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Gospel: John 16: 16-20
Jesus said to his disciples:
“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 a little while and 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 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’?
Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices;
you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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I’m sure we all know the story of Cinderella.
After the death of her mother, Cinderella is forced to live with her evil stepsisters, who turn her into a prisoner inside her own home.
They force her to wash their dishes, to scrub the floors, and to polish their shoes. It’s an unbearably sad story if you don’t know the ending, when the prince falls in love with her, turning Cinderella into a princess.
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This story offers an interesting parallel to Christ’s words in today’s Gospel.
“Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”
Jesus promises every Christian what Cinderella also received – a storybook ending; a reversal of fortune.
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If we try living out all of his teachings, then at times it may feel like the world is winning, while we are losing.
We forgive our enemies; pray for those who persecute us; turn the other cheek; and love our neighbors without counting the cost.
Sometimes these efforts can leave a bitter taste in our mouth, certainly if we aren’t ready to love, forgive, or surrender ourselves entirely to God’s plan.
But, “your grief will become joy,” the Lord promises.
Life will have a storybook ending, when your fortune is reversed.
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Image credits: (1) Bible Society (2) Cinderella, Disney (3) Modern Ghana, heaven