10 May 2013
Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter
It’s been said that Christianity-and religion in general – is a soothing opiate for the masses, an escape from the harshness of reality. I wonder which Bible these folks are reading, because the Jesus I’m familiar with is keenly attuned to the human condition. Consider today’s reading from John’s Gospel:
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn,
while the world rejoices;
you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived;
but when she has given birth to a child,
she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy
that a child has been born into the world.
There are many ways that our culture dulls the pain of modern life – all available for a low, low price! But a faith that reminds us that pleasure is fleeting, and which takes seriously the ills of the world, is anything but an escape. Heather King writes, “pleasure is shallow, but joy has pain at its center.” Put another way, there is no Easter Sunday without Good Friday – but our faith reminds us that the sun rises on Easter morning.