Faith

Looking beyond a promise – Saturday, 6th Week Of Easter – Acts 18:23-28/ John 16:23b-28

Please also read https://www.pottypadre.com/meet-apollos-the-man-not-the-spacecraft/

These are not the easiest verses in John’s gospel because they could be up for selective scripture reading by the one who desperately needs a prayer heard. Remember that Jesus is hours away from his suffering and death. He is talking to the apostles knowing that their hearts are filled with sadness. He assures them that they will see him “in a little while.”

Jesus, now addressing the apostles says to them, that until now they have not asked for anything ‘in His name’. Why is this so? They did not have to ask ‘in his name’ because they only had to ask him. Until now Jesus has been with them, until now they just had to go to him for their needs and say “they have no wine” or “what are we to feed them?”. He has been their guide and stay for the last three years and they just had to go to Him directly, he was physically accessible.

Now, knowing that he would soon be put to death and rise again; knowing that he would enter His glory at the right hand of the Father, Jesus knew that he would not be directly available to them and so he gives them another gift, “If you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Ask and you will receive so that your joy may be complete.”

Reading this passage, one might feel inclined to focus only on the promise of Jesus that the Father will give us anything that we may ask for in Jesus’ name. Ironically many of us have done exactly that and yet not got what we asked for, leaving us discouraged. I am sure that many of the readers and viewers to this blog and channel on YouTube have prayed hard for something and never got it. May I say, that this is a very poor and narrow way of looking at the text. I understand why some may only see the promise and therefore turn to the Father and ask. I understand why some may claim mighty miracles in the name of Jesus. While this is all very good, we might end up missing the woods for the trees.

There is a central truth here to be grasped; a truth beyond the promises we seek for ourselves or for others. Instead of only focusing on the words of Jesus, to ask in his name, focus for a while on another central truth that you may quickly obscure in your enthusiasm to settle on this scripture line that brings you comfort.

Jesus shares another central truth; that the father loves you! Think about it, you are loved by the Father no less. The gifts and promises are second to the love of God himself. It is easy to focus on the gift received or the prayer that is heard while we may quickly forget that the gift given comes because of the love of the giver.

Perhaps now, this scripture text can take a different form. Knowing that the Father loves each of us, we are encouraged to bring our concerns to the Father without dictating how they are to be solved. Perhaps we can place them in this loving Father’s care, and leave them there? Today would be a good day to let go of your desire for security, for control, and to open you heart to the loving presence of God.

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Faith

No more pain, no more grief – Friday, 6th week of Easter – Acts 18:9-18/John 16:20-23a

Read also https://www.pottypadre.com/the-march-of-the-unqualified/ based on the first reading of today’s liturgy.

The reality of human suffering is not something that Jesus diminishes for us. Jesus is not a salesman with a product but God who comes with salvation. He is not selling anything rather offering the gift of life, free of cost. He does not sugar coat his message to gather followers rather he presents us with the truth so that we may be devoted disciples. Todays, teaching is another dose of one such truths.

“So, you have pain now, “says Jesus. The word used in the RSV Bible for pain is Λύπην – lypēn which also translates to grief and in the context of 16:20 reads better as grief. Jesus has told his disciples that they will weep and mourn but the world will rejoice at his suffering and crucifixion. It is in this context that Jesus mentions that the disciples will experience pain or grief; but that grief is not the last word, for grief will ‘turn’ to joy. This “pain” is not a physical pain but an emotional heart ache that the disciples will experience for soon they will no longer see Jesus.

Suffering in itself seems futile but Christian suffering is a means to an end. While no one will-fully wishes suffering for one’s self, our experiences teach us that when suffering does come to us, we know that the last word is always triumph; our pain turns to joy. Just like a woman wreathing at childbirth will forget every bit of her pain when she gives birth to a child, so also the pain that the disciples endure will be for “a little while.”

For those Christians who read this text, especially those whose “little while” seems never ending, I wish to offer my prayers for your endurance. I have seen many good people suffer physical ailments that have chained them to a bed for several years. I have seen people with emotional pains that have made them prisoners of their mind and struggles that make it hard to get up and face the dawn. I cannot offer you anything but the promise of Jesus in John 16:22, “so you have pain now but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice and no one will take your joy from you.”

