Your Pain will turn to Joy

“When Jesus knew that his hour had come…”

Have you ever journeyed with someone in the weeks, days and hours before they die? I think we should approach such encounters with a disposition of receiving profoundly important teachings about life and love.

 

In today’s Gospel Jesus confuses the disciples. They don’t fully understand what Jesus is teaching, but how could they? The man they have come to know as the son of man is about to die. How can this be true, for Jesus taught the Kingdom of God is at hand? How can it be extinguished by death? Jesus assures them that the pain of what he is about to endure – the pain they too are about to endure - will turn into joy.

 

Let us receive this teaching from Jesus in his last days. Joy awaits. It’s very difficult to understand at the moment. As the disciples said, “We do not know what he is talking about.”

 

Trust him. Jesus knows the way. Bring your empty hands and simply receive the joy Jesus has to offer.

 

In the church of my youth there was an inscription that said, “Here bring your wounded heart.” It’s from a hymn written by Thomas Moore, an Irish poet (1779-1852) which ends with, “Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.”

 

Here’s a link to the hymn: https://youtu.be/mNqzhfB4y1I

 

“Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn to joy.” -John 16:20