DAILY GRACE
May 22, 2020, Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Scripture: John 16:20-23
‘Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. When a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. On that day you will ask nothing of me. Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.’
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Meditation
“‘On that day you will ask nothing of me.”
On that day . . . and not before! I picture Jesus saying this with a twinkle in his eye, because he knows that from the minute our minds kick into gear until the moment we draw our last breath, we will be asking questions. Followers of Christ cannot evade the great questions for long: Why do the just suffer? Why are children robbed of their innocence? Why is forgiveness so hard? Why? Why?
Prayers of intercession and acts of compassion come from asking such questions. And while, deep down, we may feel a peace that the world cannot touch or understand, as Jesus says in the text above, suffering still unsettles us. But the day will come when all questions will be answered. It is, in fact, already mysteriously here. Death and decay, COVID-19 and Alzheimer’s Disease and cancer, do not have the last word. Life does. Christ is risen and has given us his life. Our resurrection in Christ is a future event that has in one sense already happened, and in another sense is even now being worked out. We live in an in-between time. We wait in hope for that day — the day of rejoicing.
Prayer
Lord, you promise that when we see you again our hearts will rejoice completely; all anxiety and questions will disappear. We long for that day — yet I must wait for it. Teach us to hold fast to the life you have won for us by your passion, death, and resurrection. Let your Spirit work in our response to the suffering and limitations that we see around and within us. Let your Spirit move us to prayer and action.
Contemplation
On that day. . .