“A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.” Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying to us, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me,’ and ‘because I am going to the Father’?” 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 discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’? Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. When a woman is in labor, she has pain because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. So you have pain now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. On that day you will ask nothing of me. Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures but will tell you plainly of the Father. On that day you will ask in my name. I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf, for the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father.” His disciples said, “Yes, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure of speech! Now we know that you know all things and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have said this to you so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution, but take courage: I have conquered the world!” John 16:16-33
Questions for Reflection:
- With this story guiding your heart and mind to the heart and mind of Christ, what does it share with you about who Christ is (attributes, actions and promises)?
- With this story guiding your heart and mind to the heart and mind of Christ, what does it share with you about who you are or could be (identify sins or virtues)?
- With this story guiding your heart and mind to the heart and mind of Christ, what does it prompt you to confess?
- With this story guiding your heart and mind to the heart and mind of Christ, how does it prompt you to pray (for yourself and for others)?
Prayer for Week 4 of Lent:
Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
Invitation to Fasting:
Fasting is a natural “on ramp” into a deeper life of confession with God. When we think of confession, we may think of praying a prayer or singing a song to God, and asking Him to meet us in our need. Confession can have many expressions, including the powerful and embodied expression of fasting. Fasting becomes a lived prayer that says, “God I need you to sustain me in my need. I am in need of you.” Fasting as confession can be helpful in our life with God because it moves repentance from something we say into something that we physically practice. As Christians we offer our whole lives before God in worship. We pray that fasting will be another, and perhaps a different and more embodied, expression of our confession and worship before God together as a community.
