There’s an overlapping theme of “departure” in both the pre-resurrection and post-resurrection stories. In the pre-resurrection story, Jesus departs from this world through crucifixion whereas in the post-resurrection story, he departs by ascending. In this common theme of departure, his way of leaving is also similar in that he is lifted and ascends to the cross and heaven. In today’s gospel lesson, his departure is to be understood in the post-resurrection context as we are in the season of Easter. If this lesson is read during Lent, then Jesus’ mentioning of leaving would mean his crucifixion and death.
In either circumstance, having to experience the departure of someone we deeply love is never easy. Don’t we all have this experience of our loved ones leaving us? This uneasiness around goodbyes is mutual. The ones who are leaving feel the pain as those who are left behind. What they used to take for granted, that is, each other’s presence, which is like the air they breathe, is no longer available. Grief comes from finally sensing the absence of what seems to be always available, perhaps a bit mundane yet so precious rather retrospectively. Sorrow may be like not feeling enough air no matter how much one tries to breathe into the lungs. In the lesson this morning, try to listen to Jesus, not as though he preaches or teaches, but as a lover whose heart aches, for he is leaving behind those he loves and cares for. His role as a lover then develops into that of a parent. So he says, “I will not leave you orphaned…” This saying is quite strange if you consider two things: 1) he has never had any children and 2) he’s not that older than his friends. Why would he take up the role of a parent? The Greek word used here is “ὀρφανούς/orphanous.” It can mean “without parents” and is literally “bereft” or “deprived.” The literal definition cuts to the core of the painful nature of departure. It deprives all those involved in loving relationships. Jesus as a lover comforts us: “I will not leave you bereft; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me, and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” He promises that he’s with those who live by love. But we are left with the question of how we are to see him and join the union of “I in my Father, you in me, and I in you.” And I think you already know what kind of response I would propose based on the lesson this morning: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him because he abides with you, and he will be in you.” It’s the Advocate, the Spirit of truth, or the Breath of unforgetting (τὸ Πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας). Because it is so common, mundane, and always available, the Breath is hidden, unnoticeable, and buried so the world of those who forget to breathe and have no sense of breath neither sees nor knows the Spirit. This may be the state of being orphaned or deprived. As Jesus reminds us of the presence of the Breath of truth in everyone, he not only connects us with him to God but also those around us, both living and dead. We are linked through the breath we breathe together with our loved ones. Right now, look at your loved ones that are taking the same breath in and out. The Spirit enters through us and connects us. With our loved ones who are no longer physically with us, we are still connected through the Breath. Again, how do we do that? We start searching where the Breath originates from. As we breathe in, ask where this breath energy comes from, realizing that we do not know where. As we breathe out, ask where this breath energy reaches, realizing that we do not know where. Yet, what we do know is that this Breath has never ceased to exist and is the way to connect with those who have gone before us. It’s the same Breath they breathed in. It’s the same Breath of which they are now a part. We welcome again and again the presence of our loved ones that are deceased as the breath wades in. We go out to them again and again as the breath reaches out. After all, Jesus kept his promise after his death and after his ascension that he’ll not leave anyone bereft. |
Paul"...life up your love to that cloud [of unknowing]...let God draw your love up to that cloud...through the help of his grace, to forget every other thing." Archives
January 2025
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