John 14:1-14
“Homebound”
May 10, 2020
Right this minute we are each getting glimpses, through the power of Zoom, into the many rooms of each other’s homes. I’m going to count my office since it is a part of the same building as my home.
Here in this New Yorker cartoon where the whole room is cluttered with everything from clothes strewn all over and spilled boxes of food and all manner of sports equipment but the part we would see if this guy was on this Zoom service with us would be well lit with beautiful art in the background giving the illusion of a calm and well put-together life.
It’s pretty aspirational – an ideal that seems out of grasp for this guy and – for most of us, because life is messy and the part we see of any of us – that which we show the world is but a small segment of who we are. We don’t wear every worry; our face isn’t covered with every anxiety, and our feet are not clad in all of our fears -Thank goodness!
And yet, right now, especially right now, there are worries, anxieties and fears enough to make us question every idealized scenario. Most of us have many more questions than answers about the future. That future might be as close as the three times weekly press conference that our Governor holds here in Vermont that we hope yields more access to our previous way of life. Right now many of our hearts are troubled.
These words of Jesus are filled with images that are intended to comfort which is why they are so often shared at funerals. This is a segment of Jesus’ parting words. He is preparing his disciples. These words are not just acknowledging and offering comfort for the time when Jesus won’t be with them anymore. They are intended to be a source of strength for what is to come.
Jesus wants to be sure they’re ready to not let evil and death have the last word. He is showing them the way just as he has throughout his ministry. He’s pointing to more than a destination. Jesus is lifting up the fact that by knowing him – his words and his deeds – they know God. He is leading them toward a better way.
A place has been prepared for them just as Abraham went ahead to prepare a place for God’s people to the Promised Land. Moses led people out of Egypt to a better way. Jesus wants them to know that following him will lead to a place that has room for everyone. God is that big and that welcoming. And this is not just about a destination after life. It is a merging of all that hope and all the possibility of the here and now…on earth as it is in heaven.
Especially at times of death and loss, and it seems to be all around us right now, we recognize that a life of faith does not make our days easier. What a faith in God does is give our lives meaning and purpose. It gives us a strength to face the hard stuff, confident that we are not alone. Philip wants to see God the Father, perhaps expecting some magical being to swoop down and take away the pain.
Instead Jesus’ answer to Philip’s demand to see God the Father is to say, “You’re looking at him.” And then he does his best to let them know that this is what God is about – dwelling with and among us. Those many rooms, in the NIV that Jeff read this morning and dwelling places in the NRSV and mansions in the King James Version all speak of space and room for all of us – an image with even more power in these Coronavirus days of self-quarantine.
Looking at Jesus and seeing God. This is the place called home. Right now, when home has become more than a place to eat and sleep, when it has taken on a life and depth beyond our imagining, Jesus’ words about many rooms prepared for us speaks of God as wider and deeper. As one writer shared, “God is roomy. God is generous. God is hospitable. God can handle your doubts, your fears, and your questions.” (Debie Thomas, journeywithjesus.net) Jesus has made ready a place for us. Each of us has a place with God. In God, we are home. Amen.