Jesus
said to his disciples: “Very 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. When
a woman is in labour, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her
child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having
brought a human being into the world. So you have pain now; but I will see you
again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. On
that day you will ask nothing of me. Very truly, I tell you, if you ask
anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.”
This
is the Word of the Lord.
Today’s gospel
selection is taken from the farewell discourse during which Jesus spoke
privately with His disciples prior to His crucifixion. After washing his
disciples’ feet, showing himself to be their servant, Jesus announced his
betrayal and denial by two of the group, and he gave them the commandment of
love, which was to be the mark that distinguishes his disciples. “Love one
another”, he told them, “Just as I have loved you ... By this everyone will
know that you are my disciples” (Jn 13, 34-35).
From chapter 14 to
17 John reports the words of comfort and encouragement Jesus told his disciples
as a preparation for them to be able to live through the ordeal he and his
disciples were to face. He assured them that he was the way to the Father, and
that the Father loved them greatly. He prepared them for the persecutions that
would come their way and how they would not be left alone and powerless, for
they would have the Holy Spirit by their side and “He will prove the world
wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment” and that he would guide them
into all the truth. He also told them not to worry about how to defend themselves
or what to say “for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you
ought to say.” (Lk 12, 11-12)
In this atmosphere
full of fear and love and expectation, created by the washing of the feet and the
words announcing failure on the part of his disciples and at the same time
assuring them that he would not leave them alone and that they would have the
help of the Holy Spirit, Jesus presented the figure of a woman expecting a
baby. In just a few words Jesus expressed what his discourse was all about.
Normally, childbearing
is a work of love! In a healthy marriage relationship a man and a woman would
want to bear fruit and have offspring, and so they open their bodies and hearts
to pregnancy. Being intelligent people they take into consideration their love,
and also the discomforts, limitations, fears, pain, mystery and the responsibility
they have to shoulder. It is not that they appreciate discomfort, fear or pain;
what they want is the fruit of their love – a child. To bear a child is to help
build the future, theirs and that of humanity itself.
It is good to
remember Christ’s words: “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit
… As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love … so that my joy may be in you, and that your
joy may be complete … I chose you. And I
appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last” (Jn 15, 8-16).
While celebrating
the Holy Eucharist (Prayer II) the priest pronounces these holy and important
words: “Before he was given up to death, a death he freely accepted, he [Jesus]
took bread and … gave it to his disciples, and said: Take this, all of you, and
eat it; this is my body which will be given up for you … [then] he gave the cup
to his disciples, and said: Take this, all of you, and drink from it; this is
the cup of my blood.” Am I mistaken if I take these words as an expression of
childbearing love? Is not the Eucharist intended to give us life? Jesus himself
pronounced the following words many of his disciples found difficult to
understand: “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man
and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink
my blood have eternal life” (Jn 6, 53-54).
What can we learn,
then, from the example given by Jesus in today’s gospel selection? Jesus speaks
of the pain a woman in labour suffers. It is a pain she freely accepted: she
does not seek pain, she accepts it. She does not accept pain because she enjoys
it, but because she is able to look beyond pain, towards the “joy of having
brought a human being into the world”.
People who take
seriously Christ’s words and try to put them into practice, will often face
difficulties even persecution; they know it, and they freely accept it. They do
not set out to be martyrs; they only want to be disciples and to bring fruits
that last so that everybody on earth could live a happy and fruitful life.
So, I think that
the message here is for us to persevere, to freely accept what comes our way in
our effort to be disciples, and to look forward with hope and joy to the fruits
of our discipleship and be sure of Christ’s welcoming words that introduce us
to His Father’s abode: “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Mt 25, 33).
Let motherhood and
especially our Mother Mary teach us to patiently and positively co-operate with
God Our Father so as to be instruments of His love towards humankind.
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