Lamentations 3:22-33; 1 John 3:1-3; St John 16:16-22
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
They misunderstood much that fateful evening. Why He washed their feet. Of what true greatness consists. Of prayer in the garden and obedient sacrifice. His true glory and exodus to the Father. Minds consumed by selfishness and hearts 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.
But having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. Listen to how, in love, our Lord Jesus tenderly and compassionately catechizes His disciples. He 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 violently taken from them. Clapped in chains, prodded with clubs and swords, their dear 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; splayed out on the Cross like some grotesque trophy of their evil machinations. The devil and the world will mock and rejoice. They will think they have won; laughing as they dance on the grave of our dear Lord. But the disciples of Jesus will be consumed by grief and guilt, sorrow and pain.
But this is the very manner in which our Lord goes to the Father; by way of His Cross and Passion. He who came from the Father, full of grace and truth, now returns to the Father as He is lifted up from the earth in order to draw all men to Himself. For the Cross is our Lord’s true glory and in its proper light, the joyous icon of our salvation. To paraphrase St Paul, “God forbid that I should rejoice, except in the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ by which the world is crucified to me and I to the world” (Gal 6:14).
For the joy set before Him, Christ Jesus endured the Cross, despising its shame. Having received the Holy Spirit from the Father in His Baptism in the Jordan, the Son, in faithful obedience, has gone the way prepared for Him both in life and now in death. Lifted high upon the Cross the faithful Son goes to the self-same Father who forsakes Him. Though He be abandoned and neglected, His cries unheard by the Father, Jesus will not let go, but clings in firm trust and steadfast faith to the Word and promise of His Father. So that giving up His last breath, He hands over the Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God, back to the Father.
And yet, a little while - three short days- and they see Him again! The crucified and risen Lord Jesus shows them His hands and His side and their sorrow is turned to joy. He breathes upon them the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son; breathing life and peace and joy. For having received the Spirt back in the Resurrection of His flesh, Christ bestows Him upon His Apostles and the Church, in the very Word that He speaks. A spirit-filled, joyful Word of redemption and reconciliation.
It is this Word of Law and Gospel, repentance and forgiveness, that they are sent to proclaim to all creation, says the Gospel of St Mark. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies (Rm 8:20-23).
What does it mean to have the first fruits of the Spirit, yet groan eagerly for the redemption of our bodies? We shall hear more of the person and work of the Holy Spirit in the next two Sundays, but for now, be reminded of this: the spirit-filled Word of the crucified and risen Lord Jesus which He breathed on His Apostles that first Easter eve, is the self-same Spirit and Word which bespeaks you righteous, spoken by His pastors. For Jesus Christ, the firstborn of the dead, has given to His Church on earth the keys to forgive sins, to open the gates of heaven, to dispense the gifts of the Resurrection and the victory over death and the grave. What could be more joyous?!
And yet, you await the redemption, that is, the consumption of the close of the age, and the resurrection of your perfected, glorious and immortal bodies. Right now you feel the sore effects of sin and the curse of all creation. You feel it in your own bodies, not only in illness and disease, of loved ones being taken from you or you being taken from your loved ones, but also in your disordered desires; your unwanted lusts of the flesh, the warring of your conscience against temptation and sin. Even your very heart - which ought to rejoice in the Resurrection of our Lord Christ - condemns you of your sin.
Beloved, God is greater than your heart. See what kind of love the Father has given to you, that you should be called the children of God; and so you are. The reason why the world does not know you is that it did not know him. Beloved, you are God’s children now - adopted as heirs with Christ through the womb of Holy Baptism - and what you will be has not yet appeared; but you know that when He appears you shall be like Him, because you shall see Him as He is.
The “little while” and the “because I am going to the Father,” to which our Lord Jesus refers are not only references to His Cross and Passion, but also to His Ascension and enthronement at the right hand of His Father. Beloved, we live in the “little while” between our Lord’s ascension and His second Advent. And the Church, in her wisdom, has so arranged the lectionary to place this Gospel text before our eyes and ears this Fourth Sunday of Easter in order to strengthen and sustain you as you live between the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the resurrection of all flesh; in this “little while” as you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, experiencing sorrow without and within; living in the already, but not yet of this poor life of labor.
For though our Lord Jesus has gone away, He has not left you. And He has not taken your joy from you. All the First Article gifts of creation - the beauty of nature, the shining of the sun, the goodness of food and clothing and feeling the wind on your face as you race your bicycle down the sidewalk - all these are given for your joy and enjoyment. But there is more. As the Psalm sings, His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor His pleasure in the legs of a man, but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His steadfast love (Ps 147:11).
Though He has gone away, He has not abandoned you, but is with you and gives you to share in His life and love and joy, here in His Divine Service. Do not misunderstand what happens here, beloved, asking “What does this mean?” with confusion. Only consider how the liturgy of heaven is permeated with sin-destroying, Easter joy, as Christ Jesus not only teaches you, but comes to serve you in compassion and love.
You confess you sins and there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents (Lk 15:7); and receive the absolution, the joyous pronouncement that you shall not die, but live in the resurrection of Christ Jesus.
You sing the verses from Psalm 66: Jubilate! Sing 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, Jeremiah leading the way, the joyous promise that even in the midst of suffering and sorrow, the Lord will not cast off forever. Though He cause grief, He will have compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love.
The Psalm and Epistle rejoicing in the gifts Christ gives, even in the midst of suffering. More than that - even rejoicing in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance and so forth. Endurance and the other virtues are desperately needed while living here below.
We can’t neglect 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 an 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).
