Just Trust Me

His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:29-33 ESV). Without quoting actual portions of various politician’s speeches, I think all of us would agree that a general theme in them is how much they should be trusted with our support for the office they are seeking. In one way or another they will implore us to “just trust them.” Or, it may even be said by implication that since we obviously can’t trust their opponent, we certainly ought to be able to trust them. And, it is not unusual to see this in our daily relationships. We ask our spouse or our children to do a task for us and simply trust that it will be done. I’ve heard it numerous times since we have been around our grandchildren through parts of the school term when asked if they have completed an assignment, the confident reply is, “Sure, trust me!” Interestingly enough, our experience in trusting these people, especially those whom we don’t know well, is often disappointing. Sometimes they simply are not true to their word. You may remember that we are in the process of getting the house built in Texas. It has been an adventure in some ways. Not long ago we saw the foundation finished and ready for the framing. The materials were delivered and the crew was set to begin on a Thursday. It is certainly not a big job, though it is important to us. The General Contractor, who is quite wonderful, received a call from the framers that they would not be able to keep the original schedule as they had fallen behind in another job. They would, however, be there to start on Saturday with no more than a two day delay. The promise was “just trust me.” A mere ten hours before they were to arrive and begin work he received another call saying they couldn’t come. Other jobs had come up and he was going to need to just fit our job in somehow, but he confidently assured us that we should “trust him.” Well, we didn’t. He was dismissed from the job and others had to be hired to do it. Like so many others, his actions belied his words. He couldn’t be trusted. God has promised us that we can trust him, and we can’t even see him. Jesus’ disciples could see him and had the same questions. In our reading today, Jesus was preparing them for the great shock of his impending death. He knew they would need to have peace in the face of turmoil. It’s the same for us today. But we have the Gospel’s declaration of Jesus’ victory over death. He keeps on declaring to us, “I have overcome the world!” He is not like someone who shouts, “Trust me!” but can’t be trusted. His actions prove his trustworthiness. Because Jesus has overcome the world, we can fearlessly trust him.