Sermon: Jubilate (Easter 4) - 2019

12 May 2019

Text: John 16:16-22 (Isa 40:25-31, 1 Peter 2:11-20)

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

In our Gospel, our Lord is preparing His disciples for a time of testing, of trial, of crosses of their own as He Himself is going to the cross.  He is warning them up front of what is to come.

“Truly, truly, I say to you,” says our Lord, “you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice.”

The disciples would soon suffer tremendously when the Lord was taken away to suffer Himself on the cross.  They would be tormented not only by their own doubts and fears, but by their enemies lording and gloating over them, threatening to hunt them down, and destroy them – and their enemies had status, wealth, power, and weapons.  The Christians were to become enemies of both church and state, that is, the Jewish synagogue and the Roman Empire.  They were soon to watch in horror as their Lord and their God was humiliated, beaten nearly to death, and then nailed to a cross.  And if that weren’t enough, as He was suffering and dying on the cross, the cruel soldiers would mock Him for His claims to be Israel’s king and Messiah, the Son of God in the flesh.

The disciples’ entire world was coming crashing down around them, and they were soon to find themselves on the run, scattered as sheep without a shepherd, probably wondering if it had all been a lie, a massive hoax.

“You will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice.”

Christians throughout history have borne this cross – even as they were being tortured to death in the arena or at the stake – being mocked and laughed at – even as they tried to pray while their bodies were being broken by agonizing pain.  

Even today, peaceful Christians around the world – mostly in Muslim or Communist countries – are rounded up, imprisoned, and martyred.  We saw this “little while” in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.  And even in the west, Christian children are mocked and bullied, Christian university students are shunned and screamed at, and Christians in the workplace are set up for lawsuits and financially ruined.  We see masked mobs threatening Christian people with violence, and even a member of a state legislature using his position and power to harass an elderly woman and teenage girls who were praying, hoping to intimidate them into silence, into leaving the faith once delivered to the saints.

“You will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice.”

Everywhere we turn, we are hated, and our liberties are trodden on.

But let us not forget, dear friends, even as the disciples felt abandoned, they were not.  Even as the world seemingly overcame them, it did not.  Even as death deemed to have won the day at the cross, it did not.

“A little while and you will not see Me, and again a little while and you will see Me,” says our Lord.  The darkness is only a “little while.”  The time of trial is but a “little while.”  The dread feeling of uncertainty is just a “little while.” 

For they did see Him again, dear friends.  They saw Him when He came into their midst and said, “Peace be with you!”  The “little while” of weeping and lamentation of Good Friday was to become the eternal victory of Easter Sunday!  The frightened band of disciples, filled with doubt, were very soon to become emboldened preachers and confessors of Jesus that not even the world’s mightiest superpower could stop!

“A little while and you will not see Me, and again a little while and you will see Me!”  

For just as the world turns day by day, and the gloom and darkness of night is followed by the light of day, so too does the “little while” pass, and we do indeed see Him!  And even as our dear mothers suffered the pangs of labor, but rejoiced when we were born – so too will our anguish be forgotten: when we see Him after the “little while.”

And even in this fallen world and this fallen age in which we live, when we are tempted to doubt, tempted to fear, tempted to despair – the “little while” is but a few days between our joyful opportunities to see Jesus in the Eucharist.  For He is with us!  He has not abandoned us or left us as orphans!  He has sent us the Holy Spirit.  Our Lord Jesus continues to come to us in His Word.  We see Him in His sacrament.  We partake of Him as He bids us do, eating and drinking, and receiving the forgiveness of sins, and the life everlasting!

And even when a child is bullied, Jesus is with him.  Even when a college student is beaten down and bewildered, Jesus is with her.  Even when we are war weary, and when our faith is stretched to its very limits, Jesus reminds us that though we are sorrowful, “your sorrow will turn into joy.”

And that is the difference, dear friends.  For we live by faith and not by sight.  Though our enemies are giants, our Lord is the Son of David.  Though our persecutors may even be Caesar, our true King is Jesus.  The Caesars are all in the dust, but our risen Lord Jesus Christ lives! 

The faith that we have by virtue of our Lord’s death and resurrection, strengthened by His Word and sacrament, bolstered by His promises to us and the prayers that He hears – through that faith and by that faith, we have hope.  For we know how the story ends.  We know who the victor is.  We know what our Lord has done, and will do, for us.  For us, dear friends!  For no matter how dark the dawn, the sun of righteousness shall rise upon us. 

Our sorrow turns into joy because Christ has conquered evil.  Satan may vex us, but the Lord Jesus has defeated him.  The world may mock us, but Christ has overcome the world.  Our flesh may tempt us, but Jesus, who defies all temptation, offers His very own flesh and blood to us, which fortifies us and steels us for battle.   

“You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.”  

That is why we continue the celebration of Easter, and why this Sunday, known by its Latin name: “Jubilate!” calls to mind the joy of being a Christian.  It is not because of ourselves, but because of His name that we can rejoice.  For the “little while” is replaced by seeing Him every Lord’s Day.  The sorrow of our struggles in the world are supplanted by the joy of the awesomeness of His works and the greatness of His power, even to the point that our enemies shall indeed submit themselves to Him.

And when the “little while” of this world’s troubles are finally done and gone, and when we see Him, then our sorrow will forever “turn into joy,” and the theme of this Sunday will be our song for eternity:  “Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth, Alleluia.  Sing out the honor of His name; make His praise glorious.  Alleluia.” Amen.

Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

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