Easter 5
Jn
16:5-15
5/2/21
At the
beginning of the sermon this morning, I want to do something a little
different. I would like you to join me in taking part in a little mental
experiment. I am going to say a word,
and then you note what is the first word, impression, or emotion that
arises. Are you ready? Here is the word: Zoom.
Now my
initial reaction is: Yuck! Actually, the
old Adam in me probably calls to mind some other phrases and statements, but
they are not sanctified, and certainly not appropriate for a sermon.
For many
of us, since the spring of 2020 when the Covid pandemic hit, the word “Zoom”
has meant the internet platform that allows groups of people in different
locations to meet online. Through the
cameras and microphones on our computers the program allows everyone taking
part to see the video of others at the meeting and to hear and speak with them.
Now on the
surface, this sounds really good. And to
be honest, it is a good thing that can be very useful. However, as the pandemic dragged on, and we were
often forced to hold every meeting or Bible class via Zoom it soon
became clear that there is no substitute for actually being in the room
with other people. You simply cannot
have the same personal interaction, if you are not in person. The fake stand in for this can enable you to
get some things done, but I have certainly reached the point where I never want
to attend another Zoom meeting for a very long time.
We know
that in person is best. Separation is
not a good thing. Facetime, Skype, Zoom
and other means may allow us to see and talk to another person. But they don’t
change the fact that we aren’t there with them. You can’t hug someone, or put your arm around
their shoulder, or touch their hand. We
miss the physical presence of another person that is so important to us. Technology may have given us some tools to
help alleviate separation, but they can’t solve it.
We don’t
want to be separated from people we care about.
And so Jesus’ words in our Gospel lesson this morning are very
surprising. Our Lord says that he is
going away. He is returning to the
Father. But then he adds that this departure – this separation – is actually a
good thing for the disciples and for us.
Our text
this morning is from the portion of John’s Gospel in which he tells us about
Jesus’ conversation with the disciples on the evening of Maundy Thursday – the
night when he was betrayed. Much of the
discussion took place as Jesus and the disciples made their way to the Garden
of Gethsemane.
Jesus
begins our text by saying, “But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you
asks me, 'Where are you going?'
But
because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.” Our Lord says that he is returning to his
Father who sent him into the world. He
is leaving. When Jesus’s ascension occurred forty days after Easter, I am sure
it was a surprising event. But it wasn’t
something for which the disciples had received no preparation. Jesus had told them in a very straightforward
way that he would be leaving.
Naturally, the prospect of Jesus
leaving them brought the disciples grief. Being with the Lord was the most
amazing experience. His teaching and
miracles were a constant source of wonder and awe. But beyond this, to be with
Jesus was to be with love incarnate. John tells us that God is love, and Jesus
was God in the flesh.
Our Lord acknowledged that his
departure would bring sorrow to the disciples.
But then he says something very surprising as he adds: “Nevertheless, I tell you the
truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go
away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will
send him to you.” Jesus says he is going
away, and that this is a good thing for us.
There are two things here that we
probably find puzzling. The first is the idea that it is necessary for Jesus to
return to the Father in order for the Spirit to be sent. John’s Gospel makes it clear that the mission
of the Son of God is one that descends from the Father and then returns to the
Father. In the prologue to the Gospel,
John tells us that the Son of God – the Word – was in the beginning with God
and was God. As true God, the Son
entered into our world in the incarnation as the Word became flesh and dwelt
among us.
The Father sent him to be the Lamb
of God who takes away the sin of the world.
He did this because we are people who, as we confessed earlier in the
service, sin in thought, word, and deed.
We think covetous and lustful thoughts.
We speak angry words as we seek to hurt others. We act in selfish ways as we ignore the needs
of others and only look out for ourselves.
Though without sin, Jesus Christ
took our sins as his own and died for them.
He received the judgment that we deserved. When he cried out “It is finished!” from the
cross and died, he announced that he had completed this mission given to him by
the Father.
But the Father’s will for Jesus did
not end in death. It could not, because
the incarnate Son of God’s mission also included the defeat of death. On the third day – on Easter – Jesus rose
from the dead. And so John’s Gospel
tells us of how Mary Magdalene saw and touched him; and how the Lord appeared
to the disciples on the evening of Easter, and then the evening a week after that;
and how he was seen by seven disciples at the Sea of Galilee where he gave them
fish and bread to eat.
The Son of God’s saving path led him
down into our world, through the cross and into the depth of the tomb. But then it led in life up out of the tomb
and in a return to the Father in his ascension.
If we ask why it was necessary for Jesus to depart, it is because Jesus
Christ poured forth the Spirit as the exalted Lord seated at the right
hand of God. This was the working of
God’s saving plan for us. It is as the
crucified, risen, and now exalted Lord that Jesus Christ has given us the
Spirit.
The second puzzling thing we find is
that Jesus states his departure is a good thing for us. In our text Jesus says, “I still have many
things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit
of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not
speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he
will declare to you the things that are to come.”
Our Lord says that the Spirit’s role
is to guide the disciples – to guide them into all truth. Of course, earlier in this same conversation
Jesus had said: “I
am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me.” The Spirit guides
into all truth, because he points to Jesus; he makes known Jesus. Our Lord says in our text “He
will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is
mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to
you.”
The Spirit’s role is to glorify
Jesus. He takes what Jesus has done and
makes it known. And this morning we are experiencing the results of this. We are experiencing this as it happens.
In chapter fourteen Jesus said to
the disciples, “But
the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my
name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all
that I have said to you.” Jesus promised
that the Spirit would teach his apostles, and bring to their remembrance what
he had said. Then in chapter fifteen he
added, “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the
Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear
witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you
have been with me from the beginning.”
In the working of God’s salvation,
the Father sent the Son into the world to die for our sins, rise from the dead
and be exalted in his ascension. This
was so that the exalted Son could then send forth the Spirit – the Spirit who
guided the disciples into all truth; the Spirit who called to their remembrance
what Jesus said; the Spirit who bears witness about Jesus, and by whom the
disciples bear witness.
The very words we consider this
morning are the result of this. We
experience the Spirit glorifying Jesus, and taking what belongs to Jesus and
making it know to us through the Gospel of John. The Spirit who taught the
apostles all things and brought to remembrance what he said, now speaks to us
through these inspired words. The Spirit now guides us into all truth, and
takes what belongs to Jesus and makes it known to us.
In this work, the Spirit strengthens
and continues what he has already done for us.
Jesus told Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one
is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Then when Nicodemus was perplexed by this
statement, Jesus added, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of
water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
You have been born again of water and the Spirit in Holy
Baptism. God has called you to be his
own through the work of the Spirit. In this we have eternal life. But at the same time, it means that we must
expect challenges and struggles. Jesus
said, “If the world hates
you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the
world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the
world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
To sustain you in this faith, the Spirit sent forth by
the risen exalted Lord continues to speak to you through words of the apostle
John. He takes what belongs to Jesus and
makes it known to you, because what belongs to Jesus is victory over sin, death
and the devil.
Our Lord has ascended and given us his Spirit. This defines the time in which we presently
live. For now, the Spirit takes what belongs to Jesus and makes it know to us.
But it will not always be this way. Just
after out text, the Lord went on to say more about his departure to the Father.
And there he promised his return on the Last Day. The separation will come to an end. He said,
“Truly, truly, I say to
you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will
be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 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. 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.”
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