Isaiah 40:25-31/1 Peter 2:11-20/St John 16:16-22
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
They misunderstood much that fateful evening. Why He washed their feet. Who would betray Him. Prayer in the garden. Minds consumed with grief and warped by sin cannot comprehend the things of God, indeed, they are folly to them. What does He mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what He is talking about.
Listen to how our Lord Jesus, in His tender compassion for them, catechizes them, prepares them for the future, and gently instructs them in what is to come. Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. For in a little while - mere hours - He will be forcibly and violently taken from them. In chains, prodded with clubs and swords, their Jesus will be hauled before the Sanhedrin, then before the governor, then the Tetrarch. Finally He shall be brutally killed by vengeful men who sought His life. The devil and the world will mock and rejoice. But they will be consumed by grief and guilt, sorrow and pain.
And then, a little while, and they shall see Him and their sorrow shall be turned to joy; a sin destroying Easter joy that can never be taken away from them! A death-defying, life-giving triumphant joy in the midst of this dying world! Viewed this side of the resurrection, it is but three short days. Though for them, in the midst of their sorrow, it seemed never ending. So too for you. For the moment all suffering seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it (Heb 12:1).
And after His resurrection He is with them; eating and drinking, revealing Himself in the breaking of the bread, opening their minds to understand the Scriptures, bestowing faith and hope and love and joy to their downtrodden hearts. For forty days He continues to catechize and enlighten them with His Word and Spirit. But then, a little while, and they will see Him no longer because He is going to the Father. Are they then left in sorrow and without joy?
In her wisdom the Church has placed this Gospel text before our eyes and ears this Fourth Sunday of Easter in order to strengthen you, to encourage and prepare you by the Word of our Lord to come down from this enormous high of the Feast of the Resurrection.
It is common to crash and sink deep in despair following a wonderful, ecstatic experience. You cannot remain on the mountain forever, you must return to the valley. And that is where you live and walk - in the valley of the shadow of death. In this “little while” between Pentecost and the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Weeping and lamenting, in the midst of sorrow, this poor life of labor. Does this mean that you are without joy? Hardly.
Only consider the Divine Service and the joyful gifts of Christ that are bestowed to you here. You come, confessing your sins, weeping and lamenting over your utter inability to keep the Law, and in faith and joy you receive the Holy Absolution, that Easter eve greeting of Christ, who says, “Peace be with you; your sins are removed by My sacrificial death and My resurrection from the dead.” Indeed, There is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance (Lk 15:7).
And today you sing the verses from Psalm 66: Jubilate! Sin for joy to God! Sing the glory of His Name! Tell of His wondrous deeds! - the Exodus, the manna, and now the Cross and Passion - and the Easter alleluias invade and permeate the song of the Introit.
And then the readings, Isaiah leading the way, the joyous promise of the Lord spoken by the prophet: He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not be faint. A joy that comes in strength given by the Lord Himself to those who wait upon His Word, entrusting themselves to Him.
And the Psalm sang, He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds; for His pleasure and joy is in you, those who fear Him. Then St Peter addressing you as sojourners, wanderers like Israel, who may feel left without joy, experiencing only sorrow and he says, If when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a joyous thing in the sight of God.
We can’t passover the Easter sequence hymn, that expanded Alleluia, “Christians to the Paschal Victim.” “Christ is arisen, so let our joy rise full and free; Christ our comfort true will be!” This leads right into the Gospel - a little while and they saw Him, back from death to life, passing through that narrow ascent of the grave to life and immortality, their hearts rejoicing and joy abounding!
After the readings and the sermon, you sing with King David, Restore to me the joy of your salvation. And again, in the Prayer of the Church, in joyful thanksgiving you make your petitions to the Father through the Son in the Spirit. And by the self-same Trinity lift up your hearts in joy unto the Lord, taking the Cup of Salvation and calling on the Name of the Lord.
In joy of sins forgiven and life and salvation bestowed, you give thanks to the Lord for His goodness and mercy that endureth forever. He puts His Name upon you - Father-Son-Holy Spirit - blessing and keeping you, granting you His peace, and so too all the other fruits of the Spirit: love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control, and joy!
Do you see? This is a joy that cannot be manufactured. It cannot be conjured up or faked. And it cannot be chased down, caught, and contained. As we raced through the Divine Service we aren’t chasing the elusive joy, but rather the source of all joy: Jesus Christ and the full and free forgiveness of sins that comes in His shed blood. Faith clings to Him. Not to joy. Does He not say, I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice? Joy is the fruit that springs from faith laying hold of Jesus Christ, even as He presents Himself to you here in His Service through His living Word and His Body and Blood. So it is that even in the midst of sorrow, faith lays hold of Christ, and according to His mercy and strength, has joy. As the author to the Hebrews writes, Therefore, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb 12:1-2).
Beloved, you have sorrow now. As nations rage and the peoples plot in vain, as you put your loved ones into the earth and you suffer unjustly for upholding and defending that which is good, right, and salutary, you have sorrow. But it is only a little while. For your present suffering and sorrow is nothing compared to the glory that shall be revealed and bestowed upon you at the Last (cf Rm 8:18). Even creation groans in birth pains with you, subjected to a futile sorrow that shall give way to an immense freedom of the glory of the children of God.
Beloved, you are God’s children now. You have passed through the narrow ascent of the baptismal womb, dying and rising with Christ your Head. He is the First fruits from the dead. Come then and receive of the bounty of His Tree of Life - His Body and Blood received with your mouths that covers your heart and causes you to rejoice. Here is a gladness that has no end and a joy that no one can take from you.
Be of good cheer dear ones, your little while is but a little longer. Live as people who are free as living servant of God. Be mindful of God, endure sorrow. You shall see your Jesus again.
