May 22 sermon

Text: John 14:1-14
Preached May 22 at Dale and Holden


Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Well, we’re all still here. You may have heard the buzz about the world ending yesterday, as predicted by a certain misguided individual and his followers. As far as I can tell, it didn’t happen, but it’s a perfect opportunity for us to speak of endings, isn’t it? Our gospel writer, John, wants to remind us that the end has already come and gone. Jesus Christ is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end.

This ending came in the incarnation of Jesus, fully human and fully divine. It came in the cross and the empty tomb, ushering in the kingdom of God. According to John’s understanding, eternal life has already begun, and it is ours for the living, even here and now.

For John, we enter eternal life by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. He lays it out in the very first chapter of his gospel: Jesus Christ “came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God…” (1:11-12).

Children of God. That’s the key. Children have a place in the family forever, which is precisely the status we enjoy in the family of God. Jesus, the Son of God, has made sure of that. “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places,” he says in our gospel reading. “If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?”

What is this place that Jesus has gone to prepare for us? What do we mean by preparation? Are we to imagine Jesus as an innkeeper, changing bedding and fluffing pillows, making sure we have fresh towels and a place to hang the clothes we bring? Are we to imagine Jesus whipping up a tasty meal for us, awaiting our arrival at Hotel Heaven?

No. Jesus is not just talking here about some physical place in which we’ll spend eternity. We often hear this passage in the context of funerals, and that is indeed appropriate. Jesus is speaking of earthly death and resurrected life. But he is also speaking of life in the here and now.

Jesus speaks of himself, his very human, fleshy body, as the way to life in God. We know God because we know Jesus, who is God. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life….If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Who is the God we see in Jesus? Where does Jesus go to prepare a place for us?

He goes to the cross. He goes to the grave. He goes to hell and back. And then he ascends into heaven. These are the extreme lengths to which our Savior went to prepare a place for us as children in God’s family.

The meaning of the Greek word John uses for “house” can also be translated “household.” Jesus is talking about preparing a place for us in God’s household. Jesus, as the Son, has the right to invite us into the household, to make room for us, to create a place for us to abide with him. Jesus Christ has prepared a place for you in God’s kingdom. It’s a place that begins now and lasts into eternity.

The household of God, Jesus says, has “many dwelling places.” And the word for “dwelling places” comes from the same root as one of John’s favorite words: “abide.” In the very next chapter of John’s gospel story, Jesus says, “Abide in me as I abide in you….I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit.”

This place Jesus goes to prepare for us is not some specific geographical location. It’s a place in God where we can abide. And it’s a place in us where God can abide. It’s the intimate relationship that comes from living together in a household—in God’s household.

Jesus further points to this reality when he says that he prepares this place and takes us to it, so that where he is, there we may be also. The place Jesus Christ prepares for us is the place where he himself is found.

And where is Christ found? He is not in some distant, cosmic lounge, playing video games while he waits for all of us to show up at the end of the age. Christ is present here, now, among and within us.

Christ is present in the waters of baptism, through which we were made members of his body. Christ is present as the water and word come together to free us from the power of sin and raise us up to new life. Christ is present as the Holy Spirit is poured out on the newly baptized—the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in his presence. He prepares a place for us at the font.

And Christ is present in his body, the community of believers. He is present as we support and uphold one another, as we rejoice together in joy, as we console each other in sorrow. Christ is present as we work together to build up our faith, to share the good news, and to serve those around us in love.

In the rite of confirmation [at Holden] today, four young people will affirm the fact that, at their baptism, Christ created a place for them in the family of God and in this community of faith. They will affirm their intention to continue living as part of the body of Christ, and Christ is found in this affirmation. Christ prepares a place for us in fellowship with one another.

Christ is present in the bread and wine of his holy meal. As we gather at this table, Christ comes to us in a tangible form—in a form we can see, smell, touch, and taste. He invites us to gather in unity with all God’s people, to see him in the forgiveness of our sin and in the faces of our neighbors sharing this meal. Christ prepares a place for us at his table.

Christ is present in our work in the world. He tells us that if we trust (or abide) in him, we will continue his work: “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these….”

This is a relationship of mutual trust and intimacy. We are empowered both by our trust in Christ, and by his trust in us, to continue his work of love and mercy, to proclaim and embody the kingdom of God as Christ has revealed it.

One scholar says the work we do is the work of Christ, the “I Am,” when he is no longer with us (Karoline Lewis on Sermon Brainwave). So we point to Christ, the light of the world, by letting his light shine through us. We point to Christ, the good shepherd, by feeding his sheep as he commanded Peter to do. We point to Christ, the resurrection and the life, by expecting, embracing, and proclaiming resurrection in our lives, both now and in the future. Christ prepares a place for us in his work of loving and serving the world.

And Christ is present in the resurrection to eternal life on the last day. This last day did not come yesterday, as some predicted, but one day Christ will, indeed, return in glory, calling his beloved to himself. Someday he will gather us together as one flock, to enjoy his presence forever. Christ has prepared a place for us in God’s kingdom, in all its fullness and eternity.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled,” Jesus says, for he is the way, the truth, and the life. He is life forever in the future, and he is life in the here and now. He is the way we see God. He is the way we walk through our daily lives.

And he has gone to such great lengths to prepare a place for us, that we can rest in peace and security, knowing that there is nowhere we can go where Christ has not gone before us, even into death. We who know Christ know the Father; of that we may completely confident, for Christ has prepared a place for us in the Father’s household.

Scholar Barbara Rossing recounts a story from poet-theologian Gerhard Frost:

“One day as I walked down the airport ramp to board a plane, a family of four was in front of me. The older child appeared to be about four and her every step was a bounce. She radiated expectancy and joy. Her father looked down at her and asked, ‘Where are we going?’
‘To Grandma's!’ she shouted, punctuating her words with a higher bounce. She didn't say ‘to Bismarck’ or ‘Billings,’ but ‘to Grandma’s.’ As far as she was concerned, she was going to a person—the place didn’t matter. She was an eloquent witness to the fact that we home in those who love us, in people more than places.”

And so we find our home in God, where Christ, in great love, has gone before to show us the way, to prepare a place for us, and to abide with us, both now and forever. Amen.