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INJ
'Sorrow Turned to Joy'
St John 16:16-24
Jubilate
Divine Service
May 7th, 2006
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Dear Saints,
The text for our consideration this Sunday as well as the next two Sundays all come from the Gospel of St John, the 16th chapter. This entire section of John's Gospel, from chapter 13 (where Jesus washes His disciple's feet) to chapter 17 (where Jesus prays for His disciples and for us), all of the events of these five chapters happen on the night before Jesus' crucifixion, the night when He was betrayed, the night we call Maundy Thursday. John is recounting for us Jesus' last discourse and teaching to His disciples in the upper room.
This is when Jesus bequeaths to the disciples and to the church His last will and testament, His very own body and blood for the forgiveness of all of our sins. We are on the very cusp of Jesus' betrayal and His being handed over into the hands of His enemies. This is Jesus' last hour with His disciples, and then He would be taken away from them.
That is the context of these words of our Lord Jesus, “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... 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 to joy... Now you have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.” [St John 16:16,20,22]
What is Jesus talking about? Their “not seeing Him” is His arrest, His trial, His death and burial. He is taken from them. Over this the world, Jesus says, rejoices. His enemies are glad when Jesus is put to death; finally this trouble-maker is out of the way and all His challenges to their self-declared authority are silenced.
The disciples, on the other hand, are sorrowful. All their hopes are crushed. The are sad and afraid and run every different direction until they finally lock themselves in a room for fear of their enemies.
But this sorrow lasts only a little while, three days, and then their sorrow is turned to joy. Jesus comes back, back from death and the grave. He is risen indeed. The disciples see Jesus and He sees them and comes to them and speaks words of peace and forgiveness and life. And so these words and promises of Jesus which He speaks to His disciples on Maundy Thursday come to pass, they are sorrowful, but that sorrow is turned to joy.
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Consider, for example, Mary Magdalene. Her sorrow is turned to joy. She is the first one to the tomb on Easter morning. She came with other women to anoint Jesus' dead body, but in the garden she finds the stone rolled away. From the empty tomb an angel speaks, telling her that Jesus is risen. Stunned and confused she runs to the disciples and tells them what she saw, and she returns with them to the tomb. Peter and John see it is as Mary said, and they leave.
Mary stays behind in the garden, weeping. Two angels in the tomb ask her why she is crying, and she says, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” [St John 20:13] She then turned around, and there is Jesus, standing before her. She didn't recognize Him; she thinks He's the gardener. (It seems that after the resurrection Jesus is easier to recognize with the ears rather than the eyes.) Jesus speaks to Mary, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Mary answered, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
Then Jesus says to her, “Mary!” And in an instant she recognized Him; she knew that this was Jesus, her Lord, and that He is alive and risen from the dead; in an instant her sorrow is turned to joy, her tears are gone and now there is rejoicing. This is what Jesus' resurrection does, it turns sorrow into joy.
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Or consider the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Luke tells us the history in the 24th chapter of his Gospel. They were in the room when the woman returned from the empty tomb, and they, too, were stunned and full of doubt and fear. What happened to Jesus? Where was His body taken? What's going on? They are walking together to Emmaus and they are talking these things over, and they are sad.
Jesus comes along side and joins them. Like Mary, these two did not recognize Jesus, their eyes being restrained [St Luke 24:16]. Jesus asks why they are sad, and one of the disciples, Cleopas, says, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have you not known the things which happened there in these days?” Jesus responds, “What things?” And they tell Jesus about the things that happened to Him. “We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.” “Hoping,” but their hope was dashed to pieces, crushed with Jesus on the cross and drowned in the darkness that filled Jesus' tomb. They were filled with sorrow.
But as they talked with Jesus as they walked to Emmaus, He opened their eyes to understand the Scriptures, how the Messiah must suffer before He entered into glory. From Moses and through the whole Scriptures, and their heart burned within them as they begin to understand and know that all they things that happened were promised before hand.
When they get to Emmaus Jesus acts as if He would go on, but they compel Him to dine with them. “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” [24:28] Jesus stayed, and took bread, and broke it, and their eyes are opened and they recognized Him and He was taken from their midst.
And so these two, now filled with the joy of Easter and the new joy of Jesus' resurrection, stand up and run back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples. They knew that this was Jesus, their Lord, and that He is alive and risen from the dead, in an instant their sorrow is turned to joy, their tears are gone and now there is rejoicing. It is as Jesus promised: they have great joy, and no one would take it from them. This is what Jesus' resurrection does, it turns sorrow into joy.
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Examples of this can be multiplied. The ten disciples in the upper room whose fear is turned to faith at the words of Jesus, “Peace be with you.” Or Thomas, whose doubt becomes a confident confession as he says to Jesus, “My Lord and My God.” Or the other women who go to the tomb and hear the good news from the angels. Or the five-hundred others who see Jesus, their sorrow is turned to joy. This is what Jesus' resurrection does, it turns sorrow into joy.
So, dear saints, what about us? These words were not just written to tell us the history, but for our benefit, to give us hope and comfort and life and joy. It's true, isn't it, that our lives are at times full of sorrow. Sorrow over death, when our loved ones die, or our dear friends, or even the sorrow of hearing of war and genocide even on the other side of the world. We are surrounded by death on every side, this is the valley of the shadow of death.
Or we have sorrow over conflict and turmoil, when family or friends turn their backs on us and despise us, when we have enemies even in our own home or church. Where there should be peace and love there is anger and fighting.
And what else? What else gives us sorrow? It is different for each of us, each of us has our own suffering and sorrow, trouble and tribulation. But, perhaps, it isn't so different, for all of our sorrow comes from one source: sin. Death, anger, fighting, trouble and tribulation, all of these thing grow from the seed of sin. We are sorrowful because we are sinners. But Jesus' resurrection overcomes sin and death, and bring the forgiveness of all sins. Jesus' resurrection overcomes the grave and brings life and salvation. Jesus' resurrection destroys the power of the devil, and His coming out of the tomb, this, dear Christians, this turns our sorrow into joy, joy that no one can take from you.
This is what Jesus' resurrection does, what it did for the disciples and does for us, it turns our sorrow into joy. May God grant us His Holy Spirit, that Jesus resurrection would turn all our sorrow into joy, the eternal joy which comes with His gifts of life, salvation, and the forgiveness of our sins. Amen.
And now may the peace of God which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller
Hope Lutheran Church
Aurora, CO