“Lead us from Grief
to Joy” by Beth DeCristofaro
Paul began to occupy himself totally with preaching the
word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. When they opposed him
and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, "Your blood
be on your heads! I am clear of responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles." (Acts 18:6)
Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to
them, "Are you discussing with one another what I said, 'A little while
and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me'? Amen,
amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will
grieve, but your grief will become joy."
(John 16:19-20)
Piety
Lord, we are so sorry
for what some of us did to your children:
treated them so cruelly,
especially in their hour of need.
We have left them with a lifelong suffering.
This was not your plan for them or us.
Please help us to help them.
Guide us, Lord, Amen.[i]
for what some of us did to your children:
treated them so cruelly,
especially in their hour of need.
We have left them with a lifelong suffering.
This was not your plan for them or us.
Please help us to help them.
Guide us, Lord, Amen.[i]
Study
John’s Gospel puts
forward dualisms, thematically portraying that acceptance of Jesus meant
rejecting something else. It was a
necessary step in conversion into eternal life. Dualities such as light
contrasted to dark, or the world compared with Jesus’ community allowed John to
explore what is mostly a mystery. To John, Jesus was knowable, and God knowable
through Jesus, for example. Jesus
foresaw the difficulty that his followers, including Paul, would face in evangelization
as they explained the essential need to give up people’s world view. The rejection he experienced must have
grieved Paul, but he “shook” off the world, leaving it and them behind to move
forward in his acceptance of Jesus and his mission to share the Word.
Did Jesus foresee the
grief his community is experiencing today?
The abuse and power scandal rocking his church must indeed be hurtful as
it is for many faithful. How difficult
to hold on to truths unseen while the community in which we find our faith
center has, in many ways, betrayed us.
We see Jesus’ ministry (actions) and words (study) to be helpful.
Jesus healed, again
and again. He healed those perhaps
unsuitable – the Roman centurion’s servant, for example. He healed the unbeliever – the Samaritan
woman. Jesus gave himself “for his
friends,” John’s Gospel tells us. Jesus
forgave again and again. When He
appeared after the resurrection, Jesus bestowed peace upon his disciples rather
than chastising them for abandoning him.
Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, to them for guidance and
courage. And, importantly, Jesus sent
them out to share the Word which would heal a hurting world. We must, with the disciples, reject the
world, which allows abuse and seek the community of God, reforming, and
healing. As Jesus calls us to experience
and live joy, we also must help to assuage and answer grief.
Action
What are we doing to
evangelize Jesus’ Word to heal those hurt by the Church and ultimately heal our
Church? Holding on to the old ways has
proven not only ineffective but hurtful in many ways. Raise up in prayer (piety) the opposition of
the institutional Church to healing.
Raise also any anger and frustration we feel into our prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to give us courage as
advocates and healing that we can put our anger and frustration to good and
holy use. Reach out in your parish and
diocese as leaders steeped in acceptance of Jesus, not the world to help lead
and unite.
[i] prayer
sent to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin by a person who suffered abuse so
that it could be shared in parishes. This prayer was inscribed on the
healing stone which was unveiled at the 50th International Eucharistic Congress
2012 and now has its permanent home at Lough Derg, County Donegal. Donegal. https://www.catholicbishops.ie/2018/02/05/day-of-prayer-for-survivors-and-victims-of-sexual-abuse/
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