Jubilate, 2023

Rev. Thomas Van Hemert

St. John 16:16-22

Jubilate

April 30, 2023

In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit.

We have all uttered the phrase or at least heard that “patience is a virtue.” We have told our impatient children, friends, spouses, or even our parents, that whatever it is that they’re expecting, they need to wait patiently for it. By calling patience a virtue, or a state of moral excellence, it leads people to believe that an ability to wait without becoming agitated or annoyed is an admirable quality. And certainly, it is. But we are not a patient people. Being patient, it seems, is not one of our virtues

We’d rather stream tv shows and movies at an instant instead of reading books because we don’t want to wait or put in the effort. We would rather buy things instantly on credit and go further and further into debt, rather than save up for that big purchase. We have computers in the form of cellphones in our pockets so that can look up the answer to just about question we have. We would rather use these, than go to the library and search out the answer by performing the work of physically doing research. And of course, we would much rather higher out or contract out a project to someone else either because we don’t want to do the work, or, we don’t know how and are too impatient to spend the time to learn. We are not a patient people.

It’s interesting to note that the disciples don’t seem to be that great at waiting patiently either. Even after they listened to Jesus’ teaching about who He truly was and for what purpose He had come, the Apostles still didn’t seem to fully grasp Jesus’ true purpose. Shortly after the Lord’s Resurrection, the Apostles gathered around Jesus and asked Him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” What they’re asking Him is this, “Listen Jesus. We’ve had to deal with these annoying Romans coming into Israel and harassing us all our lives. If you’re the true Messiah, the Christ, God’s anointed one, now will you finally do what we want you to do and destroy these Romans, kick them out, and restore Israel to her full splendor like that in the days of King David and King Solomon?” The Apostles are impatient. They want justice executed immediately upon their enemies. But they will have to wait. 

So also, in the Gospel reading for this day, Jesus tells them, “In a little while, and you will see me no longer; and again, a little while, and you will see me.” Now this didn’t sit well with the disciples. They did not know what Jesus was saying and they immediately began to try to figure out what He meant. They needed the answer. They wanted to know what Jesus meant by saying, “a little while.” What did that mean? How long would “a little while” be? Why would they no longer see him “for a little while” and then again “a little while” and they would see Him?

But the Lord, perceiving their thoughts, knows all. He tells them, “Truly, Truly, 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.” He tells them that even though they, the disciples, won’t see Him for a time, though they will weep and lament, the world will be glad and rejoice. They will be sorrowful but even their sorrow will turn into joy. What does this mean?

Jesus is going away. He must go to His Father through death, and so make atonement, that is payment, for the entire world. For a little while, no one sees Him. He will die and will be laid in the tomb. The disciples and the women, including Mary His Mother, Mary the mother of James and Salome, Mary Magdalene will all weep and lament. They will all be sorrowful on Good Friday. But this is His purpose. Because of this, the world rejoices. We rejoice. For a little while, everyone must wait. They must wait while Jesus rests in the tomb. But in the end, their sorrow did turn to joy. Jesus lives! The disciples saw their beloved teacher again. Mary, the Mother of our Lord, saw Her Son. She beheld Him once more, reunited with Her Son whom She loved. Their waiting must have seemed like an eternity. Jesus was cruelly beaten and bloodied, broken and defiled. He had no beauty. He died. But He lives. At this, the weary world rejoices.

When Jesus said, “In a little while, and you will see me no longer; and again, a little while, and you will see me,” Jesus was also foreshadowing His Ascension. For a little while, after His resurrection, everyone saw Him. They saw Him in the flesh, with the wounds of His cross still on Him. They beheld Him as He is, still to this day—our Risen Lord who comes to us as the Crucified one. An empty cross will not do. Jesus is forever tied to the cross. He is the Crucified One. Because it was on this altar of the cross that He offered Himself as the one time, final sacrifice for our sin.

But here in the Gospel reading, Jesus is also speaking concerning His Ascension. For a little while, they all saw Him. But in a little while, their eyes will gaze upon Him as He ascends into heaven in triumph. Then, again, for a little while, they will not see Him. Jesus prepares to go to His Father and to our Father. He goes to reign over all creation as our loving God. But in a little while, the disciples will see their Lord again. They will continue to live out their lives on earth, for a little while, in the midst of sadness, hardship, and death. All of them will pass through death into life, and they will behold their Lord again in His glory in heaven. 

