5th Easter John 16, 1-33
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| Stoning of Stephen, Cortona |
“All these words I have
spoken to you so that you will not be offended because you discover what
destiny falls to you through being connected with me. For they will exclude you
from their communities, and the hour will come when those who rob you of your
earthly existence and kill you will think they are offering service to the
progress of the world. They will do so because they cannot raise their knowing
to knowledge of the Father, nor to knowledge of my being and working. All these
words I have spoken to you so that when the time comes you will remember that I
said them to you. I did not speak to you in this way in the beginning because I
was with you. But now I am going away to him who sent me; yet, none of you has
yet the strength and courage to ask me about the realm into which I now enter.
Your hearts are full of grief and therefore closed to the things I have said to
you.
Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is for your
salvation and healing that I go away, for if I did not go away, the Comforter,
who will stand by you in all trials, the Spirit upon whom you can call for
assistance at any moment, would not come to you. But because I go, I will be
able to send him to you. When he comes, he will bring to the world a consciousness
of how the nature of the sickness of sin works, of how people can be
reconnected with the divine world in which there is no sin, and of how the
decision about human error can be brought about. Sin is human beings not really
being able to trust in my being and in that which works out of my being within
them. The balancing of sin holds sway in my going to the Father and in not
remaining limited to appearing outwardly. Judgment works in the decision that
has already been made about the prince of outer world.
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| Pentecost, Mengs |
I have much more to say to you, more than you can
now bear. But only when the Spirit comes, through whom the Truth can reveal
itself to the world, will he lead you to the Truth that Embraces All. For he
will not speak only out of himself, but he will speak what he hears in the
realm of the Spirit, as the speaking of the eternal reality, and he will tell
you what is yet to come. Thus will he reveal me among men, for out of what he
takes from my being he will proclaim to you. In the realm in which my Father
works, there I also live. That is why I can say, ‘He will take from my being
and proclaim to you’.
In a little while you will see me no more, and then
after a little while you will see me.”
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’?
They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not understand
what he is saying.”
Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him about this,
so he said to them, “You are wondering 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.’ Amen, amen, the truth I say to you,
you will weep and deeply mourn, and the world will rejoice in this. You will be
filled with sorrow, but this your sorrow will be turned into unceasing joy. A
woman giving birth must bear pain, for her difficult hour has come. But when
the child is born, she no longer considers the anguish because of her joy that
a child has been born into the world.
So it is with you. Now is your time of grief. But
this your grief will become the power of Spirit-Birth, for I will see you again
and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. On that
day, you will be so deeply united with me that you will no longer need to ask
me anything.
Amen, amen, I tell you the truth; from now on what
you ask of the Father in my name, He will give to you. Until now, you have not
been able to ask anything in my name. Ask and you shall receive, and your joy
will be complete.
Pray from the heart, and it will be given to your
heart so that your joy may be fulfilled.
All this I have given to your souls in imagery. But
the hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in pictures, but will
tell you openly and unveiled about my Father, so that you can grasp it in full,
knowing consciousness. So will I proclaim to you the being of the Father. On
that day, you will ask out of my power and in my name. And no longer will I ask
the Father on your behalf. For the Father himself will love you because you
have loved me, and have known in your hearts that I have come forth from the
Father. I have come forth from the Father and I have come into this world.
I leave the sense world again and return to the
world of the Father, of which you say that it is the world of death.”
Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking
in clear thought and without imagery. Now we know that all things are revealed
to you and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This
makes us believe that you came from God.”
Jesus answered, “Do you now feel my power in your
heart? Behold, the time is coming, and has already come, when you will be
scattered, each to his own loneliness. You will then also leave me alone. But I
am not alone, for the Father is eternally united with me.
All this I have spoken to you so that in me you may
find peace. In this world, you will have great fear and hardship. But take
courage. I have overcome the world.”
5th Easter
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| van Gogh? |
May 6, 2012
John 16:1-33
Spring blossoms are often called ephemerals. Their beauty
appears for a short time, bringing joy. But they quickly disappear. They must
make way for the nourishing fruits of a later season.
The Easter season is almost over. Christ gives us, his
disciples, foreknowledge that the beauty of His resurrection body is about to
disappear from view. In less than two weeks He will ascend to his Father. He
will still be present on the earth, but in a hidden way. He promises, however,
to send His Spirit, the healing Spirit of love and understanding, to reside in
human souls. From there, God’s healing Spirit will germinate in souls, setting
fruit. These fruits of the Spirit, fruits of love, comfort and understanding,
will over time mature and ripen. In time they will become fertile seeds we sow
as words and deeds of love in the world.
But meanwhile we disciples must all endure times of
uncertainty, of anxiety and grief. Christ assures us that this is a necessary
transition, a phase, when the joy and beauty disappear, and the coming phase of
joy is not yet. One gateway closes; the other has not yet opened, and we seem
stranded in between.
While conditions ripen, our task is to endure; to bear the
lonely pain with hope and expectation, until the door of fruitfulness opens.
The poet gives us something of this in-between mood:
…I am very worried and happy
…And there is nowhere I would
rather be
alive or dead
than in this world,
….meanwhile
housing perpetual births and
disappearances
and [I] am glad (the wind is
blowing, it is written, adore
the wind)
and am speechlessly grateful and
glad and afraid
I don't mind saying that I am
scared
to death of God: I am
afraid and blind and ignorant and
naked and
I'll take it!…..
I can't grasp it, but I am so very
glad.[1]
