THE WORD
Ac 18,9-18 / Jn 16,20-23
Jesus said to his disciples, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When 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. So 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. On 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.
IN OTHER WORDS
A sage came to a King once to give him a small piece of scroll on which was written: “This too shall pass.” He kept this to heart and promised to apply it in his life. One day, an emperor challenged the king, and war broke out between the two kingdoms. In the battle eld, the king thought they were trapped and was filled with fear. Where his soldiers hid him in the cracks of a mountain pass to mislead the enemies, he repeatedly said “this too shall pass” and found respite. Returning jubilant for the troops’ successful defeat of the opposition forces, he also repeated, “this too shall pass,” and found sobriety. The king soon realized, that in the midst of joy and pain, happiness and sorrow, all these things shall pass, just as all of us shall pass in this world.
“This too shall pass” must not make us mere spectators as life unfolds. In our Good News today, we read that a woman’s horrible pain in childbirth is temporary – soon replaced with the joy of motherhood. It reminds us that in situations with “dead ends” and where there is no place to run to or hide, we continue to have hope and faith. This too shall pass. Even death is no “dead end”, this season of Easter reminds us, it is only the gateway to Life.
As we soberly celebrate Easter joy, let us also nd solace in His Suffering and Death for our sins.
Offer your pains, addictions, and trials to Jesus, the Divine Word, and know that Life comes after dying. This too shall pass, kaya kapit lang kapatid, and look forward to that day when we can all share life, in a New Life spent with our Resurrected Lord.
- Fr. John Ferdinand M. Cruz, SVD | Parokya San Miguel, Mabuhay, Zamboanga Sibugay
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
