Word to the Wise
Friday, May 10, 2024 - 6th Week of Easter - Fri
[Acts 18:9-18 and John 16:20-23]"Amen, amen I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she not longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world." [John]
Today's gospel scripture continues Jesus' forewarning of the disciples about what will occur in the next few days, but, as I noted yesterday, those words have a bigger picture. The image of the woman in labor and giving birth is amazing. I'm not sure women who deliver without an epidural procedure have forgotten the pain! But the wonder of birth and the living child given as soon as possible to the mom and dad transcend the physical event. Jesus speaks of the woman in anguish because her hour has arrived. This also speaks to his own situation. We know from the scene in the Garden of Eden that Jesus "hour" caused him no little agony as well.
The long and spiraling Last Supper discourse makes a lot of demands on the preacher and the hearer, but it can be very rewarding if we take the time and always keep a bigger picture in mind. AMEN