Third Sunday after Easter, 2003
John 16:16-22

Tom Sawyer was quite the prankster. Most people remember how he persuaded his friends to help him paint the fence. He made it sound so fun, they paid him to do it. He got out of a lot of work that day and made a profit. On another occasion he convinced Huck Finn and Joe Harper to run away. In the dead of night the three left their homes and sneaked down to the river. Along the way they picked up a frying pan, a tarp, and a side of ham. Then they got on a raft and floated downstream several miles and landed on an island. There they fished and swam and played Indians and Pirates for several days. Would they stay forever? Huck and Joe were getting very homesick. Tom had a plan, though. He slipped away from the island at night and returned to town. Hiding under a bed he found out that everybody concluded the boys had drowned in the river. A funeral was scheduled for Sunday. Clandestinely, Tom returned to the island.

On Sunday most of the inhabitants of the town gathered at the Church. The Clergyman eulogized the poor departed boys. Mark Twain tells us that "the congregation became more and more moved till the whole company broke down and joined the weeping mourners in a chorus of anguished sobs." Then there was a rustle in the balcony. A few moments later the latch clicked. The minister stared at the door transfixed and everyone else turned to look. The three dead boys came marching up the aisle, Tom in the lead, Joe next, and Huck in the rear. They had hidden in the unused balcony listening to their own funeral sermon. The boys were smothered with kisses as the gloomy atmosphere turned to ecstasy.

In our Gospel text for today Jesus announces that He would leave and return. Unlike Tom Sawyer, it wouldn't be a prank. "A little while, and you will not see Me;" Jesus notifies His disciples. It sounds like He is about to depart. "And again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father." It sounds like He will return from wherever He is going. Is Jesus referring to His upcoming death and resurrection, when He says, "A little while, and you will not see Me. Again a little while and you will see me?" Or is He referring to His ascension and Second Coming? One way or another, He would go. After an interval the disciples would see Him again, but where would He go? When would He come back? And why would He abandon them and leave some Paraclete/Helper as a substitute? All these questions puzzled the disciples. They made a huddle and buzzed about it, but they couldn't figure it out.

"Let's go ask Jesus" was their next step. Yet, the Lord, knowing their perplexity broached the subject first. "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" (vv. 19-20). The Lord gives them more information, but the picture remains cloudy. For us, Jesus' departure in death and His return after His Resurrection make the most sense. In a little while He would be dead; they would weep and lament while the world rejoiced. That scene played out at Calvary. Peter wept; the disciples fled distraught and terrified; the women cried below the cross. Meanwhile, the soldiers mocked, and the crowds jeered in derision. Three days later Jesus rose from the dead. He came back to them. Their sorrow turned to joy. John 20:20 reports the reaction of the disciples when Jesus appeared to them after rising from the dead: "Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord." This was more than a sigh of relief. Something big was taking place.

In the news lately we see the return of military men and women from the war in Iraq. Children dash to hug their daddies; spouses kiss. They cry for joy. At last, they can go home together. Soon, their routines will settle back to normal. Life will return to what is was before they went to Iraq.

Jesus' return to His disciples was similar, but there was a key difference. Life would not return to normal. Things would be better. The universe would be better. Jesus' death and resurrection was not merely a departure and return. He tells the disciples, when "I see you again your heart will rejoice and your joy no one will take from you." These words suggest a permanent change, a permanent joy. The resurrection had overcome the horror of the crucifixion. Something good had come out of disaster. The Church of the Old Testament shifted into a higher gear. She would have more power after the resurrection. The world would no longer be the same.

How should we understand this turn of events? It is J.R.R. Tolkien who coined the term "Eucatastrophe" and "discatastrophe." Discatastrophe is basically a catastrophe, and that is what death is, a catastrophe. Discatastrophe describes the extreme sorrow and failure that the death of Jesus on the cross seemed to be. It was a time of weeping and desolation. But then there was a sudden joyous turn. Discatastrophe became eucatastrophe. According to Tolkien, an eucatastrophe is a good disaster; it is the sudden joyous turn in the midst of catastrophe, a reversal of tragic action. The Resurrection of Christ after death is fantastic: it expresses the fulfillment of man's wishes. Christ's story ends in joy, and the story of every believer ends in joy. And let's not think that Christian joy denies sorrow and failure in the world. We will suffer discatastrophes. Nevertheless, the Resurrection does deny universal final defeat. The Church will eventually conquer. The gates of Hell will not prevail against her. The Resurrection affirms the triumph of good over evil. For Tolkien, the resurrection sets the basis for fairy-tales and the arts. What makes the happy ending in Cinderella so satisfying is that it echoes the happy ending of Christ's story. It is built into our psyches to appreciate art that emulates the incarnation and resurrection; it fulfills our wishes. More, if you are in Christ, your own journey through life will ultimately have a happy ending. Therefore, the happy ending is not a flight from reality, but a revelation of it. Is that not what makes the Lord of the Rings series so appealing? There is plenty of discatastrophe, but the outcome is eucatastrophe. Frodo and Sam manage to reach the crack of doom. The ring of power is destroyed, the enemy shattered. The great king Aragorn takes his throne as the ruler of Middle Earth. All the beauty of the Shire that had been ruined by Saraman is restored.

Jesus tells us that after His resurrection "your sorrow will be turned to 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" (vv. 22-22).

