Mourn and Weep

Today’s Gospel Text: Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is in travail she has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she is delivered of the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, he will give it to you in my name. John 16:20-23

Reflection: There are many reasons to weep and be sorrowful in life:

We could be weeping and sorrowful because we have lost a loved one or because we have failed in an exam or lost a precious article or on account of hurt, rejection, pain or on receiving a beating from someone or a break in relationship, etc., etc.

There are sacred reasons too why people mourn and weep and are sorrowful; when people see the desecration of sacred things, whether material or spiritual deposits; be it the dogma of the church or the sacred artifacts that belong to the patrimony of the church.

The saints weep for the church even in heaven when it faces persecution whether of internal origin or external. The saints weep also when the doctrine of Christ is watered down or when the members of the body face persecution; for this is their suffering.

They weep and are sorrowful when sinful men continue in their stubborn ways and those in authority practice a tolerance of evil and crush righteousness for the sake of momentary peace or for pseudo-values, which are sometimes falsely termed as gospel values.   

Sorrowfulness and weeping is a fruit of great pain, which need not always be physical but most often is on account of a deep emotional hurt due to a feeling of rejection, public shame, insults, etc.

In the scripture we have a situation of sorrowfulness and weeping for a particular reason; Jesus is clearly the reason for this weeping.

When it comes to Jesus there is no neutral ground either you are weeping and sorrowing for him and his cause or you are rejoicing over your triumph over the God of all creation.

But God’s silence, his patience, his endurance of our wicked ways,  his tolerance of our attacks on him or by way of corruption of his teachings are but momentary  instances of victory for the evil human mind who allow themselves to be deceived while interpreting God’s action with blind selfish gratification.

May we who follow the path of Jesus learn from this patience of God and not take advantage of it and seek to change ourselves with his grace. 

Prayer:  You O lord, who sets on high the lowly and lift up those who mourn console us in our day of perversion against your holy one. (cfr. Job 5:11)       

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