Christ was consoling his disciples amid their sorrow over his impending departure. He used the analogy of childbirth to promise transformative joy as well as direct access to the Father through prayer in his name.
“A woman, when in labor, has sorrow, because her hour is come; but when she has brought forth the child, she remembers no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world,” he told them. Then he reassured them that “if you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it to you.” (Jn 16,21.23)
This gospel episode simply shows Christ’s assurance of joy, a joy that transcends pain amid temporary worldly opposition, a joy that has lasting effects in eternal glory. This episode somehow reminds us to broaden our understanding of things as we go through the drama of our earthly life that will always involve suffering. More than that, it encourages us to learn the art of how to find joy even in our suffering.
We need to realize that in our life here on earth, joy and sorrow are intertwined, and we can manage to find joy even in suffering as long as we identify ourselves with Christ. We have to remember that Christ has conquered everything and has converted all the negative things in life into means for our purification and strengthening.
What we have to do is to unite whatever suffering we have with the suffering of Christ, because by so doing, we would be participating in Christ’s redemptive mission. So, we just have to relate everything to Christ by praying always, ever trusting in God’s presence and power. This mindset helps us develop a strong faith and confidence in Christ, enabling us to face whatever challenges and temptations would come our way.
Let’s be convinced that with Christ, suffering becomes an act of selfless love that can take on anything. Only in him can we find joy and meaning in suffering. With him, suffering loses its purely negative and painful character, and assumes the happy salvific character.
We need to process this truth of our faith thoroughly, always asking for God’s grace and training all our powers and faculties to adapt to this reality. That’s why Christ told us clearly that if we want to follow him, we simply have to deny ourselves, carry the cross and follow him. There’s no other formula, given our wounded human condition.
This self-denial and carrying of Christ’s cross will enable us to see that suffering is obviously the consequence of all our sins—ours and those of others. Embracing suffering the way Christ embraced his cross unites our suffering with that of Christ.
Our motive for it is like that of Christ. It’s the desire to conquer that suffering and ultimately our death through his death and resurrection. It’s obeying God’s will just like Christ obeyed his Father’s will. “Not my will but yours be done.”
Our reaction to any form of suffering in this life should therefore be theological and ascetical. It should be guided and inspired by faith. It should not just be physical or a natural affair. It should reflect the spiritual and supernatural realities to which we are all subject.
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