John 14:28

Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. Jesus has already announced these things. His departure is not a surprise but a teaching he has repeated. The disciples' grief is real and understandable, yet it is not the final word. He will come again. The resurrection, the ascension, the ongoing presence through the Spirit, the final consummation when he returns in glory, all of these are included in that promise. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice. This is a tender challenge. To love Jesus is to want his good above our own comfort. His father is greater than I. My mission in coming to earth, as the incarnate Son, is to accomplish the Father's will and then to return to the Father in glory. That return is not a defeat or abandonment. It is a fulfillment.

Our grief at separation speaks something true about love. Yet Jesus invites us to a maturity in love that can hold grief and joy together. We grieve his physical absence, yes. But we also rejoice that his glorification has begun, that he returns to the Father, that he sits in power and intercedes for us. We rejoice that the veil between heaven and earth is torn, that the Spirit is poured out, that the kingdom expands. To love Jesus is to will his good, which is his exaltation. This is the paradox of Christian discipleship: we follow a Lord who teaches us to die to our own will and to embrace his. And in embracing his will, we find our deepest joy.