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     Jesus' Farewell Discourse in today's gospel scripture speaks to the confused and grieving disciples who are wondering what they will do if he is gone. He compares their situation to that of a woman in childbirth whose "hour" to deliver has come and she is in great pain.  But when the child is born, she "forgets" the pain in her joy that the child is safely delivered.  I'm not sure my friends who are moms will completely agree about the forgetting the pain part, but would identify with the joy part!

     The bigger picture in this is the set of events that would shortly take Jesus away through his condemnation, crucifixion and death, but then restore him to them through his resurrection and appearances and his conferral of the Spirit. We have the advantage of reading the story which the evangelist has composed in his own way,  The disciples did not have that big picture.  Perhaps parents experience this when they try to explain to their children why one or both parents have to leave for whatever reason and entrust them with someone else.

     The Farewell Discourse requires that we keep the big picture in mind.  John the Evangelist tells the story of Pentecost from a different   perspective than the evangelist Luke in Acts.  Liturgically we have yet to celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, but the first scriptures from the Acts of the Apostles for the last couple of weeks or so have already been speaking of post-Pentecostal preaching!  It is a bit like listening to two different people trying at the same time to tell the same story but each giving it a different "spin."  We have to relax and try to listen to one and then the other and put the picture together with the help of that same Holy Spirit!  AMEN