Mourning Into Dancing

Not the "Harlem Shake" nor the "Douggie" but a spontaneous folk dance of deep, simple joy.  That's what I imagine the prophet Jeremiah had in mind when he wrote, "I will turn their mourning into joy,/ I will console and gladden them after their sorrows." (Jer 31: 13).  Jeremiah suffered much like Jesus, rejected, placed in an empty cistern to die, so he knows well of what he wrote.  Many of us as well have faced huge, painful challenges in dealing with family, co-workers, our own inner struggles.  We wonder if we'll ever make it through.  Imagine what Jesus must have felt on the threshold of the week of his passion and death.  Perhaps he did hear the echo of Jeremiah's promise in the back of his head, but his agony in the garden the night before his crucifixion indicates that his pain was real, and only the angel of consolation could abate it and give him the strength to face the suffering ahead.  As predicted, the joy of Easter replaced his pain and the mourning of his followers.  Whatever we are facing today, may we find that same strength and perspective, and not be afraid to beg the assistance of that angel of consolation.  And, the more we take seriously the tone of Holy Week, the more we will feel like dancing on Easter.
Bro. Rene