People formed by the Lord - beyond fear of suffering!

WORD 2day - Friday, Sixth week in the Eastertide

May 10, 2024 - Acts 18: 9-18; John 16: 20-23

The discourse on sorrow turning to joy continues from yesterday! While yesterday we reflected on the lesson of changing our minds, our lives and our disposition in order to see that change happens, from sorrow to joy, today there is yet another angle added to it. This suffering or the sorrow is compared to the suffering of the expectant mother and the birth pangs! In fact, haven't we heard the preoccupation on the part of experienced persons, that an expectant mother has still not begun to feel the pain, when the time due foreseen by the medics has been crossed?

Yes, at times pain is expected, even wished for - because in the larger picture it has its rightful place. And that pain will one day, on the right day, turn into blessing, into joy, into a cause for celebration. This is absolutely true with regard to the suffering for the sake of the Reign - do not be afraid to speak out, nor allow yourself to be silenced: I am with you - what a wonderful promise this is! Truly, a departing promise. I shall be with you... the Lord shall be with us... provided we realise what the responsorial psalm teaches us: you Lord God are the king of all the earth, of all that is.

Truth sets us free, it liberates us from fear, from the fear of what doesn't exist, from the fear of the unreal, from the fear of death, and therefore from any fear of suffering. The Spirit whom  the Lord promised, the Spirit of Truth who is said to teach us all that is true, will certainly liberate us from all fears. With that formation from the Lord, we are bound to grow into people beyond any fear of suffering or sorrow.