Year A Advent 3 WED 2022 John of the Cross and the Dark Night of the Soul

Year A Advent 3 WEDNESDAY, December 14, 2022 St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA Ember Day, John of the Cross 1591 Collect Judge eternal, throned in splendor, who gave John of the Cross strength of purpose and faith that sustained him even through the dark night of the soul: Shed your light on all who love you, in unity with Jesus Christ our Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. John 16:12-22 ‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. ‘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. Today we remember Spanish Jesuit Saint, St. John of the Cross. Mostly remembered for a phrase that we still use in Christian religious conversations and spiritual direction, The Dark Night of the Soul. John wrote it while imprisoned at Toledo, he had begun to compose some poems, and he wrote them down with time on his hands, with commentaries on their spiritual significance. He was given various positions of leadership among the reformed friars of his order, but then dissension broke out among the reformers between "moderates" and "extremists." John supported the moderate party, and when the extremists gained control, they denounced him as a traitor to the reform. He was sent to a remote friary, and fell ill, and finally died at Ubeda during the night preceding 14 December 1591. The Dark Night of The Soul is about the experience of spiritual desolation, of feeling abandoned and rejected by God, and why this is for some Christians a means by which God increases our faith in Him; about the Christian walk, the life of prayer and contemplation, and growing in love and grace. The title, and the thinking behind it, reminds us that growing pains are the way of life. It hurts to grow. Whether a caterpillar making its cocoon to emerge a butterfly, or a teenager growing 6 inches in as many months. It hurts to grow, and for many of us, when God is dealing with us spiritually we experience the pain of our disciplines no longer being as effective as we were used to. This spiritual discomfort continues until we get to the place where God would have us be, and the dawn emerges after our long night feeling so far apart. This is a faith enterprise. That means that it requires faith. Which means we do not have all the answers when we are going through it. We are called to have faith, and that is never an easy ask of someone else. Elijah, as we read in this morning’s reading, had just called lightning down and rain from the heavens, but even then when threatened by Queen Jezebel, doubts God’s providence. St. Peter speaks to the liars and false prophets who will have to answer to God, but we still must live through them. And Jesus himself warns of hard times that will come, and we are called to be faithful through it. “You will have pain, but your pain will turn to joy.” Like a woman in labor, it will all be worth the struggle after the fact. We must move through it in that hope and faith. For there to be faith, there has to be a time of doubtful hope. Or hopeful doubt. Either way, this is not easy. We have to go through whatever it is without knowing the outcome. But think about it, if we know the outcome or if we got the outcome without the work (mental, spiritual, AND physical) that goes along with it, what would that gain us? We would be spoiled and pampered. God wants us to be full and complete and whole. We are called to Faith, not Success. We are called to Hope, not Pride. We are called to Love, not Victory. The Success, and Pride, and Victory may come, but the process is what we are given and rewarded with. That is why we often have the Dark Night of the Soul as we learn to walk in faith, following that voice that we think we hear. Chew on that this Advent morning, as we prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ. Amen