Thursday, Sixth Week of Easter
According to our first reading, when Paul first arrived in the city of Corinth, he had the good fortune to meet up with a married couple. Priscilla and Aquila, who were Jewish Christians, as he was, and also tentmakers, as he was. At the time, Corinth was a bustling city and it must have seemed a very daunting task to Paul to preach the gospel there. Indeed, in his first letter to the church in Corinth some years later he wrote, ‘I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling’. It must have been a great source of encouragement to Paul to meet up with this friendly, like-minded, married couple who offered him accommodation in their home. We appreciate human support all the more when we are at our most vulnerable. It was the Lord who was supporting Paul through this married couple and it is the Lord who supports us through the human support that comes our way when we are most in need of it. In the gospel reading, Jesus assures his disciples of his future support. Even though he will soon be put to death, ‘you will no longer see me’, he will rise to new life and come back to them, ‘a short time later you will see me again’. Their profound sorrow at his death will give way to joy when the Lord returns to them and they come to realize that he will always be with them. The Lord is always journeying with us, as he journeyed with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. He accompanies us as our support and strength, our rock and refuge. He will often make his support known through people like Priscilla and Aquila in our first reading.