crashing and feeling the resultant mist sprinkle across my face. At one point, I noticed the sea gulls in their struggle to fly against the wind and thought to myself: “it would be so much easier if you turned around and flew WITH the wind” – then I chuckled- another lesson to be learned there, right?

After a few minutes, I changed my focus. This time I noticed the beautiful white, fluffy clouds – pure white. They showed no sign of struggle with the wind whose strength was apparent to me and the sea gulls. If you looked at the clouds for a split second, they didn’t even seem to be moving. However, if you focused on them for much longer you could notice their slow, steady movement.

Two things came to mind as I witnessed the clouds and the gulls – one as I sat there that day and the other several months after, as I contemplated my experience. The first thing that came to mind was my conversation with Fr. George on purity (see my post entitled Coming to a Place of Purity). I watched the clouds move slowly and steadily, all in the same direction. As I followed their path, I realized further down to my right that they were floating into one another – they were becoming ONE. Then it hit me – that’s what we are meant to become – ONE. Furthermore, our journey to oneness must be similar to the journey of the clouds – pure, slow and steady.

The second thing that came to mind was the contradiction between the two subjects in the same environment. The clouds showed no sign of struggle while the sea gulls looked like they were going nowhere fast. To me the clouds were the image of grace, humility and peace while the sea gulls were the image of over-confidence and struggle. What was the difference? The clouds seemed to be going with the flow, while the sea gulls were relying on their own abilities and going against the “flow”, if you will.

Think about your own struggles. Are they a result of your inability to go with the flow? I realize that life feels like a struggle when things don’t go my way. The times I feel struggle are the times I forget who’s in charge. At these times I regroup, change focus and remind myself that God is in charge and that He has a different plan for me. In Romans 8:28 we read: God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Let’s trust in that! For me, when I trust in God’s plan, absolutely nothing in life seems like a struggle.