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Morning Devotion for the Season of Easter

May 22, 2023

Invitatory

On this day the Lord has acted; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Reading - John 16:28-33

“I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father.”

His disciples said, “Yes, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure of speech! Now we know that you know all things, and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!”

Meditation - Winnie Smith

In today’s text, Jesus assures his disciples that even when he departs this world - when he is crucified - he will not be alone, because the Father is always with him. This is another passage from his long Farewell Discourse in the Gospel of John in which he offers the disciples reassurance in the face of his impending death. So much of this teaching has been about Jesus abiding in the disciples and the disciples abiding in him (see John 15). Now Jesus reminds them that the Father is with him, as well. All of this talk of mutual indwelling comforts the disciples, assuring them that even when their beloved teacher departs, they will not be alone.

Jesus’s next line is interesting: “In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!” John’s Gospel was written at a time of great tension between Jewish Christians and Jews. There was a sense that the Johannine community, for whom this book was written, was up against the world. Jesus’s teaching and their religious practices were under scrutiny. When Jesus says, “I have conquered the world,” he is not speaking about politics or empire-building. He has not vanquished enemy armies; Instead, he has vanquished the old way of life. The old way divides humanity into winners and losers, predator and prey, persecutor and persecuted. Jesus’s life and his approaching death and resurrection give the world an alternative to this cruel dichotomy. To live life as Jesus taught the disciples, and us, is to put aside judgment and competition and instead to offer ourselves and one another nothing but God’s peace.

“The hour is coming,” Jesus says, “when you will be scattered, each one to his home.” So far, the disciples have traveled together as a group. They have been criticized and questioned, even threatened, but they have always had each other. Now they will be alone, apart, even outcast, and all they will have to cling to is his teaching and the bit of him they carry in themselves.

That, Jesus explains, is enough. He may die, but he will not be alone, because the Father is in him; the disciples may be persecuted, but they will not be alone because the Son is in them. This is that abiding that Jesus has so often spoken of, and it is a literal staying power stronger than the most ferocious predator or the strongest conquering army. It is what Jesus and the disciples carry within them, no matter what happens around them: God’s peace.

Prayer for Mission

O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh; and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.