This “little while” was actually not a little while. It was a long period of time. “A little while” turned out to be many years that the disciples, that Mary, and the rest of the others had to endure through all the terrible events that this sinful world threw at them. It was not over and done. Jesus didn’t ascend into heaven and then immediately take all of us into heaven to be with Him. The disciples and Mary had to wait patiently. They had to endure. They waited much longer than it takes for our food to come to our table at the restaurant, or that long obnoxious line at the D.O.T. or at the courthouse. They waited through disease, through famine; through trials and tribulation. They endured the deaths of loved ones, of children and spouses. They waited in sorrow to see their Lord again. And we must wait with them.

We want, “a little while” to be just that—minutes and seconds. We want to stress the “little” and ignore the “while.” We want to be able to see the end, the finish line, the light at the end of the tunnel. We don’t want to have to sit in the hospital waiting room, waiting for the x-rays and test results, wondering what the diagnosis will be. We don’t like to wait on lawyers to figure out how much inheritance is coming to us, and we don’t want to wait on that sleazy funeral director to hand us an astronomical bill. 

We are not a patient people. Patience is not one of our virtues. We love to complain about the slightest inconvenience and sometimes, admittedly, it seems as if our complaining and lamenting is justified. And some of it may be! Jesus told the disciples that they will be sorrowful and lament. He was also talking to us. It’s ok to be sorrowful. It’s ok to lament, to complain to God that there’s too much sin and injustice in the world. For there is a time for everything—a time for joy, a time for sadness. But there’s also a time for tears and for mourning. That’s why we desire the end of all things. We are longing for the end of all injustice, all sin and death. We want to gaze upon our Lord with our eyes. We desire and long for the Day of the Lord. And Jesus is coming. He is coming to judge the world with righteousness and will judge the peoples with equity. But until then, we wait. We live on this side of glory. Waiting upon the Lord is something we must do on this side of the Resurrection of our bodies.

Now, there is one more verse that the Gospel reading doesn’t usually include. That’s verse 23 of chapter 16. In verse 23, Jesus follows up and says, “In that day, you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, He will give it to you.” So ask! Lean on Him. Depend on Him. Pray without ceasing. Bring forth your complaints, your laments, your sorrows to God. God wants to hear your petitions. You can as of Him as dear children ask of their dear Father. Ask for forgiveness, no matter what you have done. It can be forgiven! It is already forgiven. Jesus took up your sins and destroyed them on the cross. He loves you. Have you complained to God that there’s too much injustice in the world? Or that it wasn’t fair that He took your child, your spouse, or your grandmother from you? We all deeply desire to be reunited with those who have gone before us in the faith. We can’t stand the waiting. We just want them back, to be reunited with those whom we love. But the Proper Preface, in the communion liturgy, has a beautiful line, a beautiful phrase. “Therefore, with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify your glorious name…” and so on and so forth. This means that even though our loved ones who have departed with the sign of faith are not physically present in this world because their bodies are dead and buried in the earth, their souls bask in the presence of God, they are present with God and the angels and archangels in the Holy Communion. All who we love who have gone before us with the sign of faith are present next to you during the Lord’s Supper. God is there. Jesus is there. So is the whole company of heaven—your grandparents, your spouse, your children.

We aren’t the most patient creatures and God knows this. But despite our failures, Jesus lives. He walked out of the grave as though a guard or a stone or a seal could hold Him in. And because of this, now He gives us a foretaste of what’s to come. He gives us a brief moment throughout our week where we can truly experience and receive forgiveness of sins and fellowship with the company of heaven in the midst of this living death.

We don’t have to wait day after day, week after week, year after year to receive the promises of God. We don’t have to wait impatiently for a little while or for days upon end to be reunited with our loved ones. We are here. They are here. We behold them. We can’t explain how but we know, in faith, they’re here and so are we.

And so also will the day come when this veil of tears will be pulled away from our eyes and we will see the heavenly host clearly with our eyes. But for a little while, we must wait in sorrow and gloom. We are in the midst of that phrase—a little while. Yet, we can see the end. We know it’s coming. Jesus has promised the disciples that they will see Him again and so also He has promised this to us. And even so, we are ever without Him. He has promised that He is always with us, even to the end of the age. For He promises, “Lo, I am with you always, even in the midst of tears and sadness, even though you walk through the valley of this death. Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.”

In +Jesus’ name.