Good Goodbyes

As I write this, we're approaching the 5th Sunday of the Easter season. Our Sunday Gospel reading for that day comes from the 14th chapter of John. Interestingly, this gospel, which will spend half a chapter setting up who Jesus is (the Word who has made God known to us) and half a chapter talking about the "living water" that is Jesus, and a chapter each about the "true bread and "true sight" that he offers, spends 5 whole chapters recording how Jesus said "goodbye."
Maybe we should take his hint. At the beginning of the year I tell every intern pastor who comes to Oak Grove the same thing. There are three parts to your time with us: saying hello, the stuff in-between, and saying goodbye. It's only natural to want to figure out a way "into" a place by saying "hello," and it's exciting to do the things that you do while you are there. But the "goodbye" part is sometimes neglected. I expect that's because it involves several things we'd all rather avoid: the pain of separation from people you've grown attached to, the things in any relationship that are left, as our confession admits, "undone," and the realization that some of the things that form us and feed us along the way do not last forever.
But, the obvious truth is that changes happen and we must take our leave. We get confirmed, or graduate, or move out, or take that job in another city, or discover that the diagnosis is terminal… And we're slapped with the truth that "goodbye" is our task. And like the psalmist we might wonder: "from where does my help come?"
Maybe it comes from Jesus. Who said goodbye by reassuring his friends of his love, and of God's love… Who explained that they would still be connected to each other, and to God…Who spoke of a deeper reality than what we can see and touch right here where we are.
"Breaking up is hard do to," sang Neil Sedaka, and a couple dozen other artists who agreed with his song enough to record it themselves.… Sure enough. But if we say our goodbyes by including "Thank you," "Let's keep in touch," and "I love you," we will have come a long way in following the example Jesus gave us as he said goodbye.

Pastor Tom Zarth