Once again, good morning, Friends! We’ve already had a lot of speaking, so I’m not going to talk for very long.
We have lost a lot of good friends this past year. Some of you are related to them by family. All of us are related by fellowship.
We are not just a bunch of people who show up at random here on Sunday. We may have been random once. But now we are a group.
We are tied together – by worship, by work we’ve done together, by meals we’ve shared, by so many experiences. Each of us believes in our own way, but we all believe that God is here. In fact, we believe that God is everywhere.
We believe that the words of Jesus are true. We have so much to learn from Jesus. Each of us believes in Jesus in our own way, but we all feel in our hearts that Jesus’ teaching has a claim on us.
We, and the people we are remembering here today, have tried to live up to what Jesus taught. We all need to try more, and we often have to start over again. But we know that Jesus loves us. We know that he came to change the world, to set the world on a different path.
Each of us takes our own way. But all the ways come together in Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Our scripture this morning is something that Jesus said, when people asked him, “How can all these different people, possibly fit into a single fellowship – not just here, but in heaven? How can we all get there? And will there be room for all of us, when we do?”
Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.
My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
John 14:1-4
I don’t know how many times over the years people have asked me for that passage to be read at a funeral. People say, “Well, my dad (or my brother, or whoever), weren’t exactly mainstream Christians, but they had their own kind of faith. . .”
That’s a code phrase, by the way. It usually means that Dad or Bro usually preferred to play golf or go fishing or sleep in on Sunday morning, rather than come to church. But it’s comforting to think that God’s house, or heaven, is big enough, and broad enough, to hold all kinds of people.
We don’t have to be perfect. We don’t even have to be theologically correct. We just need to be headed in the right direction.
The original context for today’s scripture was the Last Supper. Jesus had finished his public teaching. He called his friends together for a final meal. And he washed their feet, as a way of showing them how we should all treat each other.
Then Jesus said, “One of you is going to betray me.” Judas left the room. Guess something disagreed with him.
I read this week that one of the tests of whether we’re Christian, is whether we can sit down and have a meal with someone who has done us wrong, and not fight with them. Jesus did it. And so should we.
And then Jesus predicted that before the rooster crowed the next morning, that Peter, his closest friend, would deny him, not just once, but three times.
So that’s the original setting for today’s reading in the gospel. It’s not a warm, fuzzy thought for us to trot out at a funeral. It’s a promise, given right before Jesus was killed, and before they really knew anything at all about the resurrection.
Then Jesus told his friends, “I’m only going to be with you a little longer. You’re going to look for me, but you won’t see me any more. Where I’m going, you can’t follow. So: a new commandment I give to you: love one another, even as I have loved you. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. .” (John 13:34)
And everybody looked at each other. Finally, Peter said, “Lord, where are you going?” Nobody had a clue.
And Jesus said, “In my Father’s house there are many rooms. . .”
That seems pretty broad-minded. “There’s room here for everybody. God’s table is open for everyone. Come as you are. Whosoever will may come.”
We don’t just hope, we know. Everybody, at some level, knows God, they find God in their own way. And God loves them.
We don’t understand all the ins and outs and whys and wherefores. But when we get to heaven, there will be lots of other people there, too.
What’s it going to be like? Well, we don’t really know. But Jesus says it’s like a big, big house, with room for everyone.
Back then, a family didn’t live in separate little boxes. When you had kids, you added rooms. If mom or dad or your aunt lived with you, you built on for them.
Houses grew over time. They weren’t always neat. Houses could be kind of higgledy-piggledy. What used to be a stable, could turn into living space. What used to be a shed, could be torn down and turned into a kitchen. That’s how folks lived.
Jesus said, “That’s what heaven’s like. It’s not a palace. It’s a home.”
And Jesus said, “I’m going there, and I’m going to get ready for you.” See, Jesus was a carpenter, and he knew how to add on to houses. Adding on was his regular day job.
Then Jesus said, “Don’t worry, I’ll come back, and I’ll bring you home. And we’ll be together again, always.”
Over and over, Jesus told us, “Don’t be afraid! Love one another, just as I love you. Forgive each other, all the time. Pray for each other. Bring my peace with you, wherever you go. Share what you have, and it will come back to you. Even if it’s just a cup of cold water, you’ll be rewarded! If you’re humble, if you comfort people who are grieving, if you’re hungry and thirsty for goodness, if you’re merciful, you will be blessed! Pray to your Father in heaven. Don’t make a big show when you give. Don’t worry all the time.
Don’t judge other people. Take the log out of your own eye, before you talk about the speck of sawdust in someone else’s eye. Forgive, and forgive, and keep on forgiving. Always remember, how much God has forgiven you. Your sins are forgiven. You are free from whatever has tied you down.”
“I am the good shepherd,” Jesus said. “You know my voice. Follow me. I am the bread of life! Whoever comes to me shall not hunger. Whoever believes in me shall not thirst.
I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me won’t be walking in the dark any more.
I am the true vine! You are all branches of me. Be part of me, and make my joy complete.”
And Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, even though they die, they will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will live forever.“
How does that work? I don’t know. It’s Jesus’ promise, and we live by it.
You’ve heard me say before, God knows us, even before we’re born. God is with us, every day of our lives. God is with us, in every trouble we have. And more times than we even know about, God has kept us out of trouble, and saved our lives.
Do you think, that if God has cared for us so much, all our lives, that God would ever abandon us, when our life here is over? I don’t think so. And what about these friends, who we’re remembering here today? I don’t think God would abandon them, either.
Their names are written in God’s book of life. Their homes are with God, who has gladly added on for them.
There are many rooms in God’s house. Jesus has gone on ahead, to get ready for us. Whenever it’s our time, Jesus will welcome us home.