Friday 19 May, 2023 | Sixth Week of Easter |Readings: Acts 18:9-18; Psalm 46(47):2-7; John 16:20-23 (You can find these in full on the Universalis website – Click here)
C.S Lewis, the renowned author of the The Chronicles of Narnia, also wrote many Christian books for adults, including the book, A Grief Observed which was written following the death of his wife, Joy. In grappling with his grief, he wrote, “When I lay these questions before God I get no answer. But a rather special sort of ‘No answer.’ It is not the locked door. It is more like a silent, certainly not uncompassionate, gaze. As though He shook His head not in refusal but waiving the question. Like, ‘Peace, child; you don’t understand.”
In the gospel reading, Jesus acknowledges the sadness the disciples are presently experiencing. He does not attempt to belittle or dismiss their sadness. It is not overlooked. Jesus addresses this sadness in a direct yet gentle way. “You are sad now, but I shall see you again, and your hearts will be full of joy, and that joy no one shall take from you.” Jesus offers them a way forward, through which the present sadness will give way to joy that will last for ever. It is a future joy, a promise of God that there is more to come, when things will be so clear and so beautiful that no more questions will need to be asked.
There are often times when we may be weighed down by sadness or find it difficult to move on. There is no need to pretend with God or to put on a brave face. We come to him as we are, with all our fears and concerns, with our emotions and vulnerabilities. In exploring his own sense of pain and sadness, C.S. Lewis experienced the apparent silence which comes from God when we throw our questions at him, and which can sometimes leave us feeling abandoned or uncared for. It can throw our faith into confusion and cause us to doubt. But this silence, he said “is not the locked door. It is more like a silent, certainly not uncompassionate, gaze. As though He shook His head not in refusal but waiving the question. Like, ‘Peace, child; you don’t understand.”
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