When you live in a culture that capitalizes on quick fixes and sudden solutions, you can be tempted to approach God as if He were in the business of handing out momentary marvels.
As Netflix loads, you read a note on the screen that says, “Catch it while you can.” Shows are about to leave the streaming service, and you need to take advantage of your ability to see them before they are gone. Calendars of availability shape our binge-watching habits. But they do more than that. They shape our lives. “This week only,” the home improvement store says. “Get them before they are gone,” the grocery story advertises. We are accustomed to seizing the moment because advertising has immersed us in a culture of transition. All things are transitory and to enjoy life to the utmost you need to act now.
Sometimes, we carry these calendars into our spiritual lives. Such pressure causes pain. We can approach life in the Spirit like an injection of steroids that suddenly give us strength, only to be disappointed when we discover how it is more like a tree planted by streams of water that produces fruit in good season (Psalm 1).
When you live in a culture that capitalizes on quick fixes and sudden solutions, you can be tempted to approach God as if He were in the business of handing out momentary marvels. We pray for discernment in a job situation, and we expect God to provide an answer today. We read about the fruits of the Spirit, and we look for them to appear ripe and ready in our life tomorrow. The Christian life is neither a fast-track to healing, nor a sudden solution for ills. It is a life-long journey with a Lord who is there for the long haul.
In our text from John, Jesus is speaking to His disciples right before their world suddenly collapses. Jesus will be taken away from them and crucified and they will wonder what has happened. Was this Messiah merely for a moment? Did they miss their opportunity for life in the Kingdom?
Jesus is aware of this struggle and offers words to guide His disciples and to guide us today.
As Jesus takes leave of His disciples, He shares with them the good news that His presence is a lasting presence and will not be ended... even by death.
In a world where everything changes, Jesus brings a powerful joy which endures.
Notice the power of this joy. It reorients how we think about suffering. Jesus asks the disciples to think about His suffering and death as labor pains. His passion will be “a little while.” His burial will be “a little while.” For a little while they will no longer see Him. Like birth pangs, the pain will be intense and hard to endure, but momentary.
In a world where everything changes, Jesus brings a powerful joy which endures.
But then, in “a little while,” Jesus will rise from the dead. They will see Him and, in that seeing, they will have their first glimpse of the first fruits of the new creation. This new life will never end.
As soon as Christ rises from the grave, it will be as if a child is born, and the joy of that child’s life will cause the former suffering to seem small in comparison (16:21), something worth enduring for the good that has come.
The disciples are about to witness something new: A birth. Jesus will bring into this world the power of God’s love. It is a love which conquers death and gives life eternal. When we see that love, our lives change. God invites us into the joy of new life. This is not a sudden transformation to the resurrected life but, rather, a life you live into, a way of being that grows in this world as we wait for the next.
So, the apostle Paul sees all things in light of this eternal glory. Sufferings are small in comparison to the glory about to be revealed (Romans 8:18). Trouble, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:35). You have been given eternal life, and nothing can take that away.
Because of this, Jesus offers us a powerful joy that endures. Jesus says to His disciples, “I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (16:22). No one can take your joy.
In a world governed by calendars of availability and goods marked with expiration dates, we are not accustomed to things enduring. We know our pleasure in the new car will fade. We have learned our joy at the new job will pass. We realize our excitement about a new home will fade. If there is one thing that is true about life in this world, it is how joy fades. We have learned to live with joys which will not last.
Jesus, however, provides a powerful joy that endures. He invites us to learn to live in a different world. Rather than seeking to experience everything now, we can learn to live in hope. Rather than want relief from our burdens now, we can carry them like a cross until our Savior takes them away. We follow, and the way is not easy. The road is not smooth. But our hearts are secure because Jesus lives and has sent His Spirit to be with us until that day.
Life in the Spirit is not something you walk away from. It is something that walks with you, even if you are walking away; so that, some day, in some way, the Spirit can remind you of Jesus, who walked this path for you, so you would never be alone. With the gift of His Spirit, you have a joy that endures.
Like a tree planted by streams of water, we draw our joy from the well of the Spirit and we live in hope with a joy that endures.
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out 1517’s resources on John 16:12-22.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching John 16:12-22.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaeching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
