Acts 18:9-18 / John 16:20-23
It is only human to ask questions about life. Questions like - Why is there innocent suffering? Why is there unnecessary pain? Why is happiness so elusive?
These questions are not just about the what is happening in the world around us.
These questions are about what is happening in our lives and to those whom we love and care about.
So these questions concern our family, our marriage, our spouse, our parents, our children, our work, our friends, etc.
In short, we encounter sorrow and suffering in life.
And it may add on to our desolation when Jesus said in the gospel: I tell you solemnly, you will be sorrowful.
Yet, our consolation is that Jesus did not end it there. He continues by saying that our sorrow will turn to joy and that joy no one can take from us.
As we bring our needs and petitions to the Lord and place it at the altar of sacrifice, let us have the hope that the Lord would come to our help in our sorrows and sufferings.
That hope is not just wishful thinking but it is a joyful hope as we wait for God's will to unfold in the midst of our sorrows and sufferings.
Let us just ask the Lord for this joyful hope. With this joyful hope, there will be no further questions.