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
They misunderstood much that fateful evening. Why He washed their feet. Who would betray Him. Prayer in the garden. Minds consumed with grief and warped by sin cannot comprehend the things of God, indeed, they are folly to them. What does He mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what He is talking about.
Listen to how our Lord Jesus, in His tender compassion for them, catechizes them, prepares them for the future, and gently instructs them in what is to come. Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. For in a little while - mere hours - He will be forcibly and violently taken from them. In chains, prodded with clubs and swords, their Jesus will be hauled before the Sanhedrin, then before the governor, then the Tetrarch. Finally He shall be brutally killed by vengeful men who sought His life. The devil and the world will mock and rejoice. But they will be consumed by grief and guilt, sorrow and pain.
And then, a little while, and they shall see Him and their sorrow shall be turned to joy; a sin destroying Easter joy that can never be taken away from them! A death-defying, life-giving triumphant joy in the midst of this dying world! Viewed this side of the resurrection, it is but three short days. Though for them, in the midst of their sorrow, it seemed never ending. So too for you. For the moment all suffering seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it (Heb 12:1).
And after His resurrection He is with them; eating and drinking, revealing Himself in the breaking of the bread, opening their minds to understand the Scriptures, bestowing faith and hope and love and joy to their downtrodden hearts. For forty days He continues to catechize and enlighten them with His Word and Spirit. But then, a little while, and they will see Him no longer because He is going to the Father. Are they then left in sorrow and without joy?
In her wisdom the Church has placed this Gospel text before our eyes and ears this Fourth Sunday of Easter in order to strengthen you, to encourage and prepare you by the Word of our Lord to come down from this enormous high of the Feast of the Resurrection.
It is common to crash and sink deep in despair following a wonderful, ecstatic experience. You cannot remain on the mountain forever, you must return to the valley. And that is where you live and walk - in the valley of the shadow of death. In this “little while” between Pentecost and the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Weeping and lamenting, in the midst of sorrow, this poor life of labor. Does this mean that you are without joy? Hardly.
Only consider the Divine Service and the joyful gifts of Christ that are bestowed to you here. You come, confessing your sins, weeping and lamenting over your utter inability to keep the Law, and in faith and joy you receive the Holy Absolution, that Easter eve greeting of Christ, who says, “Peace be with you; your sins are removed by My sacrificial death and My resurrection from the dead.” Indeed, There is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance (Lk 15:7).
And today you sing the verses from Psalm 66: Jubilate! Sin for joy to God! Sing the glory of His Name! Tell of His wondrous deeds! - the Exodus, the manna, and now the Cross and Passion - and the Easter alleluias invade and permeate the song of the Introit.
And then the readings, Isaiah leading the way, the joyous promise of the Lord spoken by the prophet: He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not be faint. A joy that comes in strength given by the Lord Himself to those who wait upon His Word, entrusting themselves to Him.
And the Psalm sang, He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds; for His pleasure and joy is in you, those who fear Him. Then St Peter addressing you as sojourners, wanderers like Israel, who may feel left without joy, experiencing only sorrow and he says, If when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a joyous thing in the sight of God.
We can’t passover the Easter sequence hymn, that expanded Alleluia, “Christians to the Paschal Victim.” “Christ is arisen, so let our joy rise full and free; Christ our comfort true will be!” This leads right into the Gospel - a little while and they saw Him, back from death to life, passing through that narrow ascent of the grave to life and immortality, their hearts rejoicing and joy abounding!
After the readings and the sermon, you sing with King David, Restore to me the joy of your salvation. And again, in the Prayer of the Church, in joyful thanksgiving you make your petitions to the Father through the Son in the Spirit. And by the self-same Trinity lift up your hearts in joy unto the Lord, taking the Cup of Salvation and calling on the Name of the Lord.
In joy of sins forgiven and life and salvation bestowed, you give thanks to the Lord for His goodness and mercy that endureth forever. He puts His Name upon you - Father-Son-Holy Spirit - blessing and keeping you, granting you His peace, and so too all the other fruits of the Spirit: love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control, and joy!
Do you see? This is a joy that cannot be manufactured. It cannot be conjured up or faked. And it cannot be chased down, caught, and contained. As we raced through the Divine Service we aren’t chasing the elusive joy, but rather the source of all joy: Jesus Christ and the full and free forgiveness of sins that comes in His shed blood. Faith clings to Him. Not to joy. Does He not say, I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice? Joy is the fruit that springs from faith laying hold of Jesus Christ, even as He presents Himself to you here in His Service through His living Word and His Body and Blood. So it is that even in the midst of sorrow, faith lays hold of Christ, and according to His mercy and strength, has joy. As the author to the Hebrews writes, Therefore, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb 12:1-2).
Beloved, you have sorrow now. As nations rage and the peoples plot in vain, as you put your loved ones into the earth and you suffer unjustly for upholding and defending that which is good, right, and salutary, you have sorrow. But it is only a little while. For your present suffering and sorrow is nothing compared to the glory that shall be revealed and bestowed upon you at the Last (cf Rm 8:18). Even creation groans in birth pains with you, subjected to a futile sorrow that shall give way to an immense freedom of the glory of the children of God.
Beloved, you are God’s children now. You have passed through the narrow ascent of the baptismal womb, dying and rising with Christ your Head. He is the First fruits from the dead. Come then and receive of the bounty of His Tree of Life - His Body and Blood received with your mouths that covers your heart and causes you to rejoice. Here is a gladness that has no end and a joy that no one can take from you.
Be of good cheer dear ones, your little while is but a little longer. Live as people who are free as living servant of God. Be mindful of God, endure sorrow. You shall see your Jesus again.
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.
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