Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter
THE TEST OF SUFFERING AND RENEWAL
Jesus was going to pass through his passion and death on the way to the joy of his resurrection. In him, a new risen and glorious life would be born from his sufferings. The disciples would have to pass through the pains of separation from Jesus, and so there came the uncertainty of their faith as it would be violently tested, to give birth to a renewed faith and a new presence of the Lord. Similarly, the Church has to constantly pass through the childbirth of renewal, to return again and again to Christ and to the heart of his Gospel, so as to be more authentically Christ to the world today. Pain is a childbirth, delivery – literally, a liberation – opening the way to new life and joy.
Reading 1: Acts 18:9-18
In the course of listening to Paul, a great many Corinthians believed and were baptized. One night the Master spoke to Paul in a dream: “Keep it up, and don’t let anyone intimidate or silence you. No matter what happens, I’m with you and no one is going to be able to hurt you. You have no idea how many people I have on my side in this city.” That was all he needed to stick it out. He stayed another year and a half, faithfully teaching the Word of God to the Corinthians.
12-13 But when Gallio was governor of Achaia province, the Jews got up a campaign against Paul, hauled him into court, and filed charges: “This man is seducing people into acts of worship that are illegal.”
14-16 Just as Paul was about to defend himself, Gallio interrupted and said to the Jews, “If this was a matter of criminal conduct, I would gladly hear you out. But it sounds to me like one more Jewish squabble, another of your endless hairsplitting quarrels over religion. Take care of it on your own time. I can’t be bothered with this nonsense,” and he cleared them out of the courtroom.
17 Now the street rabble turned on Sosthenes, the new meeting-place president, and beat him up in plain sight of the court. Gallio didn’t raise a finger. He could not have cared less.
18 Paul stayed a while longer in Corinth, but then it was time to take leave of his friends. Saying his good-byes, he sailed for Syria, Priscilla and Aquila with him. Before boarding the ship in the harbor town of Cenchrea, he had his head shaved as part of a vow he had taken.
Gospel: Jn 16:20-23
Jesus knew they were dying to ask him what he meant, so he said, “Are you trying to figure out among yourselves what I meant when I said, ‘In a day or so you’re not going to see me, but then in another day or so you will see me’? Then fix this firmly in your minds: You’re going to be in deep mourning while the godless world throws a party. You’ll be sad, very sad, but your sadness will develop into gladness.
21-23 “When a woman gives birth, she has a hard time, there’s no getting around it. But when the baby is born, there is joy in the birth. This new life in the world wipes out memory of the pain. The sadness you have right now is similar to that pain, but the coming joy is also similar. When I see you again, you’ll be full of joy, and it will be a joy no one can rob from you. You’ll no longer be so full of questions.
23-24 “This is what I want you to do: Ask the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I’ve revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and he’ll most certainly give it to you.
Prayer
Lord God, merciful Father,
it is hard for us to accept pain,
for we know that you have made us
for happiness and joy.
When suffering challenges us
with a provocative “why me?”
Help us to discover the depth
of our inner freedom and love
and of all the faith and loyalty
of which we are capable,
together with, and by the power of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Reflection
6th Week of Easter, Friday
19 May 2023
John 16:20-23
Your sorrows will turn into joy
“You will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice” (16:20-23). What’s more, they will mock you. Jesus warns his disciples about their future. History describes how the first martyrs were forced to die in the Colosseum of Rome while spectators were entertained, saying: “This is how these fools who believe in the Risen One end up”. For many, Christian martyrdom “was a party — to see how they die!” Thus, it happened exactly as Jesus told his disciples: “The world will rejoice” while “you will be sorrowful”.
Faith in Jesus is for the brave and not for the weak-hearted. Pope Francis explains this passage and says, “not all of Christian life is a party, there is so much pain, and we often cry!” There are many difficult situations in life — for example, when you are sick, when you have a problem in your family, with a son or daughter, with your husband or wife. When you see that your wages don’t last to the end of the month, when you have a sick child, or you see that you can’t pay the mortgage and you lose your house, or external forces dictate to you what to believe, what food to eat and what clothes to put on. We have so many problems. Yet Jesus tells us: “Do not be afraid!”.
If you are faithful, your sorrows will become joy. This is the key point: “Christian joy is hopeful joy.” But in moments of trial, we do not see it. Indeed, it is a joy purified by everyday trials,” says the pope.
The Lord says: “Your sorrow will turn into joy”. During the liturgy in this season, the Church celebrates the moment in which the Lord left the disciples alone. At that moment, perhaps some of them felt afraid. But everyone had hope that their fears and sorrows would turn to joy. To make us understand this, the Lord gives the example of a woman who suffers in childbirth. However, she forgets all her pain when the baby is with her.
The Church’s message for her children is of hope and encouragement: Do not be afraid, be brave in suffering; the Lord suffers with you; he brings you joy and peace. This peace”, says the Pope, “is the seed of hopeful joy. When everyone is enjoying your pain, it is a clear sign that you have the seed of the hopeful joy that will come”.