+ 5th Sunday of Easter – May 18th, 2025 +
Series C: Acts 11:1-18; Revelation 21:1-7; John 16:12-22
Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church
Milton, WA
“A Little While”
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
One of the things that makes Christianity unique is that it makes no attempt to hide or dismiss suffering and sorrow. Suffering and sorrow are not illusions. They are often all too real and all too painful. Christianity is no stranger to sorrow and suffering. Jesus even says it plainly: “you will weep and lament while the world rejoices…you will have sorrow.”
You see it in the psalms of lament: “How long, O Lord?”
You see it in the apostles…Peter imprisoned and crucified upside down. John, exiled on Patmos, His churches were under siege. Christians tortured and martyred. False teachers wormed their way into the churches deceiving Christians with their seductive lies. The fabric of society was coming apart at the seams. Government was corrupt, the family was weakened, immorality reigned. Everyone did whatever they thought was right in their own eyes.
You see it in Paul who was shipwrecked, beaten, whipped, rejected by his own people, expelled from the synagogue; he was no stranger suffering imprisonment, riots, false teachers, problematic churches. You name it, Paul probably suffered it.
You see it most clearly of all in our Lord Jesus who runs and dives head first into a deep end of unimaginable pain and sorrow and suffering…but he does so willingly and lovingly for you. Jesus does not dismiss or sweep your suffering and sorrow under a rug. He joins you in it. Suffers with you and for you.
Jesus, the man of sorrows, joins you in your suffering and sorrow and brings real joy even in the midst of real suffering. Jesus makes his suffering your own so that in the midst of your own suffering, he makes your sorrows his own.
This is why he says the things he says to his disciples on John 16. It’s the night of his betrayal. Jesus teaches. Jesus prays. Jesus gives the new covenant of his body and blood. Jesus tells them, “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” What does this mean? They say? Who could blame them. You and I would be right there asking the same question. What’s he talking about, a little while?
In that moment, they may not know, but Jesus knows. Jesus looks at their confused, scared, bewildered faces and knows what they and he are about to suffer. He knows their fears and uncertainty and sadness. He knows the suffering he is about to endure, the jeers, the whip, the torn flesh, the blood dripping, the anguish, pain, and agony. He knows the sorrow that will overwhelm them as they scatter for fear and denial, as the stone is rolled over Jesus’ tomb. You will weep and lament and the world will rejoice.
Jesus is speaking about his impending death and resurrection. A little while they would see him no more. Crucified. Dead. Buried. But in a little while they would see him again. Risen. Glorified. Appearing before them in the upper room and by the seashore and on the road to Emmaus. Good Friday sorrow gave way to Easter joy. Anguish gave way to cries of “He is risen!”
But Jesus’ words aren’t only for his disciples. “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” That’s for us too. We find ourselves living in “a little while” for the day when we will see with our own eyes Christ’s return in glory. Just as the disciples were caught between the “now” of not seeing and the “not yet” of seeing, between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, so we too find ourselves caught between the “not seeing” of Ascension Day and the “seeing” of Resurrection Day. The Last Days.
We live in the time of “the little while.” And so Jesus has the same words for us as he did for his disciples. You will weep and lament…and you will have sorrows. In this life, it’s not if, but when you suffer and have sorrow.
For you, the baptized Christian, suffering and sorrow are not an illusion – it’s real. Sometimes all too real. Sometimes it lasts a few days, weeks, even years. Sometimes our suffering and sorrow do not go away with the dawn. Sometimes time doesn’t heal all wounds. You and I may not be Paul or Peter or John, but you suffer all the same. You endure sleepless, restless nights. You know the sorrow of a dark, painful, lonely night. You know the sorrow of empty chairs at your dinner table where family used to sit. Empty houses where loved ones used to fill the halls with laughter. You know the sorrow and suffering of illness that doesn’t quit no matter how many prayers and medications you hurl at it. You know the sorrow and uncertainty of losing a job and wondering what will I do next to care for my family. You know the suffering and sorrow of a child or grandchild who seems to have walked away from the faith. Like the disciples, you know moments or days or years of suffering, uncertainty and sorrow.
It’s not a lack of faith that these things happen. It’s not a failure to pray. No. Suffering and sorrow come from living in the “little while” between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension and his coming on the last day. And until that day there is, as our Lord promises, suffering and sorrow. The Christian life isn’t always hakuna matata and don’t worry be happy, and all joy all the time.
Whatever it is that hurts. Whatever that is that makes you cry. Whatever it is that is too overwhelming to deal with. These are the very things Jesus went to the cross for. These are the very things Jesus died for. Jesus didn’t give these words to make you forget your sorrows. Jesus gave you these words so that you would know that it is okay to feel your sorrows. It’s okay to shed tears. It’s okay to mourn your dead. It’s okay to cry out in your pain. Because those are the places where Jesus goes. Those are the things Jesus bears. Those are the times Jesus promises not to leave you alone.
Suffering is real. The pain is real. The hurt and sorrow are real. But so is this: Christ’s promise to you in your suffering. Christ’s gift of joy that no amount of suffering or sorrow can rob you of. Christ’s dying and rising for you, bringing his suffering into the midst of yours. Taking your suffering and sorrow upon himself. “You will have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”
Even now as we live in the “little while” we live in, Jesus promises…Behold, I make all things new.
Even now in this life of suffering and sorrow…you have the joy of Jesus’ dying and rising, which means that…the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.