John 16:5-15

"Now it's really good!" someone shouts very exhausted and slams the door. A scene that plays out again and again in different places. What follows is a farewell. One goes, either only for a certain time or even forever. 

"But now it's really good." He or she says excitedly. But it is clear: it is not good at all. 2 or three argued with each other and did not find a solution. That weighs on you. And the conflict does not disappear by someone slamming the door and leaving. Such a farewell is not a good farewell. 

But are there good goodbyes in life? Most of the time, separations are painful, even if there is not an argument for it. 

Where I have to leave something behind, where I don't know what to do next? Where you leave or are abandoned and miss it. A place, a person, a phase of life, dreams and expectations. There is always grief there. If things don't continue as before. 

The necessary steps into the future are usually cautious, timid – perhaps even fearful. 

The disciples of Jesus feel the same way when Jesus speaks the following words to them when he says goodbye to them. We find it in the Gospel of John in chapter 16: I read from the translation of the Good News. 

Read out text

I can imagine the surprised faces of the disciples: "Excuse me? That's supposed to be good for us? Nothing at all is good when you leave. We have left our families and our professions for you. We've bet everything on you. We have hung our fate on yours. Together we have already experienced and suffered a lot. You can't just go and say, "It's a good thing. Because it's just not good when you leave." 

The disciples feel the same way as perhaps many a family here in South Africa. The son and daughter tried a lot to get a job, but it didn't work out. Many of you have already had to let the children go. To America, England, Australia and Germany and other places around the world. Our St. John's parish knows how to say goodbye. 

 "It's good if I leave now". On the one hand, one is happy for the future of the children, which will be possible in another place, but certainly there is also uncertainty and fear among those who stay behind. Will it go well for my child? Will it be worth it? How often can we see each other? And what will become of me? 

We certainly agree that farewells are sometimes necessary. This applies to a choir trip, a change to another place, to another profession or in everyday situations.  Such a farewell is not painless, but it is good because something new can emerge. Even with those who stay behind. 

But for this to happen, it is necessary to be able to trust that the future has good things in store. The individual family members need to be sure that contact with each other remains despite the great distance and that everyone is available for everyone else in any emergency. And the disciples of Jesus need his promise that his imminent departure will not lead to a dead end.

"I am going now," says Jesus, "but I will not leave you alone, but I will be with you through the Holy Spirit. I know this is difficult for you to understand now. But I'm sure you'll recognize it. It remains a matter of faith and trust. But I stand by my words. That's why you don't have to be sad. Trust me, I have provided for you and am not of this world for you." 

For the disciples, these words opened a door to the future. The imminent farewell does not lead to a dead end. Jesus does not just leave and leave his disciples disoriented. But Jesus continues to care for them. His love does not go out. Everything he did for the people has not been forgotten. But Jesus is among us today in a different way than he was in those days. A new time has dawned in which God is close to people in a different way than before. 

In addition to what was, what will be is now also coming into view. The Holy Spirit, the Helper and Comforter, is a Spirit of possibilities. He speaks and creates what is not yet, but should and will still be and will be: he makes reconciliation possible where we discover only hardened fronts. He creates a clear view where we miss him first. People find new trust through him. 

This can also be discovered at Pentecost: God goes with us on the way to the future over farewells. Slammed doors to God and to other people will not remain closed forever. Rather, through the work of the Holy Spirit, such doors open again. Farewells are followed by a warm reunion. Death is followed by life. The end of something is the new beginning of something else. The Holy Spirit gives and awakens curiosity, interest and trust in God. And people discover that God does not disappoint, but overcomes disappointments. 

This is exactly what the disciples experience at Pentecost: God stands by his word. It goes on, although Jesus is no longer visible among them. People receive God's Spirit, become enthusiastic and find trust in God. This is how the church is created. At Pentecost there is something to be seen that God is starting anew despite all the farewells. 

And yet some farewells remain difficult. Some doors to slamming people in front of each other remain closed – for a lifetime. This is painful. And yet the keynote of a life with God remains different: no matter how painful the farewells of life may be, at the end of the path with God there is never a slammed door. As little good as it is between people sometimes, it becomes just as good when God overcomes guilt and turns things around for the better. And this also happens again and again. 

After a while, one of them opens the door that he had previously angrily slammed shut. "Excuse me! I must have overreacted. But I was so angry with you." When they forgive each other, you can feel for a moment something of how the Holy Spirit works today. Paths to each other, paths to God and ways into the future will then be open again. 

Jesus leaves his disciples behind and says. "It's good for you that I'm leaving." Because God himself remains true to himself and to us. The Holy Spirit comes into the world. In him, God himself is close to us. Jesus says goodbye and says, "Now it's really good." These words do not sound annoying to him. But meant lovingly and seriously. Because God goes with us on the paths into the future. And that's really good. 

Amen