May 29, 2014 - The IN Network

Jn 16: 16-20

”A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.” Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying to us, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?”

They said, “What does he mean by this ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’? Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy.

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved. http://www.usccb.org/bible/approved-translations

Suffering and Loss

You will weep and mourn as the world rejoices; you will grieve and your grief will turn to joy.

Just prior to the ascension, the disciples could not begin to understand what loss and what joy they would face in the future without Jesus.

My niece, who recently lost her partner at age 30, cannot fathom joy beyond the deep grief she is experiencing now. The city in which I live, in deep turmoil and loss, cannot yet begin to see hope much less delight in the new alternatives and growth already underway.

God shows us how much we can bear. Through the passion of Jesus, we can embrace the passion in our lives.

How has God transformed loss and suffering in my life? How can I support and bring joy to others in my day today?

—Marge Sears is a writer and parishioner at Gesu Parish, Detroit MI.

Prayer

Into your hands we commend our Spirit, O Lord. Into our hands we commend our hearts. For we must die to ourselves in loving you. Into your hands, we commend my love.