Christ’s resurrection colors all our little whiles

Sermon for Jubilate – Easter 3

1 Peter 2:11-20  +  John 16:16-23

Today’s Gospel has us thinking about the meaning of “a little while.” On Maundy Thursday evening, before reaching the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said to His disciples: 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.

His disciples had no idea what He was talking about. So Jesus elaborated, but just a tiny bit; He didn’t really explain. He simply told them how things would be during the little while, and then after. 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.

Hindsight shows us what Jesus meant. The most imminent meaning of “a little while” was “in just a few hours,” when the disciples wouldn’t see Jesus because He would be arrested, then taken away, tried, condemned, crucified and buried. Then there was the terrible “little while” which would last from Good Friday till Easter Sunday evening. Then they would see Him again.

The little while between Good Friday and Easter Sunday evening was only two days—a very short little while, relatively speaking. But it was also the worst little while in the history of the world. No little while in history has ever been worse, nor will it be again. Because, for that little while, Jesus, the Lord of life, was actually dead. And even after He rose early in the morning, His disciples thought He was still dead until they finally saw Him on Easter Sunday evening.

To think that Jesus the Son of God, Jesus our Advocate before the Father, Jesus our Defender against the devil, Jesus the King of this world and the next—to think that Jesus is dead made for a terrible little while for the disciples. They did weep and lament—Peter for his denials, the rest for their cowardice, all of them for the loss of the One whom they had believed to be the Christ. And the world did rejoice. No more lectures on morality from this Jesus character. No more pointing out the sins of the “good” people. No more forgiveness for the unworthy. No more silly talk of a God in heaven who sent His Son to redeem the world.

Yes, the world rejoiced, and the disciples were sorrowful. But then their sorrow was turned into joy when Jesus came into the room on Easter Sunday evening and greeted His disciples, “Peace be with you.”

And immediately, their sorrow was replaced with unending joy because of Christ’s resurrection. Why? Because now, everything will be OK, no matter what. Sin? Paid for. Death? Defeated. Devil? Overpowered. World? Living Christ reigns over it. Yes, it was brutally painful for a little while, when it seemed like hope was gone. But now we know: hope can never be gone, as long as Jesus is alive, there is hope. And where there is hope, there can be joy.

Jesus compared the little while of not seeing Him to a mother in the pangs of childbirth—a fitting reference for Mother’s Day! Very painful. It seems to last a very long time. But it was never going to be a permanent sorrow or pain. It was always leading to something wonderful. And in the end, the mother rejoices, not just because the pain is gone, but because there is now a new human child born into the world—her child, her baby. And the sorrow that seemed to go on forever is looked back on as just a little while—a little while that was nothing in comparison with the lifetime of the son or daughter who was born from that pain.

So it was for the disciples, with that “little while” between Good Friday and seeing Jesus again on Easter Sunday. All the sorrow was suddenly erased. As Jesus had told them, I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.

There was another little while that Jesus’ disciples would have to face, another short time when they wouldn’t see Jesus: the little while between Christ’s ascension and the day of their death. There was still plenty of sorrow ahead for them, but it wouldn’t be nearly as bad, because through it all, the Lord was still risen. They had hope and joy in Christ’s victory over sin and death, in the safety of their souls, and in their final resurrection.

You know the hardships the apostles faced, the beatings and imprisonments they endured, watching one after another of them be put to death for their preaching of Christ. And yet, the joy of Easter never entirely faded for them. Once, after the apostles were arrested in Jerusalem and then beaten, we’re told that they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for Jesus’ name. And St. Paul, after listing all the trials and hardships he endured, never lost sight of Christ’s resurrection, but wrote, I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us…In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. No matter what the hardship, no matter how lonely they became or how hopeless things looked, the apostles could never forget that Christ was raised from the dead and reigning at God’s right hand, and so no one could take their joy from them. They would suffer much evil, but nothing could change the fact that Christ was ascended and reigning even over the evil, even over the persecutions, and that they would soon see Him again, even if it meant that a martyr’s death was the doorway to eternal life.

There are two of these “little whiles” that we ourselves face, short times of sorrow when we don’t see Jesus. But neither of them is as bad as when Jesus was dead. Christ’s resurrection colors all these little whiles.

There’s the little while that affects us all, every day, and lasts until the end of our earthly lives (or until Jesus comes again, whichever comes first). It may seem like a long while. It’s all the sorrow that a Christian faces along the way as we watch the world rejoicing at Christianity’s apparent demise, as we see wickedness prospering around us, as it becomes harder and harder to live as Christians in this world. We see our own sins, our own guilt, and we rightly sorrow over them. We know we don’t deserve God’s favor. We know we haven’t earned eternal life. We struggle against sin. We struggle to live in this world in such a way that our confession of Christ is bright and clear in everything we do. We struggle to, as Peter wrote in today’s Epistle, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. All of those struggles, all of the sorrow of living in this sinful world and dealing with our sinful flesh, while Christ our Savior remains unseen—it all brings us sorrow.

But Christ’s resurrection colors this little while. It makes it all bearable. Even now He sends His minister to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins in His name. Even now He sends His Spirit to help you in your daily struggles. Even now He reigns at the right hand of the Father, and no evil in the world can get in His way. So the people of God can rejoice in Christ’s forgiveness and in Christ’s reign at God’s right hand.

Then there’s another little while that St. Peter speaks of in chapter 1 of his first Epistle. It may affect us all, but it affects us differently and it may come and go throughout this life. It’s the little while of the especially painful sorrows that come into our lives. It may be sickness. It may be uncertainty. It may be any crisis or any tragedy that strikes.

Peter writes, In this you greatly rejoice—that is, in Christ’s resurrection from the dead and in the living hope that is yours because of Him. In this you greatly rejoice , though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials. These come, St. Peter says, for the testing of your faith. The devil will use these various trials to try to pry your eyes away from Christ, from His Word, from His forgiveness, from His love. In fact, in the midst of this little while, you may forget about Jesus entirely. You may even forget that He is risen and reigning at God’s right hand. But Jesus calls you back, in the midst of this little while, to remember. To remember Him, crucified and risen from the dead. To rely on Him more, not less. To rejoice in Him, because He will sustain you, even as He uses this little while of sorrow to make you perfect.

And as a special way to help you, He has given you, not only His Word, but also a Sacrament, something to “do in remembrance of Me.” In remembrance of Jesus, who gave His body and shed His blood for you. In remembrance of Jesus, who rose from the dead and lives to help you. Let Christ’s resurrection always color all the little whiles of sorrow, to give you joy even in the midst of sorrow, until you see Him face to face and enter into the everlasting while of heavenly joy. Amen.