The Disciples’ Joy
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Jn 16:20-23
[Jesus said to his disciples,] 20“Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. 21When
a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived;
but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the
pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. 22So
you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts
will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. 23On
that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to
you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.”
Reflection:
Your hearts will rejoice. All
sorrow for the followers of Christ is meant to be temporary, just like
the birth pangs of a woman in labor are transitory. When we suffer with
Jesus, Jesus will turn our sorrow into joy. We can thus turn our sorrows
into investments that will reap joy for us. The author Louis Evely
correctly writes, “Christian joy is not the absence of sorrow; it is
sorrow overcome.”
“Sorrow,”
writes Christian missionary and author Amy Wilson Carmichael, “is one
of the things that are lent, not given. A thing that is lent may be
taken away; a thing that is given is not taken away. Joy is given;
sorrow is lent.”
Thus, Paul can tell the Colossians, “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake…” (Col 1:24).
One who believes in Jesus is not spared his share
of sorrows. But out of sorrow, joy is born.
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