NOTES for Joh 16:16-20
Jesus says, “You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.” We are so used to these words that we no longer notice that the logical connection is not actually obvious. The usual logic would be: “There will be problems now, but do not worry; later everything will work itself out and all will be well.” Jesus, however, says that the very thing that caused the sorrow will also become the cause of joy; without the sorrow, there will be no joy either. Indeed, there can be no Easter Sunday without Good Friday. In the life of each one of us, too, there are moments when we must pass through and live through something very frightening and painful, because through this lesser death the Lord will grant us resurrection.