A text today comes from St. John chapter 16, verse 16 through 23. Notice these words of Jesus.

In a little while you won't see me anymore, but a little while after that you will see me again.

Some of the disciples ask each other, what does he mean when he says, in a little while, you won't see me, but then you

will see me. And I am going to the Father. And what does he mean by a little while? We don't

understand. Jesus realized that they wanted to ask him about it. So he said, are you asking yourselves what I meant? I said in a little while

you won't see me, but a little while after that you will see me again. I tell you the truth.

You will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy.

It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor.

And when her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy

because she has brought a new baby into the world.

I'm talking today simply from the subject, the gateway of destiny.

The gateway of destiny.

A gateway is a means of access or entry to a place, a gateway. It's the thing that is a portal between two positions, between two worlds, between what has been and what is to come. It is a gateway. It is a thoroughfare. It is this

particular gateway where we stand today. It is a unique position where we have the capacity to be

able to look back with reflection and sometimes regret, but look forward with expectations and sometimes anxiety,

because we don't fully know what the future holds. But when we are rooted in God, we know who holds the future.

So when you stand in a gateway, you stand on the precipice of

what is shifting in time. And so we look back with reflection to say, Lord, you've been good.

Lord, I've gone through a lot, but you have sustained me. You've said, Lord, I almost died, but I'm

still here. You look back with

reflection as to what all you've gone through that you never thought that you would have

had to deal with some of the things that you've dealt with, but you're still here anyhow,

...