One of the things of which Christians are often accused is only being worried about the life to come rather than their life now. Just think about it. Here we are in church today, hearing God's Word, being prepared for eternal life while out there, in the world, people are sleeping in, or out doing whatever activities they like. Those folks don't have to worry about following God's rules or repenting of their sins. They don't have to take a chunk of their hard earned money and put it in the plate. They don't have to worry about learning God's Word or trying to understand the Catechism. They just live their lives with no thought about God and most of them seem to be doing OK. Meanwhile, we Christians struggle to understand the things that go wrong in our lives by wondering, “Where's the God who's supposed to fix everything and save me? If I give up my life for God, why do I have to put up with all these troubles? Why aren't things better? Surely believing in God means my life is supposed to be better than the guy's who doesn't!” Which is why Jesus tells His disciples today: “The world will rejoice. You will have sorrow. But then your sorrow will be turned to joy.” Brothers and sisters in Christ, hear this promise: Those who live for nothing but this life may have some rejoicing now. But that rejoicing will end the day the Lord comes back. You, on the other hand, dear Christian, you WILL have sorrow in this life. But when the Lord returns, your sorrow will be turned to joy and your joy will never end.
Jesus tells His disciples, “A little while and you will see me no more and then a little while and you will see me.” This is Maundy Thursday. In just a few hours, Jesus will be taken from them. Arrested, tried, beaten, mocked, whipped, crucified and then die. The Jesus they thought was going to be the Savior will be taken from them and their hearts will break for sorrow. But then the Jesus they thought would be their Savior turns out to be exactly that because He is alive on Easter three days later! Their sorrow at His death is turned into joy at seeing Him alive. And that is such a joy that the disciples, who hid in the upper room because they were afraid would later go to the ends of the earth and die horrible deaths just to preach this crucified and risen Savior! What turns their sorrow into joy and gives them such a joy that cannot be overcome by the world? The death and resurrection of Christ. True, His death was hard for them to bear. But when He was risen, then they understood His death. The joy they had was the sure and certain hope that if death cannot keep their Lord down, it could not harm them either. Oh, sure, they'd die. But they would live again. So by His death and resurrection, Jesus not only saves us for the life to come, but for our life now! See how this works.
When Jesus tells us that our sorrow will turn to joy, He does mean that the time will come when the sufferings and sadness of this life will be forever turned into rejoicing and happiness. It is true that as Christians we think about the after life...because there is one! As Christians, we know that this life is NOT all there is. There is a new heaven and earth to come, a dwelling place for all eternity, a new paradise in which we shall enjoy life for all eternity. A life without sickness and sorrow where every tear is wiped away. Jesus' death and resurrection means that you will spend eternity not suffering for your sins but living with Christ and each other in joy and peace. Christ's death and resurrection are the promise that death cannot keep you down but your Lord will raise you from the dead on the Last Day. Christ's death and resurrection are what enable us to confess, as we do in the Creed, “The resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.” These aren't just nice sayings. They are true! You are going to live forever and in a forever that has no more suffering and sadness. Isn't that something to look forward to? Absolutely! So don't ever let any unbeliever try to steal that hope of future joy away from you! If someone should ever say, “Christians just think about the after life and not this life,” say, “Well why not? There IS an afterlife. An eternal life of peace and joy with our Lord!”
But that's what is to come. We still live now. In this world. In this life. With these sorrows and sadness. The fact is, as a Christian, you will suffer. You will have sadness. Worry. Anxiety. Misery. Trials and tribulations. Crosses to bear. Jesus says so. The same Savior who says that all your sins are forgiven also promises that you will have sorrow. Doesn't sound so great, does it? Christians worry about their jobs and their bills. Christians have bad marriages and troubled families. Christians get sick and have pain and suffering. Christians die. Just because you bear the name of Christ doesn't mean you're immune from those things. And when you suffer them, they hurt! And the world laughs saying, “Well where's your Jesus now? You believe in God, why doesn't He do something?” And we pray. And our prayers go unanswered. Or we think they do. Because our prayers for the Lord to remove our suffering have already been answered: “In a little while you will see me no more and then in a little while you will see me. Your sorrow will be turned into joy and your no one will take away from you.” Brothers and sisters in Christ, the comfort against our sorrows in this life is Jesus' death and resurrection given to you. Given at your baptism. Given in absolution and preaching. Given at the Supper by His body and blood. With those gifts that deliver the forgiveness of sins, you have a promise that whatever sorrow you have in this life, whatever cross you bear, whatever suffering you undergo—it's all just nothing. It can't hurt you. It can't separate you from God's love in Jesus Christ. It might kill you but it can't destroy you forever. These things we suffer, they are just passing and temporary. They will be exchanged one day for joy. Which means that when you suffer them now, in this life, you can defeat their hold on you by the promise of the joy that you've already been given in the Word and Sacraments and the joy that is to come when Christ comes again and you see Him. See? That IS joy for this life. It's the promise of the future eternal joy which sustains us in the troubles of the “now.”
But now WATCH OUT! Now you have it clearly from Jesus' lips: “You will have sorrow.” Being a Christian doesn't exempt you from suffering and sorrow and tragedy. It just means that those things can't hurt you forever and that you can look down upon them as mere annoyances and not the end of the world. But that's not what most preachers will tell you. They'll tell you that if you have enough faith, believe hard enough, give your life to Jesus, you'll have power over all these things. You'll not be poor or sick or miserable. You'll be happy and prosperous. Just ask former Lutheran turned woman preacher Joyce Mayer whose huge private jet is sitting in a hangar at St. Louis' Spirit airport! Just ask Joel Osteen who tells us in his book how to have “Your Best Life Now.” And I guarantee, if you read his book, this life WILL be your best one, because the one to come will be eternal punishment! These and all other false preachers have got it stuck in their craw that somehow getting on board with Jesus means tossing off all the cares and worries of this life. And it seems to work for these preachers as they laugh their way to the bank. But hear again Jesus' words: “The world will rejoice and you will sorrow but your sorrow will be turned into joy.” Understand that Christ does NOT promise you an easy life, a life free from suffering and trials. But He does promise that because He has conquered all sin and death on the cross, that your sorrow will be turned into joy. He does say that by His Word and Sacraments He will put in you such joy that you will overcome even the sufferings of this world.
Why shouldn't we look forward to the life to come? It's going to be a life where our sorrow is turned into joy! And yet, while we still live this life, we are not joyless. Sure, we suffer trials and tribulations the same as anyone, perhaps more so, sometimes. And yet Christ's death and resurrection throw down the power of sin and turn our sorrows into joy, even as we undergo them. Christ's death and resurrection, delivered to you in His church, are the one thing that can turn your sorrows into joy and give your hearts such a rejoicing that nothing can take it away either in this life or the life to come. in the Name of Jesus. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment