BROKEN BUT BLESSED

Readings: Rev 10:8-11; Lk 19:45-48

A woman gives birth; she is in pain, yet she feels joy. Some things are bitter and sweet at the same time. Christian life is bitter and sweet at the same time, a truth symbolically expressed in the book of Revelation. The angel asked St John to eat the scroll saying, “Take it and eat; it will be bitter to your stomach but sweet” (Rev 10:10). The scroll of the Gospel is sweet because it proclaims the great triumph of Jesus Christ through his resurrection, a triumph in which the whole Church shares. It is bitter because the triumph was achieved through sufferings and death, and the people of the Church must share in his sufferings too. No Christian escapes a taste of wilderness on the way to the Promised Land. How willing are we to struggle and suffer in the present to attain eternal life in the future? Do we feel at times broken by God? That is part of God’s plan, especially if he wants to use us for the good of othe, Out of our brokenness, blessings can be bestowed on more people than we ever dreamed possible. If the hand of God has broken you, you can be certain nothing will be wasted. God will gather üp and use all the hurts both for you and for others; not a bit will be discarded or cast aside. Good Friday  is both bitter and sweet.