Change is often difficult for us, especially when it involves letting go of things that have been dear to us and making room for new things, about which we are less sure. This normal experience of moving on is in today’s readings as the pattern of our maturing in faith, our growing in relationship with and in God. In the Gospel we see Jesus at a moment of great change. He must leave His friends, face the cross, and so open up the path to the new life of the resurrection. In this new life Jesus is in a sense absent; but He is also present in a new, more profound way to His followers – and for all generations. And so, before His passion, the Lord seeks to reasurre and comfort His friends, promising that, even as He goes away and all seems lost, the great gift of the Spirit will be theirs.
Change, loss, moving on – these things shape our lives at all levels. As John Henry Newman remarked: “To live is to change. To be perfect is to have changed often.†Today we are called to reflect on how we respond to change – in our lives, in the lives of those we love, and within the Church and the world. Often our fears and hurt can put up barriers to the graces of new life God is offering. Perhaps our anxiety has led to a lack of charity amidst the disturbances of change. It is hard discipline to learn to trust God’s providence in these shifts and disruptions. When things aren’t going as we plan, when we don’t like what our children, parents, friends, church, or boss are suggesting – perhaps then is the moment to pray: “Come, Holy Spirit!â€