A Gospel Reflection
by Deacon Joe Coan
Wednesday, May 20th
“A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me.” So some of his disciples said to one another, what does this mean that he is saying to us, 'A little while and you will not see me, and again in a little while you will see me,' and 'Because I am going to the Father'?” So they said, “What is this 'little while' [of which he speaks]? We do not know what he means.” Jesus knew what 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 in 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.”
A few weeks ago, a young women succumbed to the Coved-19 virus. She also had an underlying case of Leukemia. While going through her belongings, her parents found a poem she had written a few months previously. A portion of it reads like a commentary on Jesus' promise in our gospel story:
“O God I'm Free!
Valleys are green,
and the sun shines
Through the storm and tempest.
Your hand came through.
I grasped it.
O God, you brought me to life.
You came through the dark,
A faint spark; but it lit my soul.
My fire is burning, Lord.
No one can put it out.
My God, I am Free!”
Do we believe God's promise to turn our sadness into gladness?
“O Lord, may the end of my life be the best of it. May my closing acts be my best acts.”
~ Deacon Joe
