Posts Tagged ‘Sorrow’
Love and Sorrow – Br. Luke Ditewig
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Br. Luke Ditewig
Good Friday
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
John 18:1-19:42
“Did e’er such love and sorrow meet?”[1]
The Good Shepherd lay down his life for the sheep, allowing arrest to final breath. “Wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.”
As his followers fought back, Jesus denounced violence and retribution. “Put away your sword.” Jesus spoke with authority not coercion or oppression. “My kingdom is not from this world. . . . Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Jesus spoke tenderly to his dearest giving them to each other: “here is your son . . . here is your mother.”
“Did e’er such love and sorrow meet?” Read More
Turning to God for the help we need – Br. David Vryhof
Br. David Vryhof
It can be difficult to rightly interpret a text when we’re given just a snippet of it, as we are in today’s gospel reading. To better understand it, we need to see it in its broader context.
These verses are part of Jesus’ farewell discourse, given to his disciples after the Last Supper and before his betrayal and trial. He has told them that “in a little while” they will not see him and “in a little while” they will see him again. Naturally, the disciples are confused about what this could mean and struggle to grasp the reality that he is about to leave them.
It is unclear, too, what John is referring to when he records these words of Jesus that he will go away and then come again. Does this refer to Jesus dying and then being raised? Does it refer to his ascension into heaven and the coming of the Holy Spirit (a major theme in the farewell discourse)? Does it refer to Jesus coming again in glory at the end of time? We’re not sure. It may refer to all three. John is used to speaking to his readers on different levels, so he could have all three of these possibilities in mind.
Notice that there is a kind of apocalyptic reversal here: when he goes away, Jesus says, his disciples will “weep and mourn” but the world – i.e. Jesus’ enemies – “will rejoice” (16:20). It will seem for a time as if Jesus’ enemies have prevailed, but then, Jesus promises them, “Your pain will turn into joy.” He likens it to childbirth, noting that a woman in labor has pain, “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” (16:21). In the same way, says Jesus, “you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (16:22). Read More