6th Week of Easter, Friday

John 16:20-23

Gaze upon a flower for one minute and observe its movement. It appears to be still, but it is constantly changing, growing or fading. The wind blows and it sways. Light and shadows flicker continuously so that it appears in a slightly different shade every second. A moment passed cannot be recaptured. Impermanence is the mark of our human experience.

Yet “our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee” (St. Augustine). We yearn for permanence and eternity, which Jesus now promises to his grieving disciples: “But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take that joy away from you.”

At the Ascension, Jesus takes our Body—humanity and the cosmos transfigured—into communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit. In Christ we are destined for a joy that nothing on earth can destroy.

-GMC