John 16:16-20 February 10, 2002

"In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me."

[17] Some of his disciples said to one another, "What does he mean by saying, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,' and 'Because I am going to the Father'?" [18] They kept asking, "What does he mean by 'a little while'? We don't understand what he is saying."

[19] Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, "Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me'? [20] I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. [21] A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. [22] So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. [23] In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. [24] Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

CCI: Even in grief, the seeds of joy are planted for Jesus' disciples.

Intro: I am getting ready to leave for a trip on Wednesday morning. I will be gone until Monday morning. That is 5 days all together. Last week I began putting some stuff together for this trip. Now normally, I pack very little. In fact, there have been times I have had to buy clothes because I did not think I would need more than 3 pairs of socks in a week (after all, I would be barefoot most of the time). However, there are other times. When I go hunting for 5 days I take at least 3 pairs of boots, 3 different overalls, 3-4 sets of insulated underwear, 10 pairs of socks, 3 pairs of gloves and several hats. That does not count the important stuff like 150 rounds of rifle ammunition, a shooting bench, a tree stand, a portable ladder, 4 different size knives and a 64 quart cooler. One year, after packing all this, I discovered just after arriving at my hunting site that I had forgotten to pack the bolt to my rifle. So now, I have thought about carrying an extra one.

This week, I discovered, I was doing the same thing with the trip coming up. I bought two extra books for all the reading time I will have (that is in addition to the 4 I was planning to take). I made a list of 9 restaurants I want to visit while I am in San Diego. I was considering the CD's I NEED to take, the clothes, the notebooks and pens. And then I thought about carrying my luggage and finding a taxi that will take a library. I am not planning to travel light.

Now you may have some advise for me. You may tell me that I don't need all that stuff! You may suggest that I will never use most of it. You may even point out that if I take too much I'll only make trouble for myself. And you would be right.

Unfortunately, most of us travel throughout life the same way. We carry backpacks of sorrows, shoulder bags of regrets, Pullmans of guilt, and fanny packs filled with fear. And the longer we live, the more shopping bags and luggage we collect and then carry with us wherever we go. Is it any wonder we get tired and run down? Is it any wonder we don't have the energy to do the ministry Jesus has called us to? Why do we do that?

As I read this passage, I see that the disciples were lugging a lot of luggage as well. They had overnight bags filled with expectations that they wanted Jesus to fulfill, they had wallets stuffed with ambition and handbags loaded with unanswered and unasked questions. Their luggage was getting in the way of the journey that Jesus wanted them to take with him.

But Jesus recognized their questions. And so he brought them to the surface, "Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me'?" There had been a lot of buzz among them. Jesus words were confusing. They wanted to understand, but what they knew about the messiah, and what Jesus was talking about did not mesh. They had a suitcase full of expectations for a conquering hero. They carried hopes for a new king who would wipe out the Romans and reestablish the splendor and power of Jerusalem. Now Jesus, the One they thought was the Messiah, was talking about leaving the scene. They had a lot of questions.

And Jesus set out to answer them. "You will grieve while the world rejoices." He was telling them that what would cause them sorrow would bring rejoicing to others. Paul was an example of that. When he set out to persecute the church, he believed that he was serving God. But when He encountered the living Christ his life and mission were transformed. He set aside the baggage of his prejudice and hatred, and found rest in Jesus.

Even today we see this kind of attitude. David Hasseltine, from the group "Jars of Clay" has produced a book entitled, "The Narrow Road." It is a book of stories from the persecuted church. In Columbia, David met a man who told the following story:

I don't know what we would do without the Word of God. We see it being fulfilled in our lives. Just as Paul speaks about being freed from the mouths of lions, the Lord Jesus Christ has also freed us.

One night five people came to our door and took me away. After walking for about two hours, they turned to me and said, "We brought you out here to kill you because you support our enemies. If you want to live you have to tell us to which group you belong.

The commander was well known for having killed several dozen people. He put his gun to my head. I looked him in the eyes and said, "I can't fabricate a lie, because if you kill me and I go into the presence of God, He is going to judge me for this lie. . . So I would prefer you to kill me for telling the truth, which is that Jesus Christ loves you."

I was forced to walk farther into the jungle for him to kill me, and I asked if he would do so near my home, where my family could find my body. I told him, "You know something! Jesus Christ loves you. And I don't have anything against you. You can kill me, and I will pray to God that one day we will see each other in heaven." When I knelt down to pray the man became uneasy, ordering me to get up. I said, " I'm sorry, sir. I was just kneeling down to pray before the God of my life so that He would receive my soul."

The man just stood, rooted in from of me, with the gun still pointed at my head. He said nothing for several minutes. I was still sure I would die, so the only thing I actually said was, "Lord, into your hands I commend my spirit." There were some other men from this group mocking the commander, who held the gun pointed at my head. They were laughing and saying "What's the matter? Why don't you kill this guy?" the commander gave his gun to someone else, adding "I am just not capable of killing this man."

He didn't kill me! This is the mercy of God and power of His Word.

Jesus said, "You will have sorrow, while the world rejoices you will mourn, but then your sorrow will be turned into joy." Sorrow into joy. This is the power of the resurrection. Life out of death. Victory where there was defeat. David Hasseltine's friend had learned to travel light. One day he had stopped carrying the bag filled with the fear of death and so as he approached that door, he was able to peer into heaven with peace.

But how do we learn to travel light? I believe Jesus tells us how at the end of this passage. The disciples were carrying a burden of questions and fears and Jesus promised that a day was coming when their sorrow would be turned into joy. He was speaking of the day of his resurrection. Then he said, "In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. [24] Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete."

This promise has been twisted into a lot of different things. It has been made the abracadabra of Christians. It has been used as an assessment tool. "If you are really a Christian, your prayers will be answered as you desire, if they are not, then there is something wrong in your life." But in reality, this promise is about traveling light. It is about having the questions that overwhelm you put to rest.

So often we try to prepare for every eventuality. We want all our questions answered and all our needs met and we want it now. Jesus tells us that the joy of the resurrection will put our questions to rest. The questions in our life are often like a wildly perking coffee pot. They come to the surface and explode: "Why does. . .? Where will. . . ? What if. . . ? Why not. . .?" Jesus offers to remove the heat from the pot. Ask your questions and you will receive peace so that your joy may be complete.

Recently at the Grocery store, I had my hands full. I had gone in just for a package of hamburger and by the time I got to the checkout, it had grown to eggs and milk and bread and chicken and roast as well as the hamburger. I tried carrying it to the front and just as I got near, the stack began to shift. Just then I heard the words, "Let me get that." And the eggs and the milk and bread were suddenly lifted away. That was a blessing. Someone there, knew what I needed and they simply stepped in and lifted the burden. Now I could have objected, and in the past I have objected with words like, "I can do it myself!" But this time I didn't. And I experienced relief.

We can put our luggage down if we will believe Jesus and ask. God's promise is complete. In 1 Peter we are invited to "cast all our cares upon him, because he cares for us." It is almost as if he is saying, "Here, let me get that." In the times of sorrow, he is planting the seeds of joy that will relieve burdens we carry. "Let me get that for you." he says quietly.

And how will you respond?