Fourth Sunday of Easter

1  We find joy in the real presence of Jesus

Jesus’ disciples had three unexpected years of wonder.

They lived with Jesus and followed Him almost everywhere. They spoke with Him and were taught by Him most days. They witnessed His acts and ministry first-hand. They came to know and love Him like nobody else.

The reason these years were so exceptional

was because Jesus of Nazareth is truly the Son of God.

According to His divinity:

He was here in the beginning, to create the world, and He shares the same substance with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.

According to His humanity:

He was raised in Nazareth by Joseph and his mother Mary. He was gifted with knowledge and powers far beyond our understanding.

This Jesus was God the Son, come to earth,

and so His closest disciples were blessed to be with Him.

But those years came to an end.

The joy of being with Jesus ended when they all fled in the garden.

You should know what happened after that, ending with His death by crucifixion, and His burial.

For the first time in years, Jesus was not with them.

Their grief was powerful,

but He had prepared them for this.

We find Jesus preparing His disciples in our text today

for the time of His death, when He would not be among them.

He was also preparing His entire Church

for any time we must live on without seeing Him — like now.

Though we don’t see Him, He’s not really absent.

In fact, it’s still true for us:

We find joy in the real presence of Jesus

So that we cannot bear to live without Him. So that His presence turns sorrow into joy.

2  John 16:16–23a

“A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father.”

Then some of His disciples said among themselves, “What is this that He says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?” They said therefore, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is saying.”

Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’? Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.

“A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. And in that day you will ask Me nothing.”

2.1  So that we cannot bear to live without Him.

We find joy in the real presence of Jesus,

so that we cannot bear to live without Him.

Jesus’ disciples were flummoxed.

They couldn’t imagine being separated from Jesus,

and didn’t want to.

But it was beyond their control. It would surely happen.

Why did they rely so much upon His presence?

The answer is found in what we know of them.

Jesus’ disciples were ordinary men:

flawed people like you and me.

They had been working men,

with families to feed, friends and neighbors.

They were pious men,

but sinners too.

Some, like the tax collector Matthew,

had been despised as a sinner and betrayer of his people.

Though they are separated from us by two millenia,

these men were much like we are. They were mortal.

Into the lives of these men had come the Son of God.

That may sound wonderful,

but it wasn’t all wonderful.

When Peter realized it,

he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

This was the worst thing Peter could imagine:

literally standing before his judge.

Jesus’ response was direct:

Do not be afraid.

So the disciples came to realize how they needed Jesus.

They needed Him to know the hard truth about themselves:

that they are sinners, unworthy of God’s favor.

They also needed Him to be rescued from that truth,

to receive God’s forgiveness, to be certain that they had His favor

by grace instead of by their merit.

Time after time, in place after place,

they learned again how much they needed Jesus, and they learned the great joy belonging only to those

who can be absolutely certain of God’s love.

They could not bear to live without Him.

The truth is, neither can we.

There are lots of people who must learn the truth.

Lots of working men and women

with families to feed, friends and neighbors.

Lots of pious people who can tell what’s right and wrong.

People who are nevertheless, sinners,

some who are even despised by others as ungodly.

Some of them are right here,

sitting in our own chairs and pews, standing in this pulpit.

When Jesus comes to us, it’s not always pleasant.

The truth of our sin appears before us,

as we are betrayed by our own thoughts, words, and deeds.

“Depart from me, for I am a sinful man!”

But His Word still applies today: Do not be afraid.

Then He says to each in our own way: Follow Me.

We come each week to this place for one purpose:

to be in the presence of Jesus Christ,

and have the forgiveness of sins.

We don’t come to stand before our Judge,

but to kneel with joy before our Savior.

Here, around God’s Word and Sacraments,

is where we find that we have God’s favor by grace instead of by merit.

Now, Jesus was telling His disciples that He would be leaving soon.

It would be like Jesus telling us that He’s not going to be here,

with His Word and Sacraments, for us.

Our joy seems to slip away.

We can’t bear it. To lose Jesus is to lose God’s favor.

We can understand His disciples when they said,

“What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is saying.”

Like them, we also find joy in the real presence of Jesus,

so that we cannot bear to live without Him.

2.2  So that His presence turns sorrow into joy.

Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’? Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.”

The world around us may seem friendly and reasonable,

but that only lasts as long as we swim with its currents.

When we believe and trust God’s Word, when we honor Him with our words and actions,

we quickly find that we’re swimming against the currents.

The harder we swim —

the more faithfully we hold to the Word of God, the swifter those swirling currents become.

All of this is so, because the fallen world — this river —

is opposed to God.

Nothing gives the fallen world more joy

than to have Jesus gone.

Think of all the turmoil leading up to Good Friday:

Jesus entered as King of Israel on Palm Sunday; He cleansed the Temple of all its lucrative side-business; He taught there daily to large crowds eating up His words; He was known as the man who raised Lazarus from the dead; He contradicted the lives and doctrine of the religious leaders.

But then He was crucified,

and the spirits of the world rejoiced.

The same is true after He ascended to heaven:

The Church is left to live by faith, not by sight. The Word of God is one book among millions,

with billions of people living in spiritual darkness.

The Church itself is fragmented and splintered

by personal rivalries, by false teachings and strong personalities, and even by small differences in personal preference.

The enemies of Christ can do their worst,

certain that Jesus will not be cleansing His Temple again.

So the world rejoices that Jesus Christ is not here.

Meanwhile, His disciples were sorrowful.

Sorrow doesn’t even cover it.

They wept. They had nowhere to turn.

You see, Jesus, their Messiah, was dead.

So also we have our times of sorrow.

Times our Lord seems so far away, and maybe dead. Times our problems seem so near. The powers of sin and unbelief have such a grip on this world:

on our neighbors, on our own families, and yes, even on our own hearts.

What wretched weakness! How can God expect us to do this alone!?

I remember when my own children were born.

Though I didn’t bear them myself, I remember

my own worry, anguish, helplessness,

and even regret and sorrow

as the time came near that could not be escaped.

But I also remember how quickly all of that was forgotten,

when God had brought another dear creature into the world.

So Jesus turns our deepest sorrows to joy.

Back then, He did it by rising from the dead.

Now, He does it by entering with His Word of Grace:

the same message, that He has defeated our unholy enemies, and risen from the grave.

Has the world been overwhelming you upon every side?

Then let our Lord enfold you in His Word. Let Him nourish and sustain you in His sacraments.

We don’t have to swim in those treacherous currents,

because He has provided the ship of salvation: His Church.

Let Him manage the chaos of life: He knows how. But you,

be washed of all your guilt by your powerful baptism. be absolved and fed with the way-bread from heaven:

the absolution and comforting forgiveness of Christ.

be filled with the seals and tokens of God’s love:

Jesus’ body and blood, for the remission of your sins.

In so many ways, Jesus promised

Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

When that end comes, then … what joy!

He promised, I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.

He turns our sorrow into joy.

Just as the disciples did beginning that blessed Easter day,

let us always have joy in the real presence of Jesus.

Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria!