Some of his disciples said to
one another, “What does he mean when he says, ‘A little while, and you won’t
see me, and again a little while, and you will see me;’ and, ‘Because I go to
the Father’? We don’t know what he is saying.”
Jesus understood what they
wanted to ask him, and said to them, “Do you
wonder what this means? You will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you
will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. A woman, when she
gives birth, suffers because her time has come. When she has delivered the
child, she doesn’t remember the anguish anymore because of her joy that a baby is
born. You now suffer, but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice,
and no one will take your joy away from you.
“In that day you will ask me no
questions. Whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give you. Until
now, you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your
joy may be made full. I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech.
But the time is coming when I will no more speak to you in figures of speech,
but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my
name; I don’t say I will pray to the Father for you, for the Father himself
loves you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came from God. I
came from the Father, and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world,
and go to the Father.”
His disciples said to him, “Now
you speak plainly without figures of speech. Now we know that you know all
things, and don’t need for anyone to question you. By this we believe you came
from God.”
Jesus answered them, “Do you now
believe? The time has come that you will be scattered, each of you to your own
place, and you will abandon me. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with
me. I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In the world
you have oppression; but cheer up! I have overcome the world.”
Reflection
The disciples had listened to
Jesus for three years, but still struggled to understand what he meant by his
death and resurrection. This was not the triumphant Messiah they had been told
to expect. Have your expectations ever gotten in the way of seeing God at work in your life? Have you ever had sorrow turn to joy?
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for your comforting presence in the midst of my sorrow.
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