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Gospel Reading for May 9, 2024 – John 16: 16-20
PURE JOY
Jesus said to his disciples: “A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me.” So some of his disciples said to one another, “What does this mean that he is saying to us, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” So they said, “What is this ‘little while’ of which he speaks? We do not know what he means.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing with one another what I said, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”
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After healing so many, raising persons from the dead, multiplying bread, calming the storm, etc., the disciples probably thought that Jesus was a Superpower who could never be defeated by his enemies or those against him. Imagine how dejected they were, after what happened to Jesus. But if they remembered what Jesus said: “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy” they would have anticipated that something good was going to happen after all the pain and suffering.
When evil penetrated the world, it brought so much pain and suffering, and it now has become a given when we are born. But, if we follow the way of Jesus, our grief will always turn into joy, because when we take up our cross and choose to love instead of hate, choose to forgive than to retaliate, and choose to give more than to receive, our hearts will be full of PURE JOY. This is what it means to be recipients of the salvific work of Jesus.
A Christian does not dwell on storms because he/she is hopeful that the sun will always shine after the storm. Let us ponder on this 1919 song written by Jerome Kern and Buddy de Sylva, LOOK FOR THE SILVER LINING –
Look for the silver lining
whenever clouds appear in the blue.
Remember, somewhere the sun is shining,
and so the right thing to do
is make it shine for you.
A heart full of joy and gladness
will banish sadness, sorrow and strife.
So always look for the silver lining
and try to find the sunny side of life.
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Thank you, Lord Jesus, for turning our sorrow into joy!
