John 16 – Joy?? We Don’t Understand

Lectionary Readings for Oct. 24, 2021        22nd Sunday After Pentecost, Year B
Job 42:1-6, 10-17  v2 “I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you.
Psalm 34:1-8, 19-22    v8 Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
Hebrews 7:23-28   v26 Jesus is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven.
Mark 10:46-52      v51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. 

But this week we continue our series exploring the book of John, now with Chapter 16.

Weekly Meditative Exercise

Christianity includes a long and rich tradition of embracing meditative practices as a way of keeping us connected with God, ourselves, and each other. I encourage you to spend some time each week (ideally 10-30 minutes) trying each weekly exercise. You will naturally find some more appealing and effective than others. You’ll like some but not others, and after 6-12 months you’ll better understand what’s available and what helps you.

This week’s exercise focuses on Worship (pages 49-51).
From Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun. InterVarsity Press, 2005.

• Desire: to honor and adore God as the supreme treasure of life.

• Definition: Worship happens whenever we intentionally cherish God and value God above all else in life. Worship reveals what is important to us.

• Scripture: “God is Spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)

As you engage with this exercise, I encourage you to ask yourself, “When do I feel like I’m really worshiping? What does it mean to me to worship? Where is it easiest for me to connect with God – a location, an environment, an activity, a group of people?”

Peace through Leadership Quotes

“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.”  ~ Greg Anderson

“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”  ~ Rabindranath Tagore

Working to create peace within ourselves, in our homes, and in our communities is an ongoing activity. Like joy, peace is not a destination but is found along the journey. I believe I speak for many of us when I say that people often experience peace – true shalom – as we serve others as a way of sharing and creating peace.

Any time I preach or lead a group, regardless of age, I start the same way. I’m going to say three short sentences. Please repeat each sentence, with enthusiasm.
God made me. God loves me. God has plans for me.

Preface to Today’s Scripture Reading

Today we enter the 16th chapter of John’s Gospel which includes Jesus’ final words of encouragement to His disciples before He prays with them one last time (chapter 17). The sense of drama is high. Jesus speaks with urgency and in a way that seems almost jumbled compared to the carefully crafted parables He shared with the public.

If we actually pay attention to what Jesus is saying, we’re likely to empathize with the disciples’ confusion and their comment, “We don’t understand.” Remember, this is happening before Jesus’ dramatic, heart-wrenching, and faith-jarring execution and later His resurrection. We have the benefit of 2,000 years of hindsight. Context is critical here.

As you hear today’s reading, notice that Jesus tells His disciples – His closest friends and the leaders of the early Christian movement – that they will weep, mourn, and grieve but later experience joy. Despite their devotion to Jesus and all they have experienced and accomplished with Jesus, they will not avoid suffering. Why should we expect our lives will be any different?

Jesus’ private words to His disciples ring true for us today. Yes, we will experience suffering in our lives, and we can anticipate joy in our earthly future and in our eternal future. Sometimes feeling that joy is easier said than done.

Jesus shares these words to encourage His disciples. Perhaps the most encouraging words come in verse 22 when Jesus reminds them and us that “no one can rob you of the joy” that comes through our relationship with God. As much as the disciples needed each other to get through a very tough time, we today need each other in our own communities of faith. Like the disciples, we need each other to remind us of past joys and shine the light of hope on future joys.

Let’s open our ears, minds, and hearts as we read today’s Scripture, and as you listen, imagine that you are one of the disciples in the room. What would you think as you hear this? How would you respond to Jesus’ words?

Read John 16:16-24 and the rest of chapter 16 this week.

This chapter is a tough one! How can Jesus expect His disciples to be at peace (v33) when He repeatedly explains that He will be leaving them? How can Jesus chastise them for not clearly understanding what He’s telling them? On top of that, if these are indeed words Jesus shared privately with His disciples for their benefit (not the public’s), is it reasonable for us today to appropriate these words for ourselves? Yes, I believe these words are equally valid for us because we too are followers of Jesus; we are His disciples.

In today’s reading, Jesus specifically addresses the suffering and grieving the disciples will soon experience. As you can imagine, that insight concerned the disciples. Across time and cultures, everyone’s stress levels rise when bad news is shared. Modern examples of this might include a family member announcing a lost job or the diagnosis of a serious medical condition – tough times are coming, be prepared. Jesus used the metaphor of a woman about to give birth. As one commentator noted, even “the resurrected Jesus still bears the scars on his hands and his side” (Jarvis, Cynthia A.; Johnson, E. Elizabeth. Feasting on the Gospels--John, Volume 2. Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle 6750).

But in Jesus’ four-chapter long “Farewell Discourse” (chapters 13-17) which began with Him washing the disciples’ feet, He repeatedly says something similar to, “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy” (John 15:11). So that you’ll have peace – shalom (John 16:33). So that you will feel loved and love others (John 13:34-35).”

From Jesus’ perspective in John’s story, everything is fine, and what is about to happen is all part of something great and greater. By describing the time between this moment and his upcoming execution and resurrection as “in a little while” (which can also mean an insignificant amount of time), Jesus seems completely indifferent about the timeframe. According to John, Jesus already understands how the next several days will play out, which means He is future-oriented, not trapped in the now. Whether you are days away from having your first child, leaving home for the first time, or getting your first tattoo, you know pain is around the corner, and you are excited about the joy that’s beyond the pain.

And that’s the lesson we need to embrace from today’s reading. Like Jesus modeled for the disciples, we need to acknowledge and deal with the past and present stresses and traumas in our lives WHILE we look to our future. Often that’s easier said than done... which is why we believe it is so important to be connected with God and each other in our faith community – our church family. From our Christian perspective, we often process the events of our lives through prayer, through small support groups, and through worship services like today – all of which are aspects of our communal behavior.

During the past few months, many of you have shared with me your frustrations, disappointments, and griefs WHILE also acknowledging the blessings in your lives. During October, our church family has held two Celebration of Life services for people we have recently lost. During each service we shared tears AND laughter. And with every service, we remind ourselves of our hope in the life yet to come – our future resurrections.

But as we have so often said before, we don’t have to wait until we die to experience the Kingdom of God. Every single moment that we are able to love God, love ourselves, and love others, we make the Kingdom of God real, we make it practical, and we make it personal. This was and is the Good News Jesus and His disciples proclaimed. And this continues to be the Good News for us, for our families, and for our community.

Amen? Amen!