Perhaps for many of us, our pain and grief may be a lifetime and that “little while” that Jesus promised may seem a cruel irony. Yet for those who understand that we are but pilgrims of this earth with permanent citizenship in heaven, we must, we should, we have to find consolation in the promise of Jesus, that when we see him again, it will be Him that we see with joy in our hearts. Then, from that moment, no one will ever take away our joy.

In the prayers for the dead, we speak of heaven as that place where there is no more suffering, no more pain (grief) for heaven is our joyful home. On that day, there will be no more questions, for on that day, ‘we will ask nothing of the Lord.’ – John 16;23a

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Roses come with thorns – Thursday, 6th Week of Easter – Acts 18:1-8/John 16:16-20

Read also https://www.pottypadre.com/blinkers-for-a-cause/ based on the first reading taken from the Acts of the Apostles.

Turn a page of the Bible and Jesus will be facing his betrayer in the garden of Gethsemane. The suffering that he was to endure for the salvation of the world was just hours away. Even though his spirt was troubled (13:21) our Lord has not stopped teaching; in fact, he did not stop teaching even from the cross.

Our Lord was not detached from humanity; he was both human and divine. He could clearly sense that his teaching had left his disciples with many questions and at the same time left them tongue tied with doubt. (16:5). He acknowledged that sorrow that had filled their heart (16:6) because he told them that he was to go and where he would go they could not come (for the time being) John 13:33. Now he cements that reality when he says, “a little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while and you will see me.”

In our text, Jesus is preparing the disciples for the overwhelming sorrow that they would experience in the next few hours as they watched Him be arrested, mocked, scourged, and crucified. Their world would come crashing down around them. They had put their hopes and staked their futures on their belief that Jesus was the promised Messiah of Israel.

Jesus tells his disciples that they will weep and mourn while the world rejoices; that they will experience pain but pain, death, sadness is not the last word for Christ will turn all of that into joy.

While any major loss is emotionally painful, it’s crucial that we learn how to work through such losses biblically, because we’re all going to face them. Peter (1 Pet. 5:8-9) indicates that it is precisely in times of suffering that the devil seeks to destroy our faith. I’ve seen many believers who have wiped out spiritually because they didn’t know how to face suffering biblically.

Our Lord does not protect the disciples from the pain and sorrow that they will experience as a consequence of his passion and death on the cross. He does not insulate the disciples just as he does not insulate us from the wrath of this world for standing up for him. What our Lord does is to assure us that he will turn our pain into joy. Note those words carefully, “you WILL have pain BUT your pain WILL turn to joy.” (John 16:20). There are promises of both; sadness and joy rolled into one statement. While we would truly only wish for joy, we know that roses come with thorns.

Christ does not replace our pain with joy but rather he turns our pain into joy. A mere replacement of our pain might suggest that Christ takes away pain and replaces it with something that could distract us for a while. This is not his intent. He permits us to experience the pain that is wrought into our life but through that comes the strength of endurance, through that comes an understanding of the joy of perseverance. God does not want to ‘replace’ sorrow temporally, he wants to turn our pain into joy permanently.

This was precisely the experience for the disciples. Seeing their master humiliated on a cross was painful. Having to deal with their own failings of denial and betrayal while he was suffering was painful. Yet, having experienced that pain, joy came on that Easter morning; He is risen as he said!

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The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth – Wednesday, 6th Week of Easter – Acts 17:15,22-18:1/ John 16:12-15

Read also https://www.pottypadre.com/greek-to-paul/ based on the first reading taken from Acts

The farewell discourse that began after the washing of the feet saw several questions from the Disciples. Peter, Thomas, Phillip, Thaddeus….they all had some question or the other. But as the discourse deepens, as the mind of Jesus becomes clear we are told that there are no more questions to ask (John 16:5).

Jesus has made is quite clear that he is going to his father to prepare a place for them all (John 14:3). He promises to ask the father to send the Advocate (John14:16) and promises to not leave them orphaned (John 14:18). All of this is finally taking its toll on the apostles sending them into a tizzy.

Jesus, knowing their hearts desires that they be at peace. He says to them, “peace I give you, my peace I give you.” (John 14:27). Twice in this discourse he will tell them not to be troubled (John 14:1 and John 14:27) asking them to trust in God and trust in him. Yet we know, that in spite of all these words of comfort and assurance they were sorrowful, so sorrowful that Jesus recognises that “sorrow has filled their hearts.” (John 16:6)

It is in this context that the text of today flows. Jesus says that he still has, “many things to say them,” (John 16:12) but clearly, they were not ready for them. Perhaps like the disciples, many of us think we are ready for what we want to hear from the Lord or receive from him, yet the Lord knows that we are not ready because as Jesus says, “you cannot bear them.” (John 16:12)

At the Baptism of children in India it is customary to give the child some ornament in gold. We know that the child is not ready to receive a gold ornament because a child does not know its value nor can the child comprehend what to do with gold and so we hand it over to the parent. Yet, we won’t hesitate to give an older child an ice cream. Children know what to do with an ice cream instinctively.

So, Jesus having dispensed liquid food, enough for them to be nourished, now tells the disciples that he will send the Advocate who will feed them with solids. They are not ready to hear the whole truth now but when the Advocate comes, they will be “guided into ALL the truth.”

The unity and integrity of the Blessed Trinity is seen in these verses for the Holy Spirit is not some fly by wire operator, working on his own but is sent from the father and will speak to us about things past, present and future about the role of the son and the mission of the son. Jesus addresses the Advocate as the “spirit of truth” that will reveal “all truth.”

The Holy Spirit is bound by this mission of truth, to reveal THE TRUTH, and this ‘THE TRUTH’ is Jesus himself. Jesus had declared when answering Thomas, “I am the way, THE TRUTH and the life.” We are assured that when the spirit of truth (The Holy spirit), sent by the father to reveal the son Jesus, we who are children of the light, will receive the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

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Reinforcements on its way – Tuesday, 6th Week of Easter – Acts 16:22-34/ John 16:5-11

Read also https://www.pottypadre.com/kneeling-to-god-standing-to-men/

Jesus continues his discourse with the apostles. He tells them that “he is going to him who sent him.” Evidently, this time, there was no questions from the disciples prompting Jesus to say, “none of you ask me where are you going?” For those of you who have been following the texts of chapters 14-16 will immediately recall that such questions were asked of Jesus. Jesus seems to overlook Peter’s question in John 13:36 “Lord, where are you going?” as well as Thomas’ statement in John 14:5 “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”. So why does Jesus make such a statement?

It is clear that the truth of the passion and suffering of Jesus has sunk in. They are now convinced that he is going away. He has just spoken of the Paraclete as a replacement for his own presence among his disciples. The disciples have been stunned into silence for the penny has finally dropped. In their shock and grief, they simply do not know what to say and so Jesus consoles them by assuring them that it is better this way, because unless he leaves, the Paraclete will not come.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus’ preferred term for the Spirit is the Paraclete. Because this word is notoriously difficult to translate without losing key components of its meaning, many commentators avoid the problem altogether and simply transliterate the Greek and not translate it. The Greek noun Paraclete is related to a verb that means “I call alongside.” The Paraclete, then, is the Spirit of Truth whom Jesus calls to accompany his followers as a helper, counselor, advocate, and guide. Though sent by Jesus, the Spirit goes out from the Father. In this passage Jesus outlines the critical role that the Spirit will play both in the Christian community and in the world.

An essential part of the Spirit’s task is to bring to mind the words that Jesus has already taught the disciples and to teach them the words that they were not yet able to bear when Jesus was physically present among them. Jesus also describes the Paraclete as the Spirit of truth who will expose sin, righteousness, and judgment and who will lead Jesus’ followers into all truth. Often the world has its own take on what sin is, on what righteousness is and what judgment is.

The Paraclete exposes the world’s sin by pointing to its opposite, the righteous one whom a sinful world crucified. Jesus tells us that that Holy Spirit will open our minds to the truth of the sin of denying who Jesus is; the Messiah. The Holy Spirit will open the minds of believers that Jesus is the righteous one who as a consequence ascended to the right hand of the father. The judgment of satan over Jesus which the world rejoiced will be short lived because satan, the ruler of this world is himself condemned.

The Spirit will continue Jesus’ work by revealing the truth about sin and righteousness and judgment, just as Jesus did. Addressing the sadness of the apostles Jesus assures them that reinforcements are on the way.

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