Worth The Wait

A Reflection on the Gospel for June 16th, 2019:
The Solemnity of The Most Holy Trinity

John 16.12-15

Jesus said to his disciples: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

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Waiting. I consider myself a patient person. Waiting is not often a difficulty for me, however, for many it’s not something they do well these days. We live in a world where we want what we want — now. We have fast internet, fast food, fast cars, fast answers (Thank you, Google). We cook food in instant pots. We binge watch whole seasons of TV shows. Why wait?

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now”, says Jesus in this week’s Gospel. Jesus is telling His disciples to be patient and wait. Just prior to this discourse He was telling the disciples that His time to depart was soon. And just before speaking about His departure, Jesus told them they would face challenges and persecutions. So why stop telling them things now? Because they need to walk the next part of the story with someone else. Jesus has done what He was sent to do. Time for the Holy Spirit to come in and do His part. Jesus was asking His followers, and ultimately us, to anticipate and to make room for the Holy Spirit to make clear what cannot be understood right now. The Holy Spirit will continue to reveal what Jesus was already revealing to the Apostles about the Father. Revelations that would be best understood when the time was right, through the right “person”. Teamwork makes the dream work!

"Having authentic faith means we trust that something Good will come next."

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Waiting is challenging because it opens the door to mystery. I love a good mystery story but mystery also causes anxiety because you just don’t know what will happen next; will it be something good or something bad? As Catholics, there is much in our faith that is a mystery. Having authentic faith means we trust that something Good will come next. One of the biggest mysteries is alluded to in this Gospel — the individual, yet at the same time communal action of our Triune God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit. While I don’t fully understand it, I can trust that allowing myself to dwell in this mystery creates space for my faith (my belief and trust in a God who unconditionally loves) to develop and grow. While I am uncertain of how the Father, Son, and Spirit work, I can be certain that:

1. Jesus lived, died, and rose from the dead for me.
2. He sent the Holy Spirit to continue to guide me/us. And,
3. Because of Jesus and the Holy Spirit I am certain God loves me and wants a relationship with me.

The bigger mystery is that this was all done for me without my asking or meriting it. It was freely given to me because of the goodness from which I was created and the necessity to share this goodness with others. As a believer I must trust that in the midst of the mystery, our Triune God is working to bring about more Goodness… and that’s worth the wait.

​Aurea Sadi

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