Sermon May 14, 2017
“God’s First Agents”
Emory Presbyterian Church
TEXT: John 14: 1-14
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe[a]in God, believe also in me.2In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?[b]3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.4And you know the way to the place where I am going.”[c]5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.7If you know me, you will know[d]my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
8Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”9Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?10Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.11Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.12Very 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, because I am going to the Father.13I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.14If in my name you ask me[e]for anything, I will do it.
INTRODUCTION:
I am always struck by those words; "Do not let your hearts be troubled." It is a clear command from Jesus. Don’t let your hearts be troubled. To make such a phrase in my opinion is clear indicator that the disciples have either received or about to receive information that could be devastating for their understanding of and relationship with Jesus Christ. I can imagine it’s not drastically worlds apart from being on the receiving end of those age old, relationship ending words, “Its not you, it’s me.”
In moments like this, to not let our hearts be troubled seems like a tall order. Given the circumstances, it do not seem clear that the disciples can do this. Jesus has just given indication that he will be betrayed by one of them, Judas just left in the dark, betrayal on his mind. And Phillip wants Jesus to call God down so he can have proof. Aren’t troubled hearts something that would seem natural in a moment like this?
Jesus attempts to still the waters of their troubled hearts by telling them he is leaving and he will make a place for them where he is going. On the one hand, it must have comforted them to be included. On the other, I am sure this kind of leaving must have troubled them even more.
When I was a boy, I loved going to visit my grandparent’s house. If I could’ve had my way we would have spent every weekend on the road for 3-1/2 hours driving from West Helena, AR to Crossett, AR. My grandpa was my best friend and no visit was ever quite long enough. My parents however, always seemed to worry about bringing three rambunctious boys and my older sister into my grandparent’s home for any more than a few days. I’m guessing they felt it was a lot to ask. Since my parents were both educators, we usually left after work on a Friday evening and arrived very late, long after Grandma and Grandpa's normal bedtime.
When we arrived it always seemed as though my grandparents and older cousins who lived with them, were ready to spring into action. One of my favorite memories of those days was winding through the house into the back bedroom and finding grandma spreading the blankets out on guest beds and the couch. The time of night did not seem to matter, nor the fact that we were far from home. It was about her love for us, not about distance or trouble.
I think this is part of what Jesus means when he tells the disciples that the only way to the Father is through him. The way home is not about going to a place, it is about the relationships that make the place home.
Jesus is going to prepare their place, wherever that may be and whenever they will need it, because he already loves them. All through the Book of John, the writer is trying to share the importance of knowing Jesus. He stresses the kinds of signs that point to who Jesus is and not to the miracle itself.
Jesus' long speeches and "I am" statements point to the ways the disciples can relate to Jesus. He speaks of the connections they share and the difference this will make in their lives.
Not allowing a troubled heart need not be seen as a promise of a worry- and fear-free life. If we read verse one that way, it seems to promise too much. But it does say something about the kinds of things that Jesus thinks might trouble them. He wants them to know that the only thing that should trouble their hearts is separation from him. His words about preparing a place should take care of that.
Jesus promises that they too will have the ability to share this relationship with others. Part of their job as disciples will be to stay in relationship so they can be the place preparers for future disciples.
John's use of the word "household or family" rather than "house or building" gives the sense of community and relationship. In the Father's household or family there are many ways of being or dwelling. We translate the nominal form of the verbmeno, to abide, "dwelling places." Abiding with Jesus weaves its way throughout John as a formative idea.
Jesus tells the disciples and us something important about "where" he is going. "To the Father" is perhaps a relationship, not a place. These many dwelling places reveal to us not changes in geography, but changes of heart. It is an ongoing thing, because it has already been done for us in some sense, and remains a future hope as well. Understandably, the disciples are uncertain about how to get where he is going. Jesus assures them that he himself is the way,hodos.In Greek, as in English, the word can mean path or road or can be used to mean way of life or practice. In this sense of passage, our journey with Jesus, spiritual and otherwise, is affirmed. Life with him is not a destination or an accomplishment—or a victory won—as much as it is a way of being and becoming.
A transformation happens. A change of heart from troubled to peace-filled embraces those disciples as they learn along their way that Jesus has come with them, and goes ahead to prepare a place. A destination like this changes everything. Companionship like this changes everything.
As a very young child every year my family reunion was held at Chimanehaut Park in Bastrop, LA. On one weekend, we stay in cabins, paddle boat on the lake, sing, and eat together. In the evenings there would be a big bonfire with marshmallows for toasting. My dad and uncles would go ahead of time to stack up the wood and find some marshmallow toasting sticks. They would get the fire going, then the rest of us would come. It was usually dark by the time we went to the bonfire, a trek down a steep hill and up another through the woods. Of course, one time we got lost and took so long that dad had to come find us. We had turned the wrong way and were going toward the lake and away from the bonfire. But I remember that moment when we got close enough we could hear the others singing and see the fire. We made it. After that year, we knew the way. We never got lost again.
Home is not a static place. becomes a moveable feast. Even on those nights when we cannot fully trust ourselves or one another, there is a place prepared. And that makes all the difference in the dark.
For many of us God’s first agen\ts of love were our mothers. Today we give thanks for the many women God has used to share the awesome blessing of Love. For many women and young women have been ushered through the threshold of motherhood and wondered if they chould live up to the task. But thanks be to God that they said yes to being the first agents of God’s love in our lives. The first stewards of God’s care for us, God’s love for us, God’s unconditional affection for us, before we ever wondered if we were worthy of it, before we ever felt pious and desirving of it. God gave us mothers to
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