Reading: John 14:1-14
Reflection: As Jesus prepares himself and His disciples for the crucifixion and His departure from them, He delivers what has been called The Farewell Discourse. It is, in many respects, a summary of Jesus’ work on earth and a description of His relationship with His followers after His resurrection and ascension. That, of course, will be in the time of the Holy Spirit whom Jesus promises in the verse immediately following this reading. (We will consider that passage next Monday.) The discourse begins with these words: Do not let your hearts be troubled. How often I turned to those words in the course of my ministry. Hospital visits in general often ended with those words. But especially as people prepared for heart surgery or were recovering from heart attacks, Do not let your heart be troubled. Are you or someone you love facing a difficult time physically today? Surgery, chemo, rehab? Do not let your hearts be troubled. Pray those words for yourself and for them. Those words often came to mind when folks came to me not with broken bodies but with broken hearts. Death of a loved one, hopes utterly crushed, betrayal, fear. Do not let your heart be troubled. But their hearts were troubled, but soon, I believed, their hearts would be healed. Just repeating the words helped me in my own angst and set the stage for healing to come to those whose hearts ached. Is your heart broken today? Do you have a family member, friend or colleague whose heart is broken today? Pray Jesus’ words, Do not let your hearts be troubled. --Jim Bricker, Chaplain to Camp Mount Luther’s Summer Staff
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