Grief Turned into Joy

In today's Gospel, John 16: 16-20, the disciples are trying to figure out what Jesus meant when he said to them:  "A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me.....Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, 'Are you discussing with one another what I 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.'" 

Jesus gives us the same message.  Our life here on earth is short--eighty years if we are strong, the psalmist says to us.  Our time here on earth is brief. And, from time to time,  it is filled with weeping and mourning, while the world around us rejoices.  We will grieve for a time but our sorrow will be turned into joy, just as Jesus' was!  Much of Jesus' life was filled with grief: the grief of the loss of His foster father, the grief of being rejected by many, by having chief priests and leaders of His people plotting to kill Him, the grief of others walking away from Him when He spoke of the Eucharist, that is, of eating His Body and drinking His blood. That was too much for many of His disciples.  He endured being accused of blasphemy when He spoke of being one with His Father. Jealous of His growing popularity and of the crowds following Him, the chief priests and leaders found a way to destroy Him, that is to have Him crucified as a criminal to the State of Israel. Yes, Jesus wept and mourned over Jerusalem while the world around Him rejoiced. His grief was turned into joy at the resurrection from the dead on Easter Sunday. Our grief will also be turned into joy when we, too, like Jesus, return to our Father in heaven!  May we have the courage to endure until the end of our lives, believing in Jesus, trusting Jesus and loving Jesus beyond all else that is!

"As is he [Christ Jesus]. so are we in this world" (1 John 4: 17)

In today’s first reading, 1 Jn 4: 11-18, John says to us: “…as he is, so are we in this world.”  What, I asked myself, could this possibly mean?  As I reflected upon this phrase in prayer, I asked Jesus to enlighten me. What came through the prayerful reflection was the following:

“Jesus was God’s Anointed One,”  the Spirit said to me in prayer. “You, too, have been anointed in your baptism, anointed in the Spirit that enables you to accept the gifts of salvation, of being freed from sin and set apart for a divine purpose. Like Jesus, you are anointed to be Good News, proclaiming the Kingdom of God on earth.  You are in the world as my ambassadors, as holy persons, to confront sin with goodness, weakness with strength, deceit with honesty, fear with courage.  As my Son is, so are you, one with God and one another—a union of love by the Spirit’s anointing, by the reception of the sacraments, by receiving the Eucharist, by immersing yourself in the Scriptures.   As my Son, so, too, you:  you are endowed with the capacity to grow in love, in forgiveness, in patience, and  in hope to realize fully who you are in Christ Jesus, my Son, your brother and Savior.  

Lord, I believe that each of us is called to live in such a way as to honor our anointing with the Spirit, that we have been set apart to serve you, to be in the world but not of the world, to be imminent in responding in love to those in need of love,  understanding, compassion, forgiveness and mercy, including ourselves. I believe that we are called to transcend, by the power of the Spirit within us, the allurements of Satan whereby we are tempted to live selfish lives, perpetuate injustices and embrace inauthentic freedoms, deadening our consciousness of God. I believe that through the Spirit we are empowered to say “No” to invitations to live godless lives and  to say “yes” to centering our lives in You. “…as he [Jesus] is, so, too, are we in the world” (1 Jn 4: 17).

What are your beliefs?