2 May 2027 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: മലയാളം
“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.” John 16:22
At the Last Supper Jesus prepares his disciples for his going. “A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.” They will weep while the world rejoices, “but your pain will turn into joy.” He compares it to a woman in labour: her pain is forgotten in the joy of a child born into the world. The Resurrection is that birth; Christian joy is born through the Cross.
“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.” This is the joy of Qyomtho: not a mood that changes with circumstances, but a gift no one can take away, because it rests on the risen Christ. Acts shows the first disciples, even when expelled from a city, “filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit”.
Jesus promises the Spirit: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” As the Ascension and Pentecost approach, the Church is taught to live not by sight but by the Spirit, who leads her into the fullness of truth. And Jesus teaches us to pray with confidence: “Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.”
St Paul gives the practical consequence: “If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above… Set your minds on things that are above.” Then he lists what must be put to death and what put on. Proverbs adds: “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offences.” Easter joy shows itself in a changed life.
Theme: “Your pain will turn into joy.”
Before his Passion Jesus prepared his disciples for sorrow, and promised a joy no one could take away. In the Easter season the Church hears these words as fulfilled, and learns that the Spirit of truth leads us into this joy.
“Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Psalm 30:5
“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.” John 16:22
Apply: Offer one present sorrow to the Lord, trusting it will become joy.
“This also comes from the LORD of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in wisdom.” Isaiah 28:29
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” John 16:13
Apply: Before every decision this week, pray: “Come, Holy Spirit, guide me.”
“Rejoice before the LORD your God—you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female slaves, the Levites resident in your towns, as well as the strangers, the orphans, and the widows who are among you.” Deuteronomy 16:11
“And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 13:52
Apply: Invite someone lonely to share a family meal or celebration.
The Risen Lord gives a joy that the world cannot give or take away.
Let us ask in his name, let the Spirit guide us, and share our joy with all.
Take-home resolution: Begin preparing for Pentecost: pray each day “Come, Holy Spirit.”
Dear brothers and sisters, at the Last Supper Jesus told his friends: “A little while, and you will no longer see me; and again a little while, and you will see me.” They did not understand. He explained with a picture every mother knows: a woman in labour has pain, but when the child is born she forgets the pain for joy.
That is Easter. The Cross was the labour pain; the Resurrection is the birth of new life. And Jesus promised: “I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” Christian joy is not the absence of trouble. It is a joy that rests on the risen Christ, and so no one can take it away.
In Acts the disciples are thrown out of a city, and yet they are “filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” Jesus also promises the Spirit of truth to guide us, and invites us to ask in his name, “so that your joy may be complete”. On Thursday we celebrate his Ascension; then we wait for the Spirit.
St Paul tells us how this joy shows: “Seek the things that are above.” Put off anger, lies and impurity; put on compassion and love. As Proverbs says, “love covers all offences.” Let us live this week as people whose joy no one can take away. Amen.
Children, Jesus told his friends: “You will be sad for a little while, but then you will be very happy!”
They were sad when Jesus died, but so happy when they saw him alive again! Jesus said nobody can take that joy away.
When you feel sad, remember Jesus is alive and loves you. Let's say: “Jesus, you are my joy!”
Lord Jesus, you promised that our pain would turn into joy and that no one would take it from us. Send us your Spirit of truth, teach us to ask in your name, and set our hearts on the things that are above, where you are seated at the right hand of the Father. Amen.