~ Jubilate ~
Readings: Isaiah 40:25-31 | 1 Peter 2:11-20 | John 16:16-22
Text: John 16:16-22
Scope of the next few Sundays: Preparing the disciples not just for the moment, but for the whole of the time of the Church, from Jesus’ Ascension to His return in glory. The next 3 Sundays aim us forward to Jesus’ ascension and where we now sit in the time after His ascension.
- Rejoice (Jubilate, 4th Sunday after Easter) – Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! (Ps. 66:1)
- Sing (Cantate, 5th Sunday) – Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! (Ps. 98:1)
- Ask (Rogate, 6th Sunday) – Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. (John 16:24)
This Sunday addresses the topic of the contrast between the fleeting joy of the world and the eternal joy of the Church. This is why it bears the name, Jubilate… Make a joyful shout to God.
When we look out over the landscape today, it looks as though the world is winning. They have the educational institutions, the populist vote, the hearts of the masses. What would it be like to join with the world, and enjoy the praise of those whose measure of success is in this world? No doubt, this is appealing to us who bear the Name of Christ. To put it simply, isn’t it great to play for the winning team?
But the teaching of Christ is not palatable to the world. It cannot be denied that the world will not hear us when we say that God created man and woman; that He made them complementary to and yet distinct from each other; that He blesses men and women in the vocations that they already have by virtue of their birth. The unbelieving world insists on saying that people must subscribe to their ideologies, and must not only affirm, but also share with them in their values. We often hope that if we just convey the biblical truth wisely and winsomely enough, that will finally win over the world to our side. While there might be instances where individuals are won over, it was not because we found the secret key.
Rather, the Lord tells us that there will be a duality, two sides which have different lords, different outlooks, and different reasons to rejoice.
The side that follows the Lord shares flesh and blood with the world, and we walk on the same dirt. However, God the Father has caused us to be born to a living hope through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, who is our Lord [1 Pet. 1:3-9]. God the Holy Spirit dwells within us, making our flesh and blood His temple and renewing our hearts and minds. Therefore, we rejoice in the things of God: in a kingdom which does not pass away, in wayward sheep who are brought into the Lord’s fold by Him laying down His life, in the experience of “when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.” (1 Peter 2:20) In this we rejoice as Christians.
For those whose lord is the prince of this world [Ephesians 2:2], they rejoice over the success and glory of man. You can see this in every philosophy that is in the air of today’s thought, which have sprung up since the Enlightenment. Each so-called great thinker claims to have progressed onto something better than before. In effect they say, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” (Psalm 2:3) The old prohibitions were only the prejudices of prudish men. Look! No fire and sulfur reigns down on homosexual pride parades. There is no objective truth, so all of those hangups about right and wrong are all in your mind. If you were with us, you would be free to live up to your human potential!
But none of this should surprise us, who knows man’s folly from the beginning. “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.” (Psalm 2:4) He says now to us:
20Truly, 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. 21When 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. 22So 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.
No doubt, it’s going to be hard to be on the outs with the unbelievers around us—be they friends, family, coworkers, or even a spouse. We weep for their hopeless future and fervently pray that the light of Christ would break through to them. We lament the strife that comes when we try to share our faith with them, or are excluded when they rejoice in things we cannot condone.
Our Lord uses an analogy to teach us about this: child birth. Although less than half of us have personally experienced this, labor is awful. Whatever good you would say about motherhood, labor and delivery is not what mothers look forward to. It’s terrible and painful. As it progresses, there are waves of intensity so great that all else fades in comparison. It’s perilous too, on the brink between life and death both for mother and child.
But labor is also momentary. In spite of the pains and strife of childbirth, as often as its outcome obtained, it is filled with joy. Every last one of us who sit here have been safely brought through this. A human being is born into the world.
What does this teach us about the life of Christians living between the Ascension and the Return of Christ? We can and should expect periods of intense animosity with the world. It will cause us great, sometimes overwhelming pain. Satan will tempt us personally and terribly: “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” (1 Pet. 2:11) He will also attack us together who belong to Christ with government policies, angry mobs, online scorn and mockery.
There will also be many things which we will lament over during this time. There will be mistakes that we will make in speaking to our neighbors, in raising our children, in hurts that pastors will cause and times when they misspeak as God’s ambassadors. But that’s not all, because there will be sheep who stumble over even small things. To their peril, people will change churches not because of doctrine but because of musical preference, or who seems to have the best youth program, or how people greeted them at the door. And there will also be sheep who wander, because they fall in love with the world’s priorities of extracurricular’s or Satan snares them in a sin that they refuse to bring to the Lord for absolution, or they become unequally yoked by marrying an unbeliever and their spouse becomes a snare to their faith. Children who are raised in the Church and know better will sin against their conscience and refuse to do what we taught them.
All of this will cause us to cry out to heaven in lamentation. The Lord, who has sees and knows all will comfort us even as we weep. He ever remains the Good Shepherd of His flock and almighty to gather His sheep who are scattered. Recall the promise we heard last week and implore Him to fulfill His Word: “I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.” (Ezekiel 34:16)
As perilous as this time is with its bitter tears, there is also cause to rejoice greatly. The Lord’s purpose is fulfilled by His Word cast out over the world. “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10) The outcome of all of this are the saints gathered around God’s throne in eternity. It is not an earthly crown or victory that we seek, but one which is kept for us and will be revealed on the Last Day:
13Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will shelter
them with his presence.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst
anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be
their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living
water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes.”
(Revelation 7:13-17)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
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