Lectionary for this week
John’s Gospel only
1. Ruth Frey, Trinity Episcopal, NY – “Jesus offers no roadmap but a relationship”
Jesus tells the disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled,” and that he will prepare a place for them — for us. In this Gospel passage, Jesus is emphasizing that all we need is our relationship with him. All that Jesus is and has done shows us who God is. And yet, he says that no one can come to the Father except through him. What about our Jewish and Muslim siblings? And of those of other faiths? In this response to Thomas’ question “How we will know the way?” Jesus offers reassurance that he will always be with us as the way, truth, and life. It isn’t a commentary on other faiths or beliefs — especially Judaism, as Jesus and the disciples were Jews!
And Jesus goes on to say that anything asked in his name, he will do. How many of us have prayed fervently and our prayer seems to be unanswered? But maybe we are called to see the work that God is already doing in the world around us. Wherever there is healing, reconciliation, and hope, God is at work. Maybe we are more a part of this than we recognize.
Jesus offers no roadmap but a relationship. And as with any relationship, it is ongoing and ever evolving. We are always invited to get to know Jesus more deeply. We invite him to know us in all our troubles, sorrows, and joys. And we participate with him in bringing God’s healing and hope to the world around us.
2. What’s next ?
Jesus is going away, and they don’t fully understand what that means.
They can’t go with Him, but He says they will follow Him.
He’s preparing a place for them, but they’re not sure what that place looks like.
They can see the cross, but not beyond it.
They are frustrated, anxious, and afraid…
Instead of giving forgiveness, we hold grudges.
Instead of confessing Christ boldly, we keep our mouths shut.
Instead of confidence we know fear.
We can see the grave, but we cannot see beyond it.
Pastor Hopkins May 12, 2017
3. “In My Father’s House” – Song and lyrics
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places
John 14:1–14
My Father’s Mansion – Pete Seeger
Lyrics and Live in Sweden, 1988
My father’s mansion’s many rooms
Have room for all of His children
As long as we do share His love
And see that all are free.
And see that all are free to grow
And see that all are free to know
And free to open or to close
The door of their own room.
What is a room without a door
Which sometimes locks or stands ajar?
What is a room without a wall
To keep out sight and sound from all?
And dwellers in each room should have
The right to choose their own design
And color schemes to suit their own
Though differing from mine.
Yes and each door has its own design
To suit the owners state of mind
And those who’d want them all the same
Don’t understand, the human game.
My father’s mansion’s many rooms
Have room for all of His children
If we do but share in His love
And see that all are free.
The choice is ours to share this earth
With all its many joys abound
Or to continue as we have
And burn God’s mansion down
4. From On Scripture – Heaven is a Home (John 14:1-14) By Eric D. Barreto
Here is an invitation here to the believer. The one who follows Jesus will follow in his paths of love and compassion, grace and hope. The one who follows Jesus will even “do greater works” than those Jesus accomplished.
The picture Jesus draws here is not just about a future place of welcome, a heavenly home ready to welcome us when we die. Instead, he imagines a home that welcomes us both now and then.
These days after Easter are a powerful reminder that the resurrection is not just a promissory note for some future reality but a daily experience for the follower of Christ. Resurrection is not just something we anticipate but something in which we can participate now, even as death encroaches upon us.
And because we have deferred God’s gift of this heavenly home to some indistinct yet certain future day of judgment, we neglect to see how that gift just might take root in our midst today. That heavenly home is not just an antidote for our current malaise, a sedative to keep us moving through a dreary world. It’s a vision intended to spur us into action right here and right now because God is already moving amongst us.
The death Jesus conquered was not just the death that tried to take his life. It was not just the death that tried to steal his last breath and hold it for all time. It was not just the death that slowed his heart. It was not just the death that forced his eyes closed so that light would never again be seen. It was not just the death that sought to turn his body back to dust. It was not just the death that sought to swallow him in the ground in the cave that Joseph offered.
The death Jesus conquered was even more powerful than the force that sought to sweep away his life. That death works its way into our bones. It wields disease in its right hand, destruction in its left. That death rends families apart. That death stirs in us jealousies and hatreds. That death wrecks havoc on the earth. That death whispers in our ears, “Crucify him”or “Fear them.”That death distracts us from the pain of others and highlights our every desire. That death convinces us that we and our neighbors near and far are not worthy of enduring love and vibrant life. That death follows migrants crossing blazing deserts.
That death does not just seek to take our lives but encompass them, suffuse them with hopelessness. That death is not satisfied with defeating us but with convincing us that we ought to defeat ourselves.