You, beloved, are the joy of the Lord. The joy for which Christ Jesus endured the Cross. The joy for which He ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father, and intercedes for you. The joy for which He will come again and take you to be with Him. You will see Him again, your Jesus, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
They misunderstood much that fateful evening. Why He washed their feet. Of what true greatness consists. Of prayer in the garden and obedient sacrifice. His true glory and exodus to the Father. Minds consumed by selfishness and hearts 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.
But having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. Listen to how, in love, our Lord Jesus tenderly and compassionately catechizes His disciples. He 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 violently taken from them. Clapped in chains, prodded with clubs and swords, their dear 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; splayed out on the Cross like some grotesque trophy of their evil machinations. The devil and the world will mock and rejoice. They will think they have won; laughing as they dance on the grave of our dear Lord. But the disciples of Jesus will be consumed by grief and guilt, sorrow and pain.
But this is the very manner in which our Lord goes to the Father; by way of His Cross and Passion. He who came from the Father, full of grace and truth, now returns to the Father as He is lifted up from the earth in order to draw all men to Himself. For the Cross is our Lord’s true glory and in its proper light, the joyous icon of our salvation. To paraphrase St Paul, “God forbid that I should rejoice, except in the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ by which the world is crucified to me and I to the world” (Gal 6:14).
For the joy set before Him, Christ Jesus endured the Cross, despising its shame. Having received the Holy Spirit from the Father in His Baptism in the Jordan, the Son, in faithful obedience, has gone the way prepared for Him both in life and now in death. Lifted high upon the Cross the faithful Son goes to the self-same Father who forsakes Him. Though He be abandoned and neglected, His cries unheard by the Father, Jesus will not let go, but clings in firm trust and steadfast faith to the Word and promise of His Father. So that giving up His last breath, He hands over the Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God, back to the Father.
And yet, a little while - three short days- and they see Him again! The crucified and risen Lord Jesus shows them His hands and His side and their sorrow is turned to joy. He breathes upon them the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son; breathing life and peace and joy. For having received the Spirt back in the Resurrection of His flesh, Christ bestows Him upon His Apostles and the Church, in the very Word that He speaks. A spirit-filled, joyful Word of redemption and reconciliation.
It is this Word of Law and Gospel, repentance and forgiveness, that they are sent to proclaim to all creation, says the Gospel of St Mark. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies (Rm 8:20-23).
What does it mean to have the first fruits of the Spirit, yet groan eagerly for the redemption of our bodies? We shall hear more of the person and work of the Holy Spirit in the next two Sundays, but for now, be reminded of this: the spirit-filled Word of the crucified and risen Lord Jesus which He breathed on His Apostles that first Easter eve, is the self-same Spirit and Word which bespeaks you righteous, spoken by His pastors. For Jesus Christ, the firstborn of the dead, has given to His Church on earth the keys to forgive sins, to open the gates of heaven, to dispense the gifts of the Resurrection and the victory over death and the grave. What could be more joyous?!
And yet, you await the redemption, that is, the consumption of the close of the age, and the resurrection of your perfected, glorious and immortal bodies. Right now you feel the sore effects of sin and the curse of all creation. You feel it in your own bodies, not only in illness and disease, of loved ones being taken from you or you being taken from your loved ones, but also in your disordered desires; your unwanted lusts of the flesh, the warring of your conscience against temptation and sin. Even your very heart - which ought to rejoice in the Resurrection of our Lord Christ - condemns you of your sin.
Beloved, God is greater than your heart. See what kind of love the Father has given to you, that you should be called the children of God; and so you are. The reason why the world does not know you is that it did not know him. Beloved, you are God’s children now - adopted as heirs with Christ through the womb of Holy Baptism - and what you will be has not yet appeared; but you know that when He appears you shall be like Him, because you shall see Him as He is.
The “little while” and the “because I am going to the Father,” to which our Lord Jesus refers are not only references to His Cross and Passion, but also to His Ascension and enthronement at the right hand of His Father. Beloved, we live in the “little while” between our Lord’s ascension and His second Advent. And the Church, in her wisdom, has so arranged the lectionary to place this Gospel text before our eyes and ears this Fourth Sunday of Easter in order to strengthen and sustain you as you live between the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the resurrection of all flesh; in this “little while” as you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, experiencing sorrow without and within; living in the already, but not yet of this poor life of labor.
For though our Lord Jesus has gone away, He has not left you. And He has not taken your joy from you. All the First Article gifts of creation - the beauty of nature, the shining of the sun, the goodness of food and clothing and feeling the wind on your face as you race your bicycle down the sidewalk - all these are given for your joy and enjoyment. But there is more. As the Psalm sings, His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor His pleasure in the legs of a man, but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His steadfast love (Ps 147:11).
Though He has gone away, He has not abandoned you, but is with you and gives you to share in His life and love and joy, here in His Divine Service. Do not misunderstand what happens here, beloved, asking “What does this mean?” with confusion. Only consider how the liturgy of heaven is permeated with sin-destroying, Easter joy, as Christ Jesus not only teaches you, but comes to serve you in compassion and love.
You confess you sins and there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents (Lk 15:7); and receive the absolution, the joyous pronouncement that you shall not die, but live in the resurrection of Christ Jesus.
You sing the verses from Psalm 66: Jubilate! Sing 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, Jeremiah leading the way, the joyous promise that even in the midst of suffering and sorrow, the Lord will not cast off forever. Though He cause grief, He will have compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love.
The Psalm and Epistle rejoicing in the gifts Christ gives, even in the midst of suffering. More than that - even rejoicing in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance and so forth. Endurance and the other virtues are desperately needed while living here below.
We can’t neglect 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 an 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).
You, beloved, are the joy of the Lord. The joy for which Christ Jesus endured the Cross. The joy for which He ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father, and intercedes for you. The joy for which He will come again and take you to be with Him. You will see Him again, your Jesus, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
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