11 May 2014
Text: John 16:16-22 (Isa 40:25-31, 1 Pet 2:11-20)
In the name of +
Jesus. Amen.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Our
Lord tells us: “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.”
This
is a summary of how things are for us Christians living our lives on this side
of the grave in the midst of a hostile world, a world that cares nothing for
Christ, despises God’s Word, and holds the Church in contempt.
Though
we are redeemed, though we are baptized, though we walk by faith and not by
sight, we still live in a world of sorrows, of suffering and death, of the
devil, and of sin. We are surrounded by
our enemies, hard-pressed on every side. In human terms, we are doomed. It seems like every day the noose tightens. The courts rule against us. Hollywood turns our children against us. We shoot ourselves in the foot by ceasing to
attend worship – typically over trifles or out of sheer laziness, oblivious to
the spiritual damage we are subjecting ourselves to. We take false comfort in our baptisms when we
have no intention to repent of our sins.
And
as we weep and lament, watching the destruction of western civilization before
our very eyes like a slow-motion train wreck, the world rejoices. The world falls deeper and deeper into
depravity, and even drags portions of the church down with it. At times, it seems like we are engaging in a
long surrender, slowly but surely bleeding to death at the hands of a merciless
world held by the sway of the murderous devil. The world rejoices to see the Bride of Christ
slapped and mocked and paraded around in rags for all the world to see. The world rejoices to see peaceful Christians
in prisons and under sentence of death for daring to swear allegiance to Christ
and His kingdom instead of putting their trust in princes. The world rejoices over packed stadiums and
empty churches. The world rejoices that
good is now called evil and evil good.
And
so we weep and lament as our Lord told us we would. And why shouldn’t we? Did our Lord Himself also not weep and
lament? Did He not shed tears over the fate
of Jerusalem, over the condition of His countrymen, over the state of the
world? Did He not shed tears of agony
upon the cross in love for us poor, miserable sinners? Did our Lord not lament over the continued
existence of death in this fallen world, even just before summoning Lazarus
from his tomb?
Indeed,
dear friends, the world is falling apart. It grows worse every day. Mankind falls deeper and deeper into the
pit. Every institution of mankind has
surrendered to the enemy, to the devil, it seems.
And
yet, in spite of all of this bad news, the Lord tells us: “Your sorrow will
turn into joy.” For though the world is
spinning out of control, the kingdom of God stands forever. For though Satan is winning the current
battle, he has already lost the war. Although
we will all yield to death, death yields to Christ, who has conquered death. And we yield to Christ who gives us life
abundant and life eternal.
“Your
sorrow will turn into joy.”
This
is a promise of God, dear friends, spoken by the mouth of our Lord Jesus
Christ, He who went to the cross in sorrow, but who rose from the grave in joy.
Our Lord wept and lamented at Calvary, but
rejoiced upon descending into hell to proclaim victory over Satan and his
minions. For the pain experienced in
this world are not the pangs of death, but are actually birth pains of a new
age to come, an age of redemption and paradise, an age of the unchallenged rule
of Christ, an age of the “resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to
come.”
Our
Lord proclaims: “When a women is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour
has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish,
for joy that a human being has been born into the world.”
On
this day in which we Americans honor motherhood and show affection to our own
mothers, we call to mind that the joy of the miracle of birth by far outweighs
the sorrow of the birth pangs. The
Creator continues to use mothers to give birth and nurture new life. The world imagines that all sorts of
unorthodox configurations of men and women are equal to the task of raising
children, and the world mocks the church for believing that the natural created
order is best for children and for society – but it is ultimately the church
that lives in this joy of motherhood, this “joy that a human being has been
born” – even as the world takes joy in a culture of death. Likewise, we wait patiently through the crushing
pain of the crumbling world to come over us in seismic waves, looking forward
to the birth of a new era, to be inaugurated and consummated by the return of
Him who is God and yet was born to a human mother.
For
“He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose
kingdom will have no end.”
This
is where human history is leading, dear friends, and it is a joyful completion
of creation’s journey. This is where the
pains and rumblings of this decaying world are taking us. This is our joy that awaits us at the end of
this vale of tears. This is the cause of
our rejoicing at the imminent return of our Lord and the resurrection to life of
all who are baptized and who believe, who live in God’s grace, by faith, who
are covered by the blood of the cross, rejoicing in the good news of His Word.
We
look forward to eternity, dear friends, not placing our happiness in this fallen
and falling world, but rather placing our faith in Him who created the world, who
proclaimed it good, who has redeemed us from the sin that made this world corrupt,
and who is coming again to make a new heaven and a new earth for us.
This
is where the Christian gets his joy, his desire to be with his Lord, and his
hope for the future. It is in Christ and
in the promise of eternal life that He promises and proclaims unto us.
“So
also,” says our blessed Lord, our risen Lord, our Lord who is coming again, “So
also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will
rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”
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.
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