John 16.16-20 “A little while, and you all will not see me, and another little while, and you all will see me.” Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What does this mean that he is saying to us, ‘A little while, and you all will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me; and ‘Because I am going to the Creator’?” They said, “What does he mean by this ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you all discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, ‘A little while, and you all will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you all will see me’? Very truly, I tell you all that you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you all will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has pain because her time has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the tribulation because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. So you all have pain now; but I will see you all again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”
Reflection Once again Jesus’ disciples are beside them selves and say to one another, “What does this mean that (Jesus) is saying to us, ‘A little while, and you all will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me…?” They act as if this is the first time they heard the message of going and coming. The thing is, throughout much of the gospel according to John, Jesus has been preparing the disciples for his going away and coming again.
Let us take a deep dive into the text. The disciples are reclining after their final Passover Supper with Jesus. Realizing his imminent departure and betrayal, the air is foul with foreboding as we listen to Jesus reassure the disciples. “Do not let your hearts be troubled… I go to prepare a place for you… And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am there you may be also.” (14.1-3) There it is. The going and the coming.
Jesus continues to assure the disciples and us that even though he is going we will not be abandoned. “I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of Truth.” (14.16-17) “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” (14.25-26) leaving
Jesus’ counsel is unambiguous. “I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you… “ Going and coming belong together. Going creates the spaciousness into which the Spirit comes. “When the Spirit of truth comes he will guide you into all truth… he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (16.7, 13.14) In other words, nothing will be lost to the disciples when Jesus physically departs because they will participate in the mediating agency of the Spirit, the same Spirit of truth that informs Jesus, the same Spirit that informs all of us.
One of the concerns of the unidentified writer of the Gospel according to John is conveying the Trinitarian nature of God. There is every chance this is an effort to distinguish the new Christian teachings from the teachings of the Synagogue. The gospel explicitly names the disciples and all of us as participants in the Holy Trinity, effectual members of the Community of God. Jesus puts it this way, “I and the Father are one…(10.30) The one who believes will also do the works that I do, and, in fact, will do greater works than these.(14.12) ) because the Advocate, the Spirit of truth… abides with you and he will be in you.” (14.17) Immediately before being betrayed and arrested Jesus prays for the disciples, “As you Father are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us…” (17.20) Trinity.
We are intimate participants in the Community of Trinity, the Community of God. When we no longer see one another in the physical realm we remain connected by the Spirit’s mediating action of coming and going. It is in and of, with and through community in Trinity that the will, the ways and the works of God are embodied and expressed. The strength and creativity of Father Mother God moves through the agency of the mediating Spirit in intimate and compassionate relationship with all of us “to do even greater works” than Jesus has done.
This is why Jesus advises the disciples and us, “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you… When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own... because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.(16.7, 13-15) We are full participants in the Trinity.
The physical presence of Jesus must go away for the mediating agency of the Spirit to be experienced by us. All the good, grace and generosity we witness in the physical life and ministry of Jesus takes root and residence within us through the agency of the Spirit. Let me be crystal clear. This in no way intends to privilege the spiritual over the physical. The very fact of incarnation, the living Spirit of God embodied in human flesh, sets that misapprehension to rest. Jesus reveals to us the way of being fully human, of consenting to the living, breathing, healing and redeeming agency of the Spirit made revealed through him in the Community of Trinity. Through the agency of the same Spirit we are meant to be likewise.
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