The Fourth Sunday of Easter - Jubilate - May 15, 2011

The Church Season of Easter,
Easter 4, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (May 15, 2011)

Readings:   
        Psalm 147:1-11   
        Isaiah 40:25-31   
        1 Peter 2:11-20
        John 16:16-22

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Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today’s message will be from the Gospel lesson as recorded in the 10th chapter of St. John, especially the following verses:

John 16:16-22 (NIV)

16 “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” 17 Some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

Alleluia, Christ is Risen!  He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Just how long is 'a little while'?  Do you ever remember when you were young asking your parents a question of great importance?  Like...Mom, Dad, when can we go?  In a little while.  How long before we get home?  Just a little while.  When can I eat my candy, when will we stop for ice cream, when will it stop raining, can I ride my bicycle now?  The answer always seemed to be, "in a little while." But no matter how many times you asked and no matter how many times your parents answered, “a little while” always seemed to feel like an eternity.  But, you know, we are not the only ones who have had trouble with that answer “in a little while.”  The disciples did not understand it either.  In fact they admitted to each other that they didn’t know what Jesus was talking about. 

We all know that that little phrase, "A little while" can be and usually is, a deliberately ambiguous term used to refer to an unknown period of time.  It could be minutes, hours, days, months, or even years long.  And usually it also means that we’re going to have to suffer a bit before the coming time of great joy.  

When Jesus used this phrase, He was indeed speaking about the life of the Christian.  He expected, His disciples would understand that He was pointing to His death and resurrection.  So the words certainly fit.  The joy, the sorrow, the new joy that describes what they went through in that short period.  But the message was also about the life of every Christian. 

The life of every Christian has assorted sorrows.  Sorrow over sin, sorrow over being caught in sin, sorrow over the corruption of the world around us, sorrow due to the persecution, sorrow over loss, pain, conflicts, and just over the flat out evilness in the world.  At the same time every one of you also knows that this life is not a life of never ending sorrow.  We know there are common joys of life.  We have families and friends, good times, and the pleasures of life. But with every pleasure there also comes the potential for a sorrow.  There are times we feel only the joys, and we rejoice and thank God easily.  Then there are other times when we feel the sorrow and that’s when we want to blame God or wonder why we think He is absent from us.

Some of our sorrows are because of what we have done, and some of them come to us for what we have not done.  Perhaps we did something that, upon reflection, we regret.  Perhaps we did something enjoyable and realized later that we did something other that we ought to have done - or merely could have done.  These are the "guilty" pleasures.  Everyone feels them, to some extent. 

And sometimes our sorrow leads us to repentance.  That is the will of God, that we should know that we should not feel smug in our sin.  Reflection upon our lives brings sorrow for what we have done.  Such sorrow is the purpose of the preaching of the Law.  The Law always accuses, so that we may know our sins, repent, and eagerly look for a Savior who forgives us from our sins.  The goal is that we may realize we have the Savior that we need in Jesus Christ, who on the cross, paid for our sins and redeemed us. 

There is also sorrow of persecution even though we know there has always persecution, it doesn’t make it any easier.  But remember Jesus said, "In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."  The people of this world persecuted Jesus, so why should we expect anything less? The only ones excepted from this hatred and persecution are hypocrites - you know, unbelievers who parade about as Christians but who are not.  True believers will suffer tribulation and persecution, that is to say, sorrow for being the disciple of Jesus Christ.

And when that persecution comes for you it will manifest itself into your lives in many forms.  Some will face social discrimination, some mocking, some will face gossip, and some will face vicious attacks for standing firmly on the Truth.  You may face criticism for speaking about morality and for an unwillingness to compromise the Word of God.  Some Christians have and will face physical assault, beatings, and even death.  Others may face financial ruin, and many face hardship in every phase of their daily lives.  Some of these tribulations you have experienced some you have not.  But when any of it happens it is painful. 

All these are examples are the sorrows of which Jesus spoke about, the ones that we would have for "a little while" in our lives.  That "little while" is our life here on earth.  While we live in this world of sin and pain and sorrow, we will have sorrows. 

But that little child in us still wants to ask the question, how long must we sorrow?  I don’t know, “just a little while.”  Some people have short lives, some live long lives.  But what I do know is what follows our sorrows and that is joy.

For Jesus died and lived that “little while.”  In His “little while” in our midst He preached and taught, He healed, He cried, He suffered on the cross died and was buried and rose again on the third day.  Our sins have the consequence of punishment and death, but Jesus has paid the price to erase our sorrows.  He died our death, the death that the Law of God demands for sin.  Now we are given the everlasting life that His holy life earned for us.  In Jesus Christ, we are given a life beyond pain and sorrow, without any further sickness or trouble, a life with no end and no death.  It is the gift of God in the Gospel, received and possessed by those that know about it, and take God at His Word and trust in Him with all their heart, and all their strength, and all their mind, and all their life.  In other words, it is freely given to those who believe.

This life in glory with Christ this is the joy of which Jesus spoke.  This is the joy that your present sorrow will be turned into.  You will close your eyes in death and open them in the presence of Jesus Christ with great joy!  It will be the joy of the transformation from death into life, and from this world into the world of glory with Jesus and life - and even resurrection of our old, tired bones - except in that resurrection they will no longer be old - or tired, but renewed and refreshed and transformed and outfitted for eternal life.

We cannot defeat these sorrows by our own works or efforts, and for that we rejoice for they have already been conquered.  The victory is ours, through Jesus Christ.  We cannot stop their present destructiveness, although we can refuse to participate in it or help it along.  We are called to bear the cross, faithfully and hopefully.  We are called to trust in Jesus Christ, that all that He has promised is true, and that He will not allow us to bear more than we are able to endure. 

One day, everything will be clear and plain and obvious to us.  On that day we will have and will understand the great joy of salvation.  Then all of this joy combined with sadness, happiness with challenge, will all make sense and be worth it!  That is the day of great joy toward which we look forward.

On that day, we will look back and see that it was just a little sorrow and a lot of joy!  In just a little while, we will see Jesus.  Jesus promised His disciples that their sorrow would turn to joy.  Like them, we too shall taste tears.  Because Jesus promises us that our tears in the end will become joy.  Jesus said, "Therefore you too now have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you."  Therefore, do not sorrow for whatever makes you anxious about any “little while” that you must face.  Know that Jesus Christ gave up His life for you that His grace may endure in you for much, much more than a little while, in fact it won’t seem like an eternity, it will be an eternity, for you.  Amen.

Alleluia, Christ is Risen!  He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
 

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
 

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