Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices;
you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”
Catholics of a certain age will remember the morbid images of Jesus and Mary that were popular in our youth. We did not see pictures of Jesus, Mary, or the saints laughing, playing, or looking very pleasant. Their images were deadly serious and sometimes frightening.
With the prosperity of the nineteen-sixties and the "changes" of the Second Vatican Council, Catholic and Protestant imagery began to lighten up. The future looked good in those days. The Boom Generation was assured of a prosperous future. If their parents retired at 65, Boomers might retire sooner! And be healthier with longer life expectancy. They could improve on their parents' big houses, big boats, and extended vacations. If there were no gods to smile on them, the One True God certainly did.
It didn't quite happen that way. Many of those promises have not been fulfilled. Happy expectations disappoint us.
As I ponder the Ascension of Jesus, (which we'll celebrate this Sunday), I suppose that although he was "taken up from us," he also remains with us. The Lord is physically with us as we are the Body of Christ. Our joys are his joys; our sorrows are also his.
Should heaven, that place where Jesus has gone to, be a place of continual happiness? Is there no place for grief, sadness, and sorrow in eternity? If not, then there should be no place for our human experience in this world either. Many people believe that, and they tell us we should not cry at funerals.
No one can imagine how Jesus remains with us physically. The gospels describe the Risen Lord as appearing in rooms that are tightly secured against possible threats. He seems to move about freely from Jerusalem to Galilee. In some descriptions, he walked with them and ate with them. His body showed severe wounds but he was free, happy, and alive despite their fatal appearance.
I think the Risen Lord knows something deeper than joy or sadness, those passing experiences of normal human life. He is no longer subject to those cycles for his life surpasses death.
In his Spirit, we experience sadness but it does not crush us. The martyrs have shown us that. We also know gladness but, born of Jesus's pascal mystery, it does not forget the struggle. Our happiness does not stop us from feeling the sadness of our neighbors; our sadness does not sabotage our ability to feel their joy.
Remembering how Jesus died for us, we are never so sated with self that we cannot welcome others into our sacred presence, just as the Lord always welcomes us into his Real Presence.
Possessed by the Spirit of God, our grief is joy.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.