Christians ought to meditate on the emotions of absence that the disciples skilled after the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus Christ once they, too, are feeling alone, Dr. Jeannine Hanger advised Fox Information Digital.
Hanger is an assistant professor on the Talbot College of Theology at Biola College in La Mirada, California.
“When my husband and I dropped our daughter off at college, we had no concept how grateful we might be for FaceTime,” Hanger advised Fox Information Digital by way of e-mail. “What a deal with to meet up with her face-to-face whereas our family was adjusting to her embodied absence.”
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However whereas it was comforting to see her daughter “pop up” on her cellphone, it was not the identical as spending time together with her in individual, she mentioned.
“Jesus’ disciples expertise the same adjustment interval once they go from being with Jesus on daily basis to having to regulate to life with out Him,” mentioned Hanger.
Dr. Jeannine Hanger of Biola College mirrored on the “farewell discourse” from John’s gospel and what it means for Christians within the trendy period. (iStock/Biola College)
In John’s Gospel, shortly earlier than Jesus is arrested within the Backyard of Gethsemane, Jesus delivers the “farewell discourse,” mentioned Hanger, “an prolonged dialog with His pals to organize them for His absence.”
The message, she mentioned, “appears blended.”
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“On the one hand, Jesus tells them, ‘I’m leaving you’ — however within the subsequent breath, He says, ‘I shall be with you,’” mentioned Hanger.
“These are phrases of life, providing the tangible reminder that we’re not alone.”
She mentioned that is “not not like a FaceTime name,” the place you might be “with” however not bodily current with somebody.
“Jesus is talking, in fact, of His loss of life, resurrection, ascension and the approaching Holy Spirit,” she mentioned.
“Although Jesus will not be bodily current, His abiding Spirit assures us He’s close to.”
Jesus, after His loss of life, was not “bodily current” — however that doesn’t imply He was gone fully, mentioned one physician of theology. (iStock)
This “nearness,” she mentioned, could also be exhausting for an individual to understand.
“Take into account the next metaphor sprouting up in the course of Jesus’ farewell handle. Jesus says, ‘I’m the true vine, my Father is the gardener … and also you [the disciples] are the branches,'” she mentioned.
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God’s mission of salvation began with Israel and “is now being fulfilled by Jesus, the true vine and nexus of the individuals of God,” mentioned Hanger.
“The Father tends the vine by caring for the branches (disciples), who in flip are exhorted to stay in Jesus, the vine.”
“The Father tends the vine by caring for the branches (disciples), who in flip are exhorted to stay in Jesus, the vine” — a reminder that Christians are by no means with out Christ. (iStock)
Hanger mentioned she likes this metaphor specifically, as “it photos a secure connection between Jesus and His disciples.”
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Mentioned Hanger, “This isn’t about how branches work to develop into related. It doesn’t contain craving, or incomes, or straining to get related to the vine. It’s a snapshot of the believing life,” she mentioned.
Simply as Hanger misses her daughter and longs to be bodily together with her — “I believe that we generally lengthy for the embodied presence of Jesus,” she mentioned.
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“On this Lenten season, could we draw encouragement from this backyard scene. These are phrases of life, providing the tangible reminder that we’re not alone.”
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