Today’s Gospel reading takes us back in time to an event in
Jesus’ life before his Passion. Jesus tells his disciples
that he is going to prepare a place for them in his Father’s
house, theirs and our final destination. It’s a reading
which is frequently chosen for funerals because it gives
comfort to the bereaved, of course we have yet to fully
experience the eternal joy of a place in our Father’s house
because it awaits us after death but as true followers of
Christ we are already part way along the route and we do
already enjoy a dwelling place in God’s heart. I believe the
many dwelling places that Jesus refers to are also places
for relationships. There are dwelling places for every
individual to have a special space for their own ever
deepening relationship with God.
The passage is an extract from the conversation between
Jesus and his disciples during the Last Supper when Jesus,
who knows that he is about to die tells the disciples that
he is leaving them. But also that he will then return for
them. His death and subsequently his resurrection entails a
new relationship between Jesus and the disciples. Jesus’
earthly mission will be accomplished through them, and over
2000 years later through us! An earthly mission to reveal
the compassionate face of God, nurturing and walking
alongside others on our pilgrimage towards our destination.
We can only try to imagine the disciple’s distress and
devastation when they hear the news, which inevitably
triggered a sense of loss and fear. How will they cope
without their teacher, friend and leader? So Jesus set out
to comfort them and calm their anxieties. His remedy is to
have faith in God himself but if faith is going to calm
emotional distress it needs to be understood. Faith always
needs understanding and without the effort to at least try
to understand the mystery it can have little impact on our
feelings or on our lives. Later on in John’s Gospel we are
told that if we live by faith, Christ assures us that our
hearts will rejoice. And whoever sees Jesus sees the Father.
The mystery of faith calls us beyond the limitations of
human understanding; we can’t log in to Jesus on Face Book,
he’s not a destination on the Satnav or an A level subject
but He is The Way, The Truth and The Life.
Jesus speaks of himself as the sure way to be absolutely
confident of God’s welcome into eternity. The Good news is
that whoever we are or whatever we do there is a place for
us ‘In my father’s House there are many dwelling places.’
Our whole Christian way of life is an ongoing pilgrimage to
the House of the Father, where we will be welcomed.
However, Thomas, who was always the one to probe more
deeply, enquires about our final destiny. And of course we
know that he will later doubt the disciples’ reports that
they have seen the Risen Lord. He contradicts Jesus by
saying that the disciples don’t know where Jesus is going or
how to get there and Jesus explains that he himself is the
way, the truth, and the life. Christ is the Way, because he
is the Truth and the Life. He is the Truth as the authentic
and full revelation of God the Father. In knowing and loving
Jesus, the disciples also now know and love God the Father.
The heart of the gospel message is clear, that Jesus and the
Father are one. Those who see, hear and touch Jesus, see,
hear and touch the Father. Jesus is the Word made flesh, He
is God.
So today, whoever sees us as believers and disciples should
also see the Father reflected in and through us and as the
world continues to reveal its powerlessness in the face of
evil surely it is time for us to act boldly and confidently
to be God’s presence in the world? We are an Easter people!
There is something very reassuring about knowing that
a place is being prepared for us, and as we start this
Christian Aid Week what can we do to help to prepare a
welcome for members of the world-wide family of God? For 60
years, Christian Aid Week has given people the chance to be
part of a story of transformation. Today 65 million people
are displaced across the world, they have no home, young
children are without parents, parents without their
children, often individuals, young and old who have long
since lost all their family members.
Time after time, refugees speak of the agony of living in
limbo, stuck and stopped at a border where they can’t work,
don’t have access to education, don’t know when, if ever,
they can look forward to a brighter future or even where
their future may be. They become desolate and move to more
uncertainty and anxiety – their time is in the hands of
others.
It’s a very sobering thought.
In the Epistle, Jesus is likened to a ‘living stone’, a
cornerstone for those who build their foundation on the
solid ground of his compassion and love. As Christians we
are also called to be ‘living stones’, to be built into a
spiritual house. Surely that house should hold a sincere
welcome for those God loves. There is also a warning that by
not following Jesus’ example, we become stumbling blocks.
Inaction, apathy a ‘them and us’ rhetoric deeply affects
those who need our voice, support and welcome? I recently
read a quote by Ruth Valerio that really struck a chord in
me, I think I may have mentioned it once before. ‘The main
thing is not to let the hugeness of the problems either
paralyse you or make you apathetic.’ So often we think that
a problem is so big we can’t possibly do anything to make a
positive change. But we can, we are all capable of showing
acts of simple kindness and goodness which will give people
hope and lead them to trust in themselves, trust other
people and trust God. God’s light and hope can shine through
us so we do make a difference, however small, to the
negative stories we often hear in the media and elsewhere
about refugees?
We also hear about stones again in Acts but this time stones
are used as weapons – hurled to hurt and kill, to shut down
and shut up. Stoning through any actions or thoughts of ours
is a prime example of inhumanity towards another person;
yet, Stephen follows Jesus’ example and teaching, and
forgives his attackers. Stephen’s story gives us a prime
example of how to follow Jesus – will we be places of
welcome and love or will we ‘cover our ears’ to the
suffering of the world the way the leaders of the community
did rather than consider Stephen’s witness?
Apathy or indifference help no one! As we start our Week for
Christian Aid perhaps if we haven’t already done so then
consider coming to the Parish Lunch next Sunday. If you
haven’t already bought your ticket then please do consider
making that extra effort to join us.
The life revealed and promised at Easter exceeds every hope
and human expectation. However lost, sad or fearful we may
feel, the God of Easter says to us, ‘Trust me; I am with you
always.’ The truth of Easter is so enormous that it remains
a mystery which we will constantly seek to understand, but
what we can say with confidence is that Jesus is alive and
lives among us. Easter continues to revive and renew us and
alert us to the truth that there is a place in us all that
only God can fill.
Alleluia. Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed. Alleluia.