5/29/2025 (Thursday) Today’s Gospel reading: John 16:16-20

16 Jesus said to his disciples: “A little while, and now you shall not see me; and again a little while, and you shall see me: because I go to the Father.”
17 Then some of the disciples said one to another: What is this that he said to us: A little while, and you shall not see me; and again a little while, and you shall see me, and, because I go to the Father?
18 So they said, “What is this ‘little while’ of which he speaks? We do not know what he means.”
19 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’?
20 Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.

5/29/2025 (Thursday) Today’s Gospel reflection / homily / sermon: John 16:16-20

Jesus continues to speak some of His final words to His disciples before the crucifixion but His words left the disciples puzzled, confused, and full of questions. They were on the brink of watching their beloved Teacher and Friend be taken away, and Jesus was preparing them for a sorrow deeper than they had ever known.

But intertwined within this sorrow is a powerful promise: “Your sorrow will turn into joy.”

Jesus was not denying that sorrow would come. He didn’t promise a life without pain or moments of darkness. Instead, He acknowledged the coming grief but He also assured them that it would not last. He promised a transformation of that very sorrow into joy.

This is the paradox at the heart of the Christian life: we live in a world where we will have trouble, loss, and questions. But we also live in a world where God is actively at work, where mourning can be turned into dancing, and where what feels like the end is often just a beginning.

When Jesus said, “You will see me,” He wasn’t just talking about a brief reunion. He was speaking of resurrection. Of renewal. Of the kind of joy that is not the absence of suffering, but the result of enduring it and coming out transformed.

We live in the “in between”, the ‘little while’ of waiting. The time between what has been lost and what is yet to be restored. We know sorrow but we also carry the hope that joy is coming. This is not blind optimism. It is anchored in the resurrection of Jesus. Because He rose, we too shall rise. Because He overcame, we too can overcome.

If you’re in a season when you feel like you’ve lost sight of Jesus or when you are struggling with pain, disappointment, or silence, know this: you are not alone. Jesus knew His disciples would face this. He knows what you’re carrying. And just as He promised them, He promises you: your sorrow will turn into joy.

Hold fast in the waiting. The silence is not abandonment. The sorrow is not the end of the story. Resurrection is coming.

Joy that comes after sorrow is deeper. It’s forged in the fire. It’s not easily shaken because it’s been tested. That kind of joy is a testimony, a witness to the faithfulness of God in the middle of our deepest valleys.

So what can we do in this “little while” of waiting?

We trust. We remember that Jesus keeps His promises. We remind ourselves that the night may feel long, but morning always comes. And we walk together, comforting one another with the same comfort we ourselves have received from God.

The world may rejoice when we mourn but God sees every tear. He holds every broken piece. And when the appointed time comes, He will breathe life into what felt lifeless, and joy will rise where sorrow once lived.

Jesus didn’t leave His disciples without hope and He hasn’t left you either. Take heart. Your sorrow will turn into joy.

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