Jubilate Sunday

In today's Gospel (St. John 16:16-23) the phrase "a little while" is repeated seven times. So perhaps its faint echo was embedded in the recesses of the grieving disciples' hearts after Jesus died, keeping them from falling into utter despair until His appearance before them. So also do His people today sometimes find that He is absent or dead, and they grieve and sorrow and feel melancholy and depression, even though they should know better. But in His mercy He comes to us even as He returned to them, and says "Peace be unto you," most especially in the Holy Supper. He comforts His own; He does not leave them to their own devices; He returns after a little while. For He is truly risen from the dead, and comes to dwell with us in His Gospel and blessed Sacrament. The sermon.