John 16:16-22

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

The disciples' hearts were filled with sadness. They had left their homes behind. They had given up everything to be with Jesus. He was their home now. Wherever he went, they followed. And being with him was enough. Hearing His voice, sometimes so gentle and sometimes so stern. Seeing His eyes, sometimes filled with laughter and sometimes sparking in anger. He was their home. But now He says that He is going away and that they cannot come with Him. He tries to help them understand. "I am not leaving forever. I am going to the Father. You will not see me. But then you will see me. Truly you will have sorrow. You will cry and weep, and the world will go on oblivious to your pain, in its own happiness. But though you will be sorrowful, your sorrow will be turned into joy."

The look on their faces must have told him that they did not understand, that they were not following what he was trying to say to them. So he explained further. "Look, it's like this. A woman, when she is in labor has sorrow because her hour has come. She's in pain. It hurts badly. But it doesn't hurt forever. There comes the moment when the little baby is laid beside her and she looks into his face. She touches his little hands. She clasps him to her bosom and her joy is total and complete. The sorrow is forgotten. The pain is remembered no more. The anguish is worth it. Her heart swells with joy that a human being has been born, her little baby."

He looks around at their faces. "Do you understand now?" There is the beginning of understanding written on their faces. They understood what he has just said, but they are not sure of how it applies to them. So he goes on:

"That's how it is with you and me. Now you will have sorrow. Your heart will feel as though its being ripped in two. You will cry out in your pain because of what's about to happen to me. You are going to lose your home for a little while. You are going to lose your companion and Teacher for a little while. You are going to be alone for a little while. . . A little while. Do you hear that? Cling to that. It may seem like forever, but through the hours and days to come, keep saying to yourself: ‘a little while, just a little while.' Because I will see you again.

"Though death bars the way, though the grave closes its gates upon me, I will see you again. Me. The one speaking to you now. Not a phantom. Not a ghost. But Me, the flesh and blood Me that you have known these three years. I will burst the gates of death and hell, and you will see Me again when the time of sorrow is through; and when you do–and you will–such joy will fill your heart. Such happiness will flood your very being that you will be forever changed. You will have planted in you a joy that no one and nothing has the power to take away. You will see me again. And then you will understand. You will have joy abounding, joy forever."

So here we are, the disciples of Jesus, gathered in His presence to hear His words some 2000 years later; and the words that He speaks in today's Gospel are still alive and true for us today. For a little while you will have sorrow in this world; but your sorrow, too, will be turned to joy.

However, if we're honest, those are words that we sometimes find hard to believe. Perhaps, because we've heard them so often before. Those words, "a little while," start to sound repetitive. Even in today's Gospel reading, we hear them over and over. Seven times we hear the words "a little while." Just wait a little while more. We know that Jesus has prepared a place for us in heaven at some point in the future. But quite frankly, we'd like a little help on earth right now, thank you very much. A little while can seem awfully long, and nothing ever seems to change. The truth is, we're not always so sure that there really is the joy coming that Jesus has promised. All this talk about some future joy can start to feel like just a myth and a fairy tale after a while. Has that thought ever entered into your head?

Repent. Repent of your impatience and unbelief. The Lord knows how hard it is for you to wait. He knows how long the days can seem when you're alone or when you're in physical pain or there's illness or disease that just won't go away or keeps getting worse. He knows how tired you are from running here and there and constantly working just to make ends meet and how much you want to just rest and be at peace. He knows how your old Adam hangs around your neck continually tempting you and dragging you down, and how much you want to be free of that and to be released from all the sinful, messed-up, corrupt, distorted, upside-down, immoral garbage of this fallen world. And that time is coming. It really is; just a little while. The Lord has reasons for His delay, not the least of which is that He desires all to come to repentance. So pray for penitent hearts. And pray for patience; not as I once heard someone jokingly say, "Lord, I want the gift of patience, and I want it now!" Pray for the strength in Christ to endure what you must until all your burdens are lifted when He comes again.

Wait on the Lord. That's really a faith word, "wait." The Lord doesn't just ask you to wait, but to wait on Him, in other words, to trust in Him, to hope in Him, to wait in expectation of Him fulfilling His words and His promises to you. The Scriptures are full of verses that speak of this, and we heard some of them of them earlier: "The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." Isaiah said, "Those who wait on 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 faint." And the Psalmist prays, "Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart."

Those exhortations to wait on the Lord and trust in Him are true and good because of what Jesus did during the little while when His disciples didn't see Him. When He was separated from them for a time, it was then that He bore their sicknesses and carried their sins and their sorrows–and ours–and so it is that by His wounds we are healed, forgiven, made whole. The time of sorrow was necessary; it was more than worth it. For by it our salvation was won. It is the very reason that we now have joy, the joy of the resurrection and eternal life.

So do you see? In this fallen world that is under the curse of our sin, the little while of sorrow is necessary in order for all things to be brought to their fulfillment. There is the pain of labor before there is the joy of birth. There is the little while of the cross before there is the unending while of Easter. And that is something you feel and experience in a very real way. It is written in Romans 8 that all creation groans and labors with birth pangs, and that we groan within ourselves eagerly waiting for the redemption of our bodies in the resurrection. If this old creation is groaning with birth pangs, that means that the new creation is about to come to life. Romans 8 also says that the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings that are too deep for words. The Spirit of God is with us to sustain and strength and comfort us until we come to the Last Day when all groaning is left behind forever. St. Paul writes, "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Rom. 8:18).

You can't see Christ now, but you will. And that divine vision will make all the difference for you. It is written in 1 John, "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. But we know that when (Jesus) is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." Simply beholding Christ will transform you to be like Himself. Just as you are like Him in this world, partaking of His cross, so also you will be just like Christ in the world to come, partaking bodily of His divine nature and glory. We don't know exactly what that will be like. But we know that it will be better than we can even imagine.

Think of it this way: If an unborn baby had the ability to communicate with those outside the womb, it might find it difficult not only to imagine but also to believe what it hears about its future existence on earth. All the reports about light, space, stars, mountains, trees, skyscrapers, animals, and other people like itself might seem too good to be true. Only at the time of birth and afterwards does the child learn how magnificently true it all is. So we Christians, who still live in the womb of time, might find it difficult not only to imagine but also to believe the glowing accounts in God's Word about our future heavenly existence–the promises of eternal life, likeness to Christ, dwelling with angels in glory, and so forth. But on the day of Christ's return, we will be overwhelmed with the reality of it. For that day will be our birth into the eternal heavenly life.

One more thing: You might think to yourselves, "Well it wasn't really so hard for the disciples to wait. After all, for them it really was just a little while, only three days. For us, it's months and years and lifetimes." But is it really different? What about after Easter? Jesus appeared to them Easter evening, then the next Sunday and the Sunday following, until He ascended on the 40th day, and they saw Him no more, either. What is it that continued to sustain them, then? Isn't it the same thing that continues to sustain us? Jesus didn't stop coming to His disciples. It really was only a little while, and He was back among them in His words and in the Supper of His body and blood. And He is back among us, too, today in the very same way. You really only must endure a little while out there in the world before you see Jesus here. He comes to you again and again to turn your sorrow to joy, to take away your guilt and uncleanness, to give you His holiness and His dignity. Your sins are forgiven. You are a beloved child of God. The Lord is with you. He is here for you in the Sacrament to strengthen you in your pilgrim journey. It really is only a little while and He will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.

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

(With thanks to the Rev. William Weedon for most of the narrative at the beginning of this sermon)