Your sorrow will turn to Joy

Acts 18:9-18, Jn 16:20-23. The death of a love ones resonates strong feelings of sadness and loss. Jesus knows His disciples will experience all these feelings when He is taken from them. In today’s Gospel, Jesus says that these feelings would not last forever. Their sorrow will turn into lasting joy. The same Lord promises that sorrow, pain and death will not have the last word in our lives either. As He passed from death to new life, so will all our sorrows, pains and losses be ultimately transformed by Him. The start of this transformation can be experienced here and now.

As He journeys with us, His words apply: “your sorrow will turn to joy.” This promise holds not just for the life to come but already on our present life journey. To balance this, we have Christ’s assurance that He is with us, as we seek answers to the questions that life continues to throw up. Amid Paul’s uncertainty about how to share the Gospel message in Corinth, Jesus appeared to Him with the promise: “I am with you.” Even after this promise Paul has serious issues to face. In today’s first reading, Paul is accused before the Roman proconsul as a trouble-maker and then the protestors turn upon their own Synagogue leader, Sosthenes and beat him up.

May the Lord strengthen us to persevere in doing good, so that we may continue to be faithful every moment of life, for the greater glory of God! Amen!! Have a great day!!!