We have many ways of saying goodbye: “So long”; “See you later”; “Take care.”

Goodbyes are softened with the promise of another meeting: “Till we meet again.” The time between the goodbye and the reunion is filled with joyful hope and anxious waiting.

Surely the disciples wondered if they had the tools they needed to survive after Jesus’ departure. Jesus had been their leader, visionary, Messiah and friend. Without him, life would lose its center.

Jesus’ goodbye came with two promises. He promised the Holy Spirit would guide the disciples in his absence, and he promised that he would come again. That left the disciples in an in-between kind of time. After the goodbye, they waited for his coming again.

In fact, that’s where we are too. We are “in between” the visits of Jesus, a time of hope and anxiety. We often wonder if we have the tools we need to survive. We need vision and companionship on life’s long road.

We have at our disposal the first promise of Jesus, the gift of the Holy Spirit. That Spirit will guide us through times of loneliness, into good decisions, amid the sorrows of sad goodbyes. The Spirit is our center.

Written by Paul Turner. Liturgy Training Publications
Copyright 2003, Archdiocese of Chicago