Friday - 6th Week of Easter
Gospel – John 16:20-23
This is Gonna Hurt
Gethsemane
Your little child runs into the house screaming in pain after falling and skinning her knee. She’s bleeding and scared. And you do what any parent does – you hold her, calm her down as best you can. You tell her this will hurt a bit when you clean her wounds, but you also tell her it will all get better. And a bit later, you have her smiling again and running back outside to play. Your words and actions all convey your love and your compassion for what she is going through. And her actions show her faith in you.
This is exactly what Jesus is saying to the Apostles in today’s Gospel. You are going to feel pain with My suffering and death. You will suffer and your grief will be great. But in the end, you will also feel joy, joy in the resurrection, joy in the kingdom of heaven.
His words are filled with love and compassion. Just like a parent would do anything to take away their child’s pain and make it like it never happened, Jesus knows that pain and grief are a part of life. But Jesus also knows that death is not the end. That is not always easy for us to accept. The loss of a loved one is crushing and life-changing. It takes a good deal of trust, of faith, that God will ease our sadness and that He has truly prepared a place for us in heaven.
Just like a parent with an injured child, we give comfort and hope. So too Jesus does the same with the Apostles and ourselves! Have Faith!
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