Sorrow turned to Joy (HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 6TH WEEK OF EASTER MAY 2023
HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 6TH WEEK OF EASTER (MAY 19, 2022) Acts 18:9-18; Ps. 47; John 16:20-23a Sorrow turned to Joy Jesus spoke of sorrow and Joy to his disciples in today’s gospel reading. Both were in relation to Him. His physical departure will bring sorrow upon the disciples but their steadfastness to the Faith will win them eternal Joy from the Lord; a joy that is neither based nor can be taken away by another. For us today, the experiences of sorrow and joy is something we have to accept in the course of living out the Christian life – we cannot afford to deny any of them and still hope to be authentic in our practice of the faith. The challenge in accepting these realities of sorrow and joy is that the world will always be at the opposite end. When we are sorrowful, the world will be happy; when we are happy, the world will be sorrowful. Therefore, we cannot afford to be of the world. For the disciples, the departure of Christ will make them more vulnerable to the Scribes and t...