Jesus goes to the Father and will come back at the end of time. This is the basic understanding of the discourse; however, Jesus also assured the disciples that He, although physically absent, will never leave them. In fact, He stays until His glorious return. Meanwhile, the assurance that Jesus is present among His believers, the Church, is seen in three dimensions - love, the Holy Spirit and peace.
One of the most beautiful characterization of Jesus' presence among us is what John, the Evangelist, wrote in his gospel - the divine indwelling. All throughout the history of Christian spirituality, saints have talked about this. The divine indwelling of God can be explained simply as God's making a home in us - in our soul. And with this indwelling comes love, the seed and at the same time the fruit of that presence in us. The Holy Spirit is promised by Jesus to be given to all the baptized as a gift of that divine love, which produces peace. It doesn't mean that with God's peace, we are not going to experience chaos or disorder, but with God's peace we are undisturbed in our faith amidst world's struggles.
In this Sixth Sunday of Easter, let us make this an opportunity to not only be grateful for all of the blessings we have received from God - especially the gift of faith - but also a time to reflect on the meaning of God's indwelling in us. What does it mean for us to have God making His home in us? How does this affect our daily life, our relationship with others, our concern for our community and the world? And how does that divine presence nurture our love for the Church? May we truly feel the presence of our Risen Lord even when times are difficult. Amen.