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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK

Jesus, help me not to worry about the future, but to trust that you have a handle on it! Amen.



After Jesus died, the Apostles stayed in a room to talk about it. They locked the door, but, suddenly, Jesus came in anyway! "Peace be with you," He said, and gave them the power to forgive sins. One Apostle, Thomas, wasn't there - and didn't believe the others saw Jesus. Later, Jesus came back when Thomas was there. "Peace be with you - and, Thomas, believe in me," He said. So Thomas did!



Everyone wants a crystal ball: a way to see what the future will be like. Whether you're wondering if your mean teacher will ever become nice or if you'll really grow up to be a police officer, you think it would be awesome to know the future.



Of course, there's no such thing as a crystal ball. Anyone who tells you they know the future is making it up. We just have to trust that, whatever happens, God is watching over us.



Trust in God was something even the Apostles had to work on: for example, in this week's Gospel (John 20:19-31).



In the Gospel story, Jesus has died and come back to life. Most of the Apostles see Him. At first, they think He's a ghost! Then they realize Jesus is really alive again. But Thomas isn't there and doesn't believe it. He doesn't trust His fellow Apostles, and he doesn't trust that Jesus kept His promise to return.



Since there are no crystal balls, all we can do to learn the future is to wait and see, and trust God in the meantime. Thomas didn't see Jesus right away, but he eventually saw for himself that what his friends said was true: Jesus had come back to life. And Jesus scolded Thomas for not trusting.



Jesus would not be into crystal balls and fortunetelling. He advised trusting God and waiting to see what the future brings![[In-content Ad]]

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