Overview:

Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter

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 (Jn 16:21).

Find today’s readings here. 

I have a friend who took to her Notes app the day after she gave birth. She wanted to write down all the things “no one had warned her about” so that she wouldn’t forget when the hormones and sheer joy of motherhood overrode the memory of those painful hours. 

Jesus uses the image of a woman giving birth to prepare his disciples for his impending death. It may seem like an odd choice, given they are all men. But they had mothers, wives and sisters, and knew the life-and-death stakes that accompanied childbirth. 

And what Jesus is preparing them for is his death, yes. But he also wants them to be able to glimpse the life on the other side. 

Though I have never been pregnant, I have talked to my sisters and friends about the mix of dread and anticipation, the “anguish because her hour has arrived.” There are many hard things in life that we can avoid if we really want to. Giving birth is not one of them. The only way out is through it. And even with all of our advanced medicine—to say nothing of first-century Palestine—it will hurt. Especially with the first child, it can be hard to imagine the life on the other side. 

So it is with Jesus’ crucifixion. “So you also are now in anguish,” he tells his disciples. His hour of suffering has come, and it cannot be avoided. They will have to endure the pain of losing their Lord and friend. In this time of darkness, they cannot imagine life on the other side. 

I don’t think my friend looked at that Note again. I know it didn’t prevent her from having another kid. Turns out the joy really is that strong. Which is not to say the pain did not change her. As Jesus rose from the dead with the wounds on his hands and sides, women are changed, body and soul, by childbirth. They realize what they are capable of. 

Did the pain the disciples endured when they thought all was lost change them? How could it not? The same men who bickered over status, betrayed Jesus and cowered in the Upper Room, became bold proclaimers of the Good News, healers of the sick and protectors of the widow. 

Some suffering cannot be avoided. But as we endure it, it can open us in love to others. And as Jesus tells us: “I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.” 

Ashley McKinless is an executive editor at America and co-host of the ‘Jesuitical’ podcast.