Tuesday, Fifth Week of Easter

In the first reading we find Paul and Barnabas putting fresh heart into the disciples, encouraging them to persevere in the faith. One of the ways they put fresh heart into the disciples was by calling forth pastoral leaders from among them, ‘elders’, whom they commended to the Lord with prayer and fasting. The ministry of encouragement, of putting fresh heart into one another, as people of faith remains a vital ministry today. The temptation to discouragement can be quite strong in these times, so this ministry of encouragement is all the more vital. In the gospel reading we find Jesus exercising this ministry of encouragement. It is the setting of the last supper. Jesus’ disciple are troubled and afraid, aware as they are that Jesus is about to leave them.  Jesus reassures them that he is going to the Father, the one who sent him into that world. This journey to the Father is an expression of his love for the Father and the world. His journey there will enable him to serve his disciples in a new and more powerful way. As a result of his return to the Father, he will be able to share his own peace with his disciples, the peace of Easter, a peace the world cannot give. Jesus is showing them that his leaving them is to their advantage, a reason for encouragement. It will result in his putting fresh heart into them, through the Holy Spirit. Our own leave takings, in their various forms, can often be a source of new life for ourselves and others. Today’s readings remind us of our baptismal calling to share in the ministry of encouragement that Jesus, as well as Paul and Barnabas, so powerfully exercised.