Solomon Grundy,
Born on Monday,
Christened on Tuesday,
Married on Wednesday,
Took ill on Thursday,
Worse on Friday,
Died on Saturday,
Buried on Sunday.
This is the end of Solomon Grundy.

It is an old nursery rhyme that some of you may recall. Now, I'm not suggesting that we use it to replace the gospel text for today, but I did begin with it because it picks up one of the central themes of our text: the shortness of life on this earth. Jesus said to his disciples: "I am with you only a little longer." In fact, throughout this section of John's gospel, from chapter 13 through 17, this section we call the Final Discourse of Jesus, this theme of the shortness of life is reiterated again and again.

Jesus seems to be emphasizing to his disciples, since they were the objects of this discourse,…