Easter 4

 

Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed, alleluia! +

    We are no strangers to fear and anxiety today. It's part and parcel of our culture and society. While we are safer than we have ever been, and while we have access to more life improving and life saving technologies than ever before, statistically we are more worried than ever. And some of this is because we get so much information pounded into our heads by our TVs and our phones – we see disasters from thousands of miles away in real time. Some of this is because we are surrounded by advertising and marketing, which really try to make us afraid, afraid that we'll be missing out if we just don't buy that new whatever. And some of it is just we have time to be afraid. If you're busy from sun up til sundown, you don't have time to worry – idle hands are the devil's playthings, after all. And there's another aspect that ties on into where the disciples are today. We're often alone. We're spread out, isolated, left to ourselves. And that can be a worrying thing.

    Our Gospel lesson for today (and for the next several weeks, in fact) takes place on Maundy Thursday. It is part of the discussion that Jesus had with His disciples after they celebrated the Lord's Supper for the first time. And Jesus knows Good Friday and Easter are coming – and He is preparing the disciples for this. But Jesus is also preparing them for life after the ascension where He returns to the Father, for life after Pentecost – the life of the Church that we know today. And so, Jesus says to the disciples, “A little while, and you will see Me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see Me.” And this causes quite a tidal wave of consternation and concern. What do you mean by this, Jesus – we're disciples! Our lives are defined by the fact that we are the people who travel around with you. With you. What's this we're not going to see you any longer talk – that's not how it's supposed to be! And then add on a see Him again in a bit, this is all crazy talk, Jesus!

    Well, yes and no. Jesus is directly talking and preparing the disciples for the events of Good Friday, where in a few short hours He will be arrested, taken from them, abused and put to death. You're not going to be spending this upcoming Saturday with Me. And that will be harsh. That will be terrible. Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament – Good Friday is going to be rough on the disciples. You wish to speak of fear and anxiety? Guilt and shame? Stupid games of wondering what I could have done to make things different – as though any of the disciples were going to change the plan of salvation. And the kicker – Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. When the disciples are at their lowest, the crowds cheer and jeer and mock as Jesus is crucified. What harsher contrast could there be?

    Yet even on His way to His crucifixion, Jesus pauses – and He takes this time, this utterly sympathetic time, to pause and not only warn the disciples of what is coming, but to remind the disciples that He understands. Jesus knows the fear, the sorrow, the tangled mess of emotions and doubts that will be assailing the disciples – and Jesus doesn't chide them for this. Jesus doesn't call them a bunch of sissy-maryies or something like that. He just acknowledges the utter lousiness of where they will find themselves. And I would submit to you today, my dear friends, that likewise you should remember that your Lord Jesus also is understanding and sympathetic to the fears and anxieties that you face in your own life. Jesus is quite familiar with this world – He made it. He knows how it is supposed to work, and He knows incredibly well the ways in which it goes wrong, the ways in which sin messes with it. Of course He does, He carried all that sin, all of sin, to the cross – He literally bore it upon Himself. And thus, Jesus is never going to be shocked by your fears, never ashamed of your anxieties. I'm certainly not trying to turn Jesus into merely the world's greatest therapist, but He understands you far better than you yourself do. And He loves you, completely and fully.

    But Jesus sees more than fear; He sees all the things that sin and Satan and the world try so hard to make you forget. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. Yes disciples, you will have Good Friday, but you're going to get Easter too. 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. I won't see you Saturday, but come the evening of the first day I'll see you – well, Thomas, you'll take an extra week because of your own stubbornness, but I'll still see you too. And you'll rejoice, you'll have peace, you'll exclaim, “My Lord and My God” because you see the risen Lord, and that joy, that knowledge that Christ is Risen and sins are forgiven and life is won will be yours. Yes, there is sorrow – real sorrow, true sorrow that Jesus doesn't downplay – but there will be joy.

    And then Jesus gives an analogy. When a woman 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. Jesus isn't soft selling the hardship. He isn't downplaying the sorrow – oh, it's not so bad. Nope, it's going to be lousy. It's going to be wretched, and you'll be hoping it is done with quickly. But it's not forever. It's not the enduring truth or reality of existence – there's something greater to come. And understand a note on what Jesus says – when Jesus says “remember” He's not just talking about thinking back on the past, but to remember in the Jewish way of speaking means to have that be the present reality, the thing that defines right now. This is why we get those passages where the LORD speaks of remembering us, remembering Israel. Or why He will no longer remember our sins – because they have nothing to do with who you are now – you are a forgiven child of God, your sin is long gone, crucified with Christ, buried in that tomb that is now empty. No mother looks at her kid and has a contraction – the anguish is not remembered – well, unless you were my mother trying to guilt me into cleaning my room but that's beside point. The anguish, the sorrow is real – but there is something so much more wondrous beyond it. Good Friday is rough; Easter still comes.

    And this pattern plays out. Even after Easter, after the Ascension, the disciples are going to have sorrow. They are going to have fears and anxieties anew that pop up. Read the book of Acts. Read about the history of the Apostles. They pretty much all die horribly. They get beaten and chased out of town, martyred. Plenty to fear. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again. Maundy Thursday wasn't the last time they saw Jesus. Nor was that Easter evening. Nor even was the Ascension when they are left staring up into the sky. They would see Jesus again – they see Him now in Heaven, they shall see Jesus eternally in the life of the world to come. Doesn't mean that what they'd end up going through wasn't horrid – sorrow now, but Jesus forever.

    And it's the pattern that will play out for you, my friends. In this life, you will have sorrow. There will be fears and anxieties. I hope and pray that they are mild – that they pass swiftly. That is literally what we pray for over and over in Church – Lord have mercy, heal people, relieve suffering, order society and give wisdom to people in power so less trouble gets caused. But there's still, always, going to be some. In this life there's still sin, there's still Satan prowling and scowling, there's still my stupid sinful flesh doing its stupid, sinful thing. But, Jesus doesn't turn away from you because of this. Instead, He promises that He will see you again – again and indeed eternally.

    That's what your Baptism is. A promise that Jesus will see you and that you will see Jesus eternally. Indeed, that Jesus will be with you and caring for you all the days of your life, even when you're not thinking about Him. God is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And what is the Word, the Scriptures, the Preaching of that Word but rather making you to hear, to remember, to see Jesus – let us fix our eyes upon Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith. What is the Supper but Jesus giving Himself to you via all 5 senses – hear Jesus' love, see Jesus' love, touch Jesus' love, smell Jesus' love, taste His love – taste and see that the LORD is good. Constantly. Repeatedly. Even until the last day when Jesus is all in all.

    And none of this is to diminish the trial, the hardship. Okay, I suppose if it's something you've blown out of proportion Jesus' Word might just help you assess more realistically. But Jesus is a real God who understands real hardship and real suffering – and He doesn't pretend it isn't there, He doesn't sweep it under a rug. He takes it up Himself, and He is with you through it – and He brings you through it, even unto that day when it is finally done and gone, and you are with the LORD and the hosts of heaven eternally. There are fears now, there are anxieties now – and they may be big. So be it – Jesus is bigger, His love for you is bigger – and while those fears are just for a time, the love of Jesus for you endures forever. Amen. Christ is Risen – He is Risen indeed, alleluia! +