Reading: John 16:16-28, Your Sorrow Will Turn Into Joy
Two things stick out to me in this passage. The first comes from the first verse in this section: Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” Upon hearing this, and upon a certain familiarity with the events that are about to unfold, it is easy for me to think that all this means is that Jesus will be crucified and that Jesus will rise again. But when I read this story again this morning, I can’t help but wonder if this is the only meaning for us in these words. It is clear that when Jesus was taken from the cross and placed in a tomb he was with his disciples no more. But what about many of us today who pray to God and God remains silent (Mark 15:34)? Have you ever felt or questioned if God is really with you? Isn’t the honest Christian the one who can say that more often than not, our eyes do not see and our ears do not hear?
“In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
As Christians we contend, if you can’t see God you are living into the experience that Jesus is preparing his disciples for… And if you can’t see God, you are living into the experience that Jesus experienced on the cross…
And if you can see God, you are living into the experience that Jesus prepared his disciples for AFTER a time where they could not see Jesus…
Those who praise Jesus are not the ones who have lived without doubt or without need, but those who have persisted through a time of not seeing Jesus, until after a little while, they have seen and encountered the RESURRECTED LORD!
Second, I wanted to point to verse 22, “…Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”
I want to put these words (borrowed from a Pastor in Philadelphia) alongside our current cultural moment:
“According to the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, this week will nationally be the worst week for Covid-19 infections in the US. Any situation, good or bad, has its peak just before things change. As a wise person once reminded us, “It’s always darkest before dawn.” Things always seem worse just before they get better. This was also the worst week for Jesus. Arrested, denied, tried, betrayed, beaten, accused, lied on, abandoned, mocked, scourged, questioned, nailed, flogged, stabbed, laughed at, crucified, dead, and buried. But I will remind you, that on the first day of the next week…….” -Pastor Cean James, Grace Christian Fellowship
I don’t claim to know that our curve will flatten starting next week or on Easter Sunday, but I do know that Christians have a story that knows a thing or two about grief and loss. Christians, as far as I am aware, are also the only ones who can claim that our God came and EMBODIED pain and grief. For most gods, God is supposed to be above death, and above suffering…. But our God is the God of heaven AND earth! Of grief, and JOY! A God of death AND resurrection–for how could resurrection even be possible without DEATH….
So church, this week may we journey with Christ through HIS story in a world that is more similar to our own than our midwestern niceness would often admit… May we earnestly grieve and earnestly pray so that we may see God, and so that no one may take away our joy (John 16:22). Our cultural moment couldn’t line up much better with the story of our Christian faith this week. May God give us the strength in life’s trials for a little while longer so we may have joy in the day when we see Jesus more clearly.
Reflection Questions:
In this moment or season can you see God? If so, how have you seen him? If not, pray that the words of this Scripture that in a little while (however long that may be) you will see Jesus just as he promised his disciples.
Are there areas of your life or our cultural moment you are grieving? Is it possible that sitting with our grief, confessing to God and one another, might be a necessary step towards joy? Even if this sounds hard or crazy, would you do it if Jesus asked you?
Reflection song. It’s REAL good 🙂 LaShun Pace – I Know I’ve Been Changed
Christ’s love,
Alec