From Sadness to Joy
May 30, 2025 - Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter
John 16:20–23
Sometimes life just hurts. You’re grieving something, struggling with school, dealing with a broken friendship, or just feeling lost. Jesus gets it. He really does.
In today’s Gospel, He tells His disciples something honest—and kind of intense:
“You will weep and mourn while the world rejoices… But your grief will turn to joy.”
That’s a bold promise.
To help them understand, Jesus uses the image of a woman giving birth. There’s pain, of course. Real, deep pain. But when the baby is finally born, the joy is so overwhelming that it pushes the pain into the background. It doesn’t erase it—but it transforms it.
That’s exactly what happened with Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Good Friday: pain.
Holy Saturday: silence.
Easter Sunday: joy that can’t be taken away.
The disciples saw their best friend, teacher, and Savior crucified. Their whole world collapsed. But then—He rose. And that moment changed everything. Their grief didn’t disappear, but it was replaced by something stronger: resurrection joy.
What’s wild is that Jesus says the world rejoiced at His death. That hurts. People cheered while He suffered. But when He rose again? We don’t hear much about the world’s reaction. Some denied it. Some ignored it. But many others—across time and space—heard the news and were transformed. That includes us.
And here’s where it gets personal: Jesus ends this moment with a powerful promise.
“Whatever you ask the Father in my name, He will give you.”
That’s prayer. Real, deep, trinitarian prayer. It’s not about magic words or saying the “right” thing. It’s about coming to the Father, through Jesus, with the help of the Holy Spirit. It’s about knowing you’re seen, heard, and loved.
So let me ask:
Do you talk to God when you’re hurting—or only when you’re okay?
Do you bring your grief, your stress, your dreams to the Father—in Jesus’ name?
Do you trust that joy is coming, even if you can’t see it yet?
Sometimes we feel stuck in our “Good Friday” moments—like joy is a million miles away. But Jesus says, “Just wait. Your sadness won’t last forever. I will turn it into joy.”
And when that joy comes, it will be something no one and nothing can ever take from you.