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EASTER 5
YEAR
A ACTS
7:55-60 1 PETER
2:2-10 JOHN
14:1-14 APRIL 20,
2008