“So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.”
The woman is in labor. The woman is in pain as she try to push out the baby from her womb to the world. You would see her in anguish and shouting, at the top of her voice. She directs her pain to her husband – “Hayop ka, di ka na makakaulit! Ang hirap manganak!” (“You bastard! This is the last time I will bear your child!”). However, after some time and the baby was born, she no longer remembers the pain. In the recovery room, you would see her in so much joy after seeing her baby. And she would be hugging and kissing her husband again. Nobody knows, but maybe, 10 to 12 months later, she would be in the same hospital, giving birth to another baby!
In today’s gospel, as Jesus bids farewell to His disciples, He acknowledged their pain and anguish, seeing their Master and a friend leaving them. He likens this pain to a woman in labor – “When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world”.
We all suffer the pain that this world offers, but this should not be enough reason not to rejoice in knowing that Jesus, through God’s Spirit, is within us, in our hearts, forever. Jesus provides deep inner peace and courage in the midst of troubling times. Start living to rejoice in Jesus, whose unfailing love, mercy, and grace poured out on our lives is far better than anything you could ever imagine.
We rejoice in Jesus Christ who died for us. We rejoice in Jesus Christ who rose again for us. We look forward to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. We look forward to the Day when “He will swallow up death for ever”. On that Day, “the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces”.
Lord Jesus, we rejoice when You are born. We rejoice when You are resurrected and we rejoice as we await for Your second coming. May we forever keep this joy in our hearts, knowing that no one can ever take away this joy from our hearts. Only to You, we give our praise. Only to You, we would shout in joyful worship forever.
Amen+
“Joy is not in things; it is in us.” – Richard Wagner (German theorist)
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