Gospel in Art: The hour is coming when you will be scattered

Chalk Paths by Eric Ravilious, 1935 © Alamy

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 18 May 2026
John 16:29-33

At that time: The disciples said to Jesus, 'Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.' Jesus answered them, 'Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart: I have overcome the world.'

Reflection on the watercolour

At the beginning of our Gospel reading we hear the disciples being very confident in their faith. They are even being somewhat cheeky with Jesus: "'Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech!" They can only say this, because they feel very solid in their relationship with Jesus. But Jesus punctures their self-confidence and tells them that they will leave him and abandon him. Actually the very next day they do already! During the trial, passion and death on the cross, where were the disciples? Jesus tells us that we too can't be too complacent and self-confident in our relationship with God. We have to work at it every day.

In our Gospel reading, Jesus speaks with deep realism to His disciples: "Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered." He knows that the unity they have experienced around Him physically will soon be broken apart. Fear, persecution, and mission itself will send them in different directions. Some will travel to distant lands; others will remain closer to Jerusalem. Each apostle will walk a different road, carrying the Gospel into different cultures, languages, and peoples. Yet Christ's words carry a deeper challenge: although they will be scattered geographically, they must never become divided spiritually. They are to remain one in mission, one in purpose, and one in Christ. Their scattering is not meant to weaken the Church, but to allow the Good News to spread like seeds carried by the wind into the world. The danger is not dispersion, but division!

The same is true for us today. We too are sent out into different lives, professions, struggles, and vocations, yet we are called to remain deeply united in Christ and His church, so that wherever we are scattered, the presence of the Gospel may continue to grow.

Our watercolour on paper by Eric Ravilious titled Chalk Paths, painted in 1935, depicts the rolling landscape of the Sussex Downs crisscrossed by winding pathways disappearing behind hills and trees. As we look at the painting, our eyes follow these many tracks stretching into the distance, yet we cannot fully see where any of them lead. It becomes a beautiful image for today's Gospel. Christ tells His disciples that they will be "scattered", sent out on different roads, different missions, different journeys into the world. And so it is with us too. Each of us walks a unique path through life, with different callings, struggles, and responsibilities. Yet the Gospel reminds us that although we may travel different roads, we are not scattered into isolation, but sent out in communion, united in one faith, one mission, one love.

LINKS

Christian Art: https://christian.art/
Today's reading: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/john-16-29-33-2026/