Notice the word "hour." When a woman is in labor her hour has come. In the book of John the word "hour" refers to Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension. Hour relates to the dawning of a new age. The parable of a woman in labor was a common one in the Old Testament. That is a proper theme for Mothers' Day. Birth is difficult. Every mother knows that. The birth of a child after a long period of painful contractions points to the immense relief and joy brought about by the advent of the Messiah and His kingdom. That was the Old Testament understanding. Combining these details, Jesus appears to suggest that His return after "a little while" would initiate the coming of a new creation. Therefore, when the Son of God rises from the dead and ascends into Heaven the world is decisively changed. The Resurrection sets in motion a major transformation. Indeed, the world is being conquered by Jesus. Granted, redemption is never perfected before the Second Coming, but great progress is made. How is that so? And why is that true? Many reasons. Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit; the Third Person of the Trinity is alive and well on planet earth. Satan is bound in chains and rendered powerless. The nations are baptized. Jesus states in John 12:31, "now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."

Furthermore, the resurrection of Jesus and His return to the Father opens the way for communion and union with God. This was not possible before, at least, not with such intimacy and power. Jesus describes this communion and union in His High Priestly Prayer to the Father: "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one; I in them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in one" (John 17:22-23). Not only does the Resurrection trigger union with God. The words, "that they may be made perfect" suggest transformation and holiness, a transformation not limited to the hearts of believers, nor to the four walls of the Church. These changes are cosmic. Jesus proclaims, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." In other words, all creation is affected. Death did not defeat Jesus. Rather, Jesus defeated death. Without His death and resurrection the cosmic changes are incomplete. With Jesus' death and resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit the Church extends the kingdom until peace and joy prevails. The world is transformed.

It is interesting to read how the opinions of commentators divide over this passage. Some of them refuse to believe that the present Resurrection era is one of joy. They want to reserve all that joy to the Last Day. In the meantime, things on earth will always be pretty grim. For them, the Resurrection didn't really change much of anything except our personal hope of Heaven when we die. Jesus' statement, "A little while, and you will not see Me" refers to His ascension into Heaven. Those on earth would no longer see Him. And, according to this perspective, the phrase, "again a little while, and you will see Me" must refer to His Second Coming. If you take this approach then the present era is marked by weeping and lamentation. Like the woman in labor who suffers the excruciating pain of hard contractions, we now live in a world of terrible travail and anguish. Universal pain is normative until history ends. Since there is no hope of improvement in this world, history is doomed. The joy and rejoicing Jesus promises in our Gospel lesson for today speaks of life in Heaven alone. Only then will the world and its inhabitants experience a joyful golden age. It is a stoic vision. It may be correct, but it seems to ignore the sacramental and cosmic repercussions of the resurrection.

For example, we presently experience the vitality of the Resurrection in the sacrament. The eucharistic theology of Augustine, Calvin and the English Reformers is very biblical. Their practice is worth recovering today. It is a sacramental view in the mainstream of the Reformation. According to the Reformers, as we celebrate the Eucharist, the Holy Spirit is added to the ordinary bread and wine. They become the body and blood of Christ. The Holy Spirit makes Christ's Person present to us by faith. Not only is Christ's death and sacrifice presented to us in the sacrament, but the Spirit causes the life from the flesh of the risen Christ to reach us from Heaven. That is why the sacrament strengthens us spiritually and physically. Christ says, "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25). And, "I am the bread of life" (John 6:48) he who feeds on Me will live because of Me" (John 6:57), and to explain how that life is transferred to us Jesus states, "It is the Spirit who gives life" (John 6:63). These verses seem to tell us that it is the humanity of Christ that is communicated to us, not necessarily His divinity. The humanity of Christ's Person is united to us in such a way that resurrection life flows from Him to us. This sacramental nourishment is possible thanks to the Holy Spirit, and the faith that we bring to the table. It is the Holy Spirit who effects the union between the humanity of Christ and ourselves, for it is the Holy Spirit who graciously conveys the very resurrection life of the glorified humanity of the Lord to us as we partake of His body and blood in faith. [For more please see Given For You by Keith Mathison, and The Presence of Christ in the Eucharist by James B. Jordan.]

The reason we focus on the humanity of Christ in the sacrament is because the fall marred the humanity of man. The fall marred all creation for that matter. That is what needs to be restored. And it is precisely for that reason Christ became man: to redeem humanity. It is His glorified humanity that restores our sinful humanity. United to the risen Christ we become truly human. Just as Christ died, rose again, and ascended into Heaven with a glorified body, so shall you, if you are in Christ. And that is your destiny throughout all eternity. Christianity alone is the true humanism in the world. You will one day emulate the glorified human nature of Jesus Christ. He is the first-fruits. Moreover, since our own redemption is closely bound to creation (Romans 8), our sanctification brings the earth closer to Heaven, and the Church's advancement turns the world into paradise. That vision is a wonderful future; and by God's grace the kingdom of God makes significant strides in that direction even now. Again, let's be clear. Scripture and the Western Church teach that the grace and power of Christ's human nature flow to us from the Holy Spirit. It has ramifications for all creation. And the promise of Jesus, "your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you" is for right now. Christ is risen, and the results of the resurrection cannot be minimized. Come now to the Holy Supper. Come in faith to receive the resurrection life of Christ.

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