John 16:16-20 NRSVue
16“A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.” 17Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying to us, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me,’ and ‘because I am going to the Father’?” 18They said, “What does he mean by this ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” 19Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’? 20Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy.
“Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.”
Reflection on John 16:16-20
Inspiration from 2025-05-29 Daily Prayer
The suffering and death of Jesus on the Cross was truly a shattering experience for his disciples. In the Jewish understanding at that time, it meant that God had abandoned Jesus and thus refuted all that Jesus had done and taught. The resurrection changed all that and transformed their mourning and their confusion into joy and the courage to go out and proclaim him. For Christians, the norm in our lives should be quiet joy and confidence in the God who loves and accompanies us on our pilgrim journey. Let us find this now in our prayer time with him.
Further reflection
Pain turning into joy is part of the human condition. A grain of wheat falls and dies in the ground and then becomes a rich harvest. Loss and pain can bring us close - to God and to each other. It may not. Prayer can be a time of noticing the good in everything and of praying that pain will turn into joy.
/The Ascension is celebrated in some areas today./ The final departure of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit gave new strength and energy to the group of disciples. The new message seems to transcend boundaries like language among people and illness within people, and that evil does not conquer. From heaven the Lord continues his work on earth through his followers.
Jesus knew what was in the disciples' hearts, he realised what they wanted to ask him. As I pray now, I know that Jesus sees what is in my heart and ask for the will of God be revealed a little more to me.
Reflecting on my life, I realise that there have been times of light and shade. I pray for all of those who are in darkness just now; that they may draw hope from Jesus promises: I pray that all who rejoice may give thanks for God's blessings.
What Jesus said was not always understood by the disciples and, sometimes, their talking to each other seemed only to give rise to more questions. There are times when I need to turn Jesus' words over in my heart rather than seeking the answer outside in discussion or inspiration points. Perhaps I can recognise where Jesus has, at times, been hidden from me and, at other times, revealed.