This Sunday’s readings: John 16:16-22

Reflections

‘Without pain, how could we know joy?’ This is an old argument in the field of thinking about suffering, and its stupidity and lack of sophistication could be plumbed for centuries but suffice it to say that the existence of broccoli does not, in any way, affect the taste of chocolate.
~ John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

Some of you say, “Joy is greater than sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.” But I say unto you, they are inseparable. Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.
~  Kahlil Gibran, 1883-1931,  Author, The Prophet

So, [can] joy be joy and sorrow can be sorrow, with neither of them casting either light or shadow on the other?
~  Marilynne Robinson, Author, Lila

When you numb your pain you also numb your joy.
~ Brené Brown, Lecturer/Author

I fear joy more than sorrow. Let me be clear, sorrow is not preferable, nor without dread, it’s that joy intensifies the awareness of other losses and increases our desire for what is to come. Joy boosts our sensitivity to life and death. But heartache, more often than not, dulls our senses and limits our vision of what is yet to come.
~ Dan Allender, Psychologist/Author