TURNING SORROW INTO JOY THROUGH FAITH AND HOPE

20160506 TURNING SORROW INTO JOY THROUGH FAITH AND HOPE

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: White.

First reading

Acts 18:9-18 ©

At Corinth one night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid to speak out, nor allow yourself to be silenced: I am with you. I have so many people on my side in this city that no one will even attempt to hurt you.’ So Paul stayed there preaching the word of God among them for eighteen months.

  But, while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a concerted attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal. ‘We accuse this man’ they said ‘of persuading people to worship God in a way that breaks the Law.’ Before Paul could open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, ‘Listen, you Jews. If this were a misdemeanour or a crime, I would not hesitate to attend to you; but if it is only quibbles about words and names, and about your own Law, then you must deal with it yourselves-I have no intention of making legal decisions about things like that.’ Then he sent them out of the court, and at once they all turned on Sosthenes, the synagogue president, and beat him in front of the court house. Gallio refused to take any notice at all.

  After staying on for some time, Paul took leave of the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut off, because of a vow he had made.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 46:2-7 ©

God is king of all the earth.

or

Alleluia!

All peoples, clap your hands,

  cry to God with shouts of joy!

For the Lord, the Most High, we must fear,

  great king over all the earth.

God is king of all the earth.

or

Alleluia!

He subdues peoples under us

  and nations under our feet.

Our inheritance, our glory, is from him,

  given to Jacob out of love.

God is king of all the earth.

or

Alleluia!

God goes up with shouts of joy;

  the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

Sing praise for God, sing praise,

  sing praise to our king, sing praise.

God is king of all the earth.

or

Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

Jn14:26

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Holy Spirit will teach you everything

and remind you of all I have said to you.

Alleluia!

Or	cf.Lk24:46,26

Alleluia, alleluia!

It was ordained that the Christ should suffer

and rise from the dead,

and so enter into his glory.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 16:20-23 ©

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘I tell you most solemnly,

you will be weeping and wailing

while the world will rejoice;

you will be sorrowful,

but your sorrow will turn to joy.

A woman in childbirth suffers,

because her time has come;

but when she has given birth to the child she forgets the suffering

in her joy that a man has been born into the world.

So it is with you: you are sad now,

but I shall see you again, and your hearts will be full of joy,

and that joy no one shall take from you.

When that day comes,

you will not ask me any questions.’

TURNING SORROW INTO JOY THROUGH FAITH AND HOPE

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 18:9-18; JN 16:20-23   ]

We can feel with the disciples in their sadness when Jesus told them that He would be leaving them soon. He also predicted His imminent passion, death and resurrection. Of course, at that point of time, the disciples could not understand.  Nevertheless, Jesus prepared them for the eventuality, when He told them, “I tell you most solemnly, you will be weeping and wailing while the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful but your sorrow will turn to joy.”

Indeed, all of us experience sadness in life.  Certain days we are sadder than others.  We are sad because things are not going well in our life or because we suffer with our loved ones in their sickness, failures and misfortunes.  We feel sad too because we are hurting due to misunderstandings or failed relationships, especially with our loved ones, friends and colleagues.  So we are sad for many reasons.

In the face of sadness, we must simply persevere.  This is what Jesus is asking of us.  We must not give up.  How not to give up?  By focusing on the future and the joy ahead of us!  Failures and setbacks are temporary.  Suffering is part of the process of growing.  Like Jesus, He had to go through the cross before He could experience the resurrection.  So we must with hope look ahead rather be dragged down by such setbacks in life.  For the sake of the greater joy in the future, we must persevere.  This is what the letter of Hebrews also urges us, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”  (Heb 12:1-2)

Jesus also gives us the example of the woman who was about to give birth.  We cannot but be surprised at Jesus’ perceptivity and sensitivity to the daily plight of the human person.  In all His teachings, He would draw examples from daily life.  This shows that Jesus was a man very much in touch with Himself.  Like the expectant mother, we must go through the labour so that we can receive the gift of a new life.  That is what Jesus said, “A woman in childbirth suffers, because her time has come; but when she has given birth to the child she forgets the suffering in her joy that a man has been born into the world.”

Sadness turns into depression only when one suffers without hope.  Only those who think that they have come to a dead end give up all hope, and the sadness becomes destructive.  So long as there is hope, all sadness can be endured patiently, lovingly and positively.   Therefore we need to ask ourselves when we are sad, isn’t it because we have lost hope?  Sadness belongs to the devil because He wants us to give up hope in life, in others and, most of all, in ourselves.  For those of us who are not careful, the devil will lead us from sadness to depression and then to suicide.

For us Christians, Christ is our Hope.  We have the privilege of hindsight to see that the death of Jesus did not end in tragedy.  The passion and death of Jesus, as He said, brought the world great happiness, because they thought that they had got rid of Him.   But their victory was only temporary.   Jesus won the victory in His resurrection, proving that sin has been overcome by love and the enemy of death defeated.  Christians therefore always live in hope because we know that hatred cannot be the last word but love. Christians even face death with courage, knowing that the sting of death has been removed by assurance of resurrection in the next life.

Indeed, yesterday, on the Feast of Ascension, we celebrated this great Hope that has been given to us by the exaltation of Jesus our Lord.  Christ, who is our Lord and Saviour, and the Head of the Church, has gone before us to heaven to share in the glory of the Father, the glory that was His since the foundation of the world.  We, who are His body, necessarily will also share in His glory.   So we know our final destiny is to be with God.  As such, we do not cling to things of this earth but to the things of heaven.  We can have a share in this resurrected and exalted life already when we follow Jesus in His death, in dying to ourselves and living for others in humble service.

Consequently, we are called to have faith in the Lord.  We must trust Him that He will see us through.  With Christ all things are possible.  St Paul himself said, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.”  (Phil 4:13)  Christ said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor 2:9)  Indeed, we can do things in Christ not by our own strength and ingenuity but by grace.  Only through grace at work in us, can we do all things because He strengthens us by the power of His indwelling presence in the Holy Spirit.

Indeed, this was what St Paul heard one day in a vision of the Lord speaking to him, “Do not be afraid to speak out, nor allow yourself to be silenced: I am with you. I have so many people on my side in this city that no one will even attempt to hurt you.”  God will be on our side.  He will send the necessary angels to help us get our work done.  So we must have faith in Him when we are afraid or feel inadequate in doing what the Lord asks of us.  We do not allow ourselves to be discouraged by failure.  Rather, we trust the Lord will find ways and means to help us out.  True enough, God sent Gallio the proconsul to help him when he was attacked and slandered by the Jews.  Without Paul having to defend himself, Gallio dismissed the charge against Paul.

This is true in all situations in life.  In our sadness, what we need is to have someone with us.  To have someone to stand with us and beside us gives us the strength to carry through our sadness and problems in life.  That is why it behooves us to give courage and strength to those who are weak and are going through difficulties in life.  We need to let them know that we are with them.  We might not be able to solve their problems but we need to assure them that we will stand by them and help them in whatever ways we can to overcome their trials.  And the Lord in His mercy will send friends to help us bear the crosses cheerfully.

When we trust in the Lord and hold on to His promises, we can live our lives with security and free from undue anxiety.   Not only do we live in hope but the joy that Christ gives us is a joy that is complete and can never be taken away.  Jesus told the disciples, “So it is with you: you are sad now, but I shall see you again, and your hearts will be full of joy, and that joy no one shall take from you.”   Christian joy is different from worldly joy. The joy of the world comes from success, achievements and self-indulgence. Worldly joy cannot last and is situational.  It is transient and does not stay with us. The joy of the Christian comes from the Lord, from the Holy Spirit who lives in us, setting us free, granting us peace, love and joy.   The joy that comes from Christ is a joy that remains with us so long as Christ is with us in the Holy Spirit.

Christian joy cannot be taken away because Christ is eternally present in us now through the Holy Spirit.  When we have the Holy Spirit, the living presence of the Father and the Son who come to dwell within us will give lasting joy.  This joy comes from the fruits of forbearance, kindness, gentleness and faithfulness.  The Holy Spirit gives us joy which comes from the capacity to love God and our brothers and sisters.  We find joy because of the peace we receive, knowing that He forgives us whenever we sin. We find joy because of the freedom we experience in the Spirit.  With His grace, we can suffer patiently with joy, the troubles and difficulties of life without murmuring and complaining because we surrender in faith.

Hence, from now till the Feast of Pentecost, we must pray for the renewal of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  On this first day of the Novena to the Holy Spirit, we ask for the gift of joy to counter the darkness of sadness.  When we are filled with His Holy Spirit, we will be empowered by the Lord to do what He asks of us.  Let us surrender our lives to Him.  In quiet prayer and in a spirit of discernment, basking ourselves in His love and contemplating on His Word, we will find the courage and strength to persevere.   So let us with faith in the Lord live a life of hope, knowing that there is nothing we cannot overcome with His grace at work in our lives.  With Christ, there is always certain hope, because of His resurrection and ascension.  The sadness of a Christian never destroys him but only strengthens him in hope; and even in sadness, he is at peace with the Lord, suffering with Him so that he can share in His glory.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved