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4^th Sunday of Easter (Jubilate) – May 11^th, 2025 Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church, Block, Kansas Rev. Joshua Woelmer Text: John 16:16–22 “Jesus Turns Sorrow into Joy” Theme: God turns sorrow into joy, either in this life or in the life to come. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia! The ancient Greeks feared prosperity. It might seem odd to us in 21^st century America where prosperity seems to be the name of the game, even when the economy seems to be a bit shaky. But the Greeks feared prosperity because they believed that the gods had something bad in store for those who were enjoying wealth too much for too long. Their idea is a natural one, by which I mean that you can see where they came to that conclusion simply by looking at life. We have moments of high enjoyment and pleasure, but then we also have moments of great sadness and despair. Sometimes it seems like we go from one to another, and there may be a link between them. A child who is sad and crying may be comforted by their mother. An athlete who brags about how good he is may be defended more in the next game and not do so well. We all recognize that emotional highs almost always lead to a leveling off, or a “new normal.” This is graduation season. There is great excitement about what graduation means. For some, it means further education, but for some it means a job. A relatively care-free college life turns into a 8–5 day-in, day-out work just to earn a living. It’s also getting into wedding season. After the initial high of the wedding and honeymoon, there’s the task of learning to live with one another in marriage. And of course, being Mother’s Day, it is good and wonderful to appreciate those who have brought us into this world. There is often great joy in realizing that one is expecting a new child, but there will certainly be hardship and pain to bring the pregnancy to fruition. You must always come down from a mountaintop of high emotions to every-day life that involves pain and hardship. In our Gospel reading, Jesus predicts just this for the disciples while he was in the Upper Room during the Last Supper with His disciples. Earlier that week he had entered Jerusalem to shouts of praise, “Hosanna!” Many of his followers expected great things out of him. And yet, sorrow would follow this mountain top of experiences. There is some back and forth about Jesus’s statement “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me” (16). The disciples are confused by it, but we can clearly see that Jesus is talking about his death and resurrection. He would be gone for a little while, and then they would see him again in the resurrection. Jesus then says this: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy” (20). This certainly came true during Jesus’s crucifixion. The disciples and women following Jesus definitely wept and lamented. They thought this was the end of Jesus—no one knew it was necessary. There was great sorrow. There was also rejoicing. The world rejoiced. Here “the world” stands in for those who believe this world is all there is. It’s true then as it is today. If we could go back and see this happening with our eyes, there would be tons of gloating and taunting. The Pharisees and high priest and Sadducees and many others were also rejoicing on a day that should have been a solemn rest. Their political positions were secure…for now. And yet…what the world forgot is that God can turn sorrow into joy. The image that Jesus uses for this is perhaps pertinent to Mother’s Day: “When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world” (21). There is indeed great joy when a baby is born and both mother and child are healthy. The time of anguish tuns into joy because love sees its object. A mother sees her baby whom she could not really see before. Labor and sorrow are turned into joy that we can lay eyes on a newborn human soul. Likewise, raising a child is full of sorrows and joys. It pangs a mother when her child is disobedient, and it pangs her to discipline her child. But discipline is needed to raise a child to be a good, moral human. One statement that parents sometimes say to children is this: “This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.” Parents don’t want to cause their children pain, but not disciplining your child will be even worse in the long-term. Sorrow will be turned to joy when you see a well-disciplined child. I’d also like to give a male image to this aspect of hardship turning to profit. Nothing happens without work and sweat. God told Adam: “Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread” (17b–19a). It is part of living in this fallen world that we sustain life by sweat. We contend with the world to bring life and order. Even at the gym, there are sometimes posters that say this phrase: “No pain, no gain.” It is this idea that Jeremiah in Lamentations is getting at: “It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him” (27–28). Pain, sweat, sorrow, and anguish in this world do lead to joy and gain. We see sorrow leading to joy both in Jesus’s life and in the Church today. We recently celebrated Holy Week, where we heard about Jesus dying on the cross. It’s important to hear about that leading up to Easter. The greatest anguish led to the greatest joy. This is what Jesus prophesies when he says, “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (22). No one will take your joy from you—this is certainly what the disciples felt following Jesus’s resurrection. This happens in our own lives as well. It is good for us to confess our sins and repent of them before God and fellow man. Doing so leads to joy as you receive forgiveness from them. Enduring the hardship of this world can also be good, because we have a God who is better than the insults of the world. Jesus told his disciples: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matt 16:24). Jesus had his cross—the big one, so to speak. We may have little crosses to bear in this world. In Baptism, we are connected to Jesus in His crucifixion and resurrection. Romans 6 says, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (5). Sometimes our life does seem like it goes from good to bad to good to bad. There is an up and down to our emotions and life experiences. But we do not need to fear the good times, lest the bad come even harder upon us. Nor should we think that the bad times are all there is. No, Jesus brings us through them all. Sometimes joy is followed by sorrow, but God promises us that He leads us from sorrow to joy. If He brought life out of Jesus’s death, then He will do the same in your life, for He loves you. Never doubt the goodness of your gracious God. Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen. Return to Top \| Return to Sermons \| Home \| Email Church Office

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4^th Sunday of Easter (Jubilate) – May 11^th, 2025

Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church, Block, Kansas

Rev. Joshua Woelmer

Text: John 16:16–22

“Jesus Turns Sorrow into Joy”

Theme: God turns sorrow into joy, either in this life or in the life to come.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

The ancient Greeks feared prosperity. It might seem odd to us in 21^st century America where prosperity seems to be the name of the game, even when the economy seems to be a bit shaky. But the Greeks feared prosperity because they believed that the gods had something bad in store for those who were enjoying wealth too much for too long. Their idea is a natural one, by which I mean that you can see where they came to that conclusion simply by looking at life. We have moments of high enjoyment and pleasure, but then we also have moments of great sadness and despair. Sometimes it seems like we go from one to another, and there may be a link between them. A child who is sad and crying may be comforted by their mother. An athlete who brags about how good he is may be defended more in the next game and not do so well.

We all recognize that emotional highs almost always lead to a leveling off, or a “new normal.” This is graduation season. There is great excitement about what graduation means. For some, it means further education, but for some it means a job. A relatively care-free college life turns into a 8–5 day-in, day-out work just to earn a living. It’s also getting into wedding season. After the initial high of the wedding and honeymoon, there’s the task of learning to live with one another in marriage. And of course, being Mother’s Day, it is good and wonderful to appreciate those who have brought us into this world. There is often great joy in realizing that one is expecting a new child, but there will certainly be hardship and pain to bring the pregnancy to fruition.

You must always come down from a mountaintop of high emotions to every-day life that involves pain and hardship. In our Gospel reading, Jesus predicts just this for the disciples while he was in the Upper Room during the Last Supper with His disciples. Earlier that week he had entered Jerusalem to shouts of praise, “Hosanna!” Many of his followers expected great things out of him. And yet, sorrow would follow this mountain top of experiences.

There is some back and forth about Jesus’s statement “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me” (16). The disciples are confused by it, but we can clearly see that Jesus is talking about his death and resurrection. He would be gone for a little while, and then they would see him again in the resurrection. Jesus then says this: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy” (20).

This certainly came true during Jesus’s crucifixion. The disciples and women following Jesus definitely wept and lamented. They thought this was the end of Jesus—no one knew it was necessary. There was great sorrow. There was also rejoicing. The world rejoiced. Here “the world” stands in for those who believe this world is all there is. It’s true then as it is today. If we could go back and see this happening with our eyes, there would be tons of gloating and taunting. The Pharisees and high priest and Sadducees and many others were also rejoicing on a day that should have been a solemn rest. Their political positions were secure…for now.

And yet…what the world forgot is that God can turn sorrow into joy. The image that Jesus uses for this is perhaps pertinent to Mother’s Day: “When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world” (21). There is indeed great joy when a baby is born and both mother and child are healthy. The time of anguish tuns into joy because love sees its object. A mother sees her baby whom she could not really see before. Labor and sorrow are turned into joy that we can lay eyes on a newborn human soul.

Likewise, raising a child is full of sorrows and joys. It pangs a mother when her child is disobedient, and it pangs her to discipline her child. But discipline is needed to raise a child to be a good, moral human. One statement that parents sometimes say to children is this: “This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.” Parents don’t want to cause their children pain, but not disciplining your child will be even worse in the long-term. Sorrow will be turned to joy when you see a well-disciplined child.

I’d also like to give a male image to this aspect of hardship turning to profit. Nothing happens without work and sweat. God told Adam: “Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread” (17b–19a). It is part of living in this fallen world that we sustain life by sweat. We contend with the world to bring life and order. Even at the gym, there are sometimes posters that say this phrase: “No pain, no gain.” It is this idea that Jeremiah in Lamentations is getting at: “It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him” (27–28). Pain, sweat, sorrow, and anguish in this world do lead to joy and gain.

We see sorrow leading to joy both in Jesus’s life and in the Church today. We recently celebrated Holy Week, where we heard about Jesus dying on the cross. It’s important to hear about that leading up to Easter. The greatest anguish led to the greatest joy. This is what Jesus prophesies when he says, “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (22). No one will take your joy from you—this is certainly what the disciples felt following Jesus’s resurrection. This happens in our own lives as well. It is good for us to confess our sins and repent of them before God and fellow man. Doing so leads to joy as you receive forgiveness from them.

Enduring the hardship of this world can also be good, because we have a God who is better than the insults of the world. Jesus told his disciples: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matt 16:24). Jesus had his cross—the big one, so to speak. We may have little crosses to bear in this world. In Baptism, we are connected to Jesus in His crucifixion and resurrection. Romans 6 says, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (5).

Sometimes our life does seem like it goes from good to bad to good to bad. There is an up and down to our emotions and life experiences. But we do not need to fear the good times, lest the bad come even harder upon us. Nor should we think that the bad times are all there is. No, Jesus brings us through them all. Sometimes joy is followed by sorrow, but God promises us that He leads us from sorrow to joy. If He brought life out of Jesus’s death, then He will do the same in your life, for He loves you. Never doubt the goodness of your gracious God.

Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.

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