Eucharist lesson: Mark 16:9-15,20
And Jesus said to them, 'A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me'? 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. John 16:19-20
Turning sorrow into joy is different than glossing over sorrow. Sorrow has as much reality as joy in our lives and there is no requirement that we think otherwise. Here Jesus is still speaking on the night before his arrest, trial and crucifixion. His followers can make little sense as to what Jesus is on about prior to those events. They will learn much between Good Friday and the days following Easter.
I have only once been present for and "coached" a birth. As Jesus alludes here, there is pain in the hours around birth and I will forever remember the phrase, "I can't do this anymore!" It was offered with full meaning and intention. Once the birth was complete, joy entered the room with the sight and sound of a daughter. The memory of the pain and struggle to give birth never left that mother. It was not blotted out but it yielded the space it had occupied to the joy of a healthy child. Perhaps in the first moment of joy, the memory of anguish is dulled, yet it remains in the backwash of memory.
When Jesus is crucified and buried there is pain all around for his followers. His resurrection will eventually fill the space of their sorrow. They will hold this memory as primary but it will not obliterate the other memory. I suspect when the going got rough, as we read of it in the Acts, this memory of costly crucifixion will come forward. Yet it will be held with the same care as the knowledge of resurrection. It is this ability and desire to hold onto the Risen Christ which will help them navigate harsh days.
My Mother has buried one son. She has lived through times of losing contact with other children of her womb. She was not necessarily an innocent party in all these losses. Yet it is the memory of the joy that sprung from these lives which has helped her navigate her losses and celebrate the reunions she has later had with her children. I have heard her say, "I never want to lose one of you again." The joy of reunion becomes the prime value. Things that irritate her are of less value. That is a hard won wisdom.
Jesus goes on to say, "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."
When we suffer a loss, the pain is real. When we taste its healing, resurrection of sorts, the joy is real. We get to choose which we hold most closely. That will shape our outlook, our perspective, our hope. Every transition in life has both loss and potential joy. They are both with us. The question is which will you hold most dear and let claim your fuller attention.
I tend to desire the joy that follows after loss and in the midst of care.
And you?
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