RBWords

     The effort to understand the Farewell Discourse can be rewarding, but the word "effort" can be an understatement at times!  In today's portion, even the disciples are bewildered! It is helpful to recall that one of the major purposes of the discourse is to prepare and to encourage the disciples (then and later).  We who are part of the "later" group have to undergo our own struggle and effort to understand and apply Jesus' words in our daily lives!  I want to call attention to a couple of features.  (Tomorrow's image of childbirth will rate its own consideration, but it is linked to today's passage.  Stay tuned!)

     The first feature is the expression "a little while."  The words remind me of words that a mom might use for a child who is insisting on something that can't be done right away!  All time seems an eternity to a child with an immediate desire!  In historical time, that "little while" would mean the few hours and days left in Jesus' earthly life and then his appearances after his resurrection. But it also carries with it the broader picture of Jesus' entire life on earth.  In this broader picture, time has that indefinite character that Mom means it to have!  it refers to the entire process of the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us. We can broaden this picture in our own thinking to help us see what "time" means in God's perspective.

     The second feature concerns Jesus' comings and goings!  I have mentioned before the dramatic quality of John's gospel and its theatrical effects.  Entrances and exits are part of any drama!  Here we have Jesus speaking of an exit (his death) and an entrance (his appearances to the disciples), then another exit (he goes to the Father) and another entrance (the sending of the Spirit).  It is this final "entrance" (the entrance of the Spirit) that is meant to be the consolation that assures his continuing "presence" in the church.

     All of this may seem like looking for particular pieces in a large jigsaw puzzle.  The author of the gospel put the original picture together with the pieces he had on hand.  We are invited to come to terms with those pieces in different ways to realize the larger vision (the picture on the box?).  AMEN