November 20, 2022
Gospel – 5/21/20 – John 16:16-20
Jesus said to his disciples:
“A little while and you will no longer see me,
and again a little while later and you will see me.”
So some of his disciples said to one another,
“What does this mean that he is saying to us,
‘A little while and you will not see me,
and again a little while and you will see me,’
and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?”
So they said, “What is this ‘little while’ of which he speaks?
We do not know what he means.”
Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them,
“Are you discussing with one another what I said,
‘A little while and you will not see me,
and again a little while and you will see me’?
Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices;
you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”
This is why you don’t ask God for patience. Just let it come. If you ask for patience you get today’s lesson.
Jesus tells the disciples that in a little while they won’t see him and then says in a little while they will.
They don’t get what he’s saying. How do you explain death and Resurrection to those without the mental capacity to grasp it? How do you explain it to those with the mental capacity? We have to take it on Faith.
Jesus is telling them to be patient. But, none of us really want to be patient.
Did you know about seven centuries earlier, Habakkuk, a minor prophet, got upset with God and asked him why God allowed wrong to triumph. God said, go talk to Job. Okay, he didn’t say that but that’s a little funny, right?
God actually told him that his plan was going to take time, be patient.
God’s plan for salvation takes time. We will experience some very sad times here in the world, but the World will rejoice because they don’t really know what they’re missing.
We will grieve for the loss but eventually our grief will turn to joy.
When? In a little while.
At least that’s what I heard Him say…
What I Heard Him Say 