“I will not leave you as orphans;
I will come to you.”

May 17, 2020, The Sixth Sunday of Easter

Gospel Lesson: John 14:15–21 [If you love Me, obey what I command.]
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”


At the Last Supper Jesus said to his disciples, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” In this metaphor, Jesus tells his disciples not to worry. They will not be left behind like sad, penniless, and hopeless orphans when their parents die. It is first because Jesus will come back to them. He will come to them on the third day when he is resurrected. And he will come back to them on the Last Day of the world. It is sort of like a father who works for a big company and is sent to another city on the other side of the country without his family for two years. He says to his children, “I will come back. I’ll see you at vacation time and keep in touch by phone and facebook, and your mother will help you.” It is sort of like a father in the military who is sent to the other side of the world for two years. He says to his worried children, “I will come home safely. We’ll keep in touch by facebook. Your mother will take care of you.” Jesus says, “I will come back. We’ll keep in touch through the scripture and the Holy Spirit who will be your Helper. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

“I will not leave you as orphans” means that Jesus will not abandon us. We will not be forsaken. We will not be alone. We will not be on our own. We will not be helpless. It is the promise of Immanuel, which means, “God With Us.”

And yet, doesn’t it seem sometimes that we have been abandoned? When there are troubles in our lives, have you ever asked where God was? At times of personal tragedy or natural catastrophes or global pandemics, people feel that God doesn’t care. It seems that God has abandoned his creation. We have daily frustrations at home and at work, and we say, “Oh, my God.” “God, I need your help. Where are you?” We really do understand the words of Jesus on the cross when he said, “My God, my God, why have your forsaken me?” To be abandoned by God means both living and dying in agony.

But has God abandoned us or have we abandoned Him? Have we given up on God? Have we decided to go our own sinful way? Have we caved into the pressures of this world? Have we blamed God for the tragedies of this world? If God is almighty, if God is love, why is there pain and death? We wonder if God is the cause of the disease and destruction and despair. If so, then “Oh, my God” almost becomes a like a curse. If God has abandoned me then I hate God. I cannot trust Him. I am better on my own.

If we abandon God, if we abandon our faith, will he eternally abandon us? Will he abandon us to Hell? Is there any hope at all?

Our greatest hope is in the words of the Apostles’ Creed. “He was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead.” Jesus did not suffer in hell; rather he descended upon hell as the Victor over death. He came to free us. He freed us from our sin, from our fears, and from our hopelessness. “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” Jesus kept that promise. Jesus still keeps that promise.

Jesus came to us and invites us to remain with him. No longer orphans, we are beloved children of God. In the midst of personal tragedy or natural catastrophes or global pandemics, we trust Jesus to be with us. We trust Jesus because he rose from the dead. Therefore we have hope and courage. Yes, there will be times when we will be tempted to doubt the love and will of God. There will be times in frustration and despair that we will cry, “Oh, my God.” But it will become a prayer, “Oh, my God, amen.” We will be like people who have found great comfort and hope in the words of Psalm 42. The experience of the writer of this psalm was very much like ours.

Psalm 42 (ESV)
1 As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
2
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
3
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?”
4
These things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng
and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.
5
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation 6 and my God.
My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7
Deep calls to deep
at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
have gone over me.

8
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
9
I say to God, my rock:
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10
As with a deadly wound in my bones,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
11


Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.



Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church


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