Troubled Hearts and Hard Times

A Reflection on the Gospel for May 22, 2022:
Sixth Sunday of Easter

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John
14.23-29

Jesus said to his disciples: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.

“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

“You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.”
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“Do not let your hearts be troubled and … afraid.”

I’ve shared with some of you, in conversation or reflection, that my grandmother — a woman who enjoyed a comical story, a happy marriage and a life of material security (if not plenty) — believed this time on earth to be “a hard, hard life.” Why? 

Was there something uniquely difficult about her life in the 1900s compared to others? The answer is probably no. She lost her parents to early deaths, a best friend to the sea, an infant to an unidentified ailment — but many others in her community suffered similarly. Such losses were part of living in those days, and she accepted that.

I am confident that my grandmother wouldn’t hesitate to describe my life as hard, even though there’s been nothing uniquely difficult about it. My parents had a very turbulent marriage, my father was absent throughout my teens, I worked long hours facing often stressful and sometimes frightening situations during my career — but many others in my circle have suffered similarly. This is part of living in these days, and I accept that.

So, if these losses and sufferings are common, why describe life as hard? Because life is hard for everyone at least some of the time. 

I am convinced that the key to finding joy is ensuring that we are equipped with tools so that, when loss and suffering come to us, we will not let our hearts be troubled and afraid.

Jesus is our source for those tools. He said, I will send you the Advocate, the Helper who will teach you. I will leave you My peace, which is a peace you will not find in this world. The Father and I will come to live in you. 

There’s a lot to be said about why Jesus came and why God sent His Son to Earth, but this has to be one of the most important parts of His mission: to tell us that He has brought God’s peace with Him and is leaving it with us. It’s ours to seize, to rest in and to prop ourselves up with. The Holy Spirit, the Advocate, is here to guide us in doing this. God didn’t just come to teach us, He came to comfort us.

So my grandmother wasn’t wrong — life is hard, for each of us, some of the time. Our strength and our resolve will be tested, and our lives and our minds can be very troubled. But with God we are not helpless against a hard life. We need not lie down and let our hearts be troubled and afraid. God will show us where to seek and find everything we need to enable us to find and accept His peace.




​Donna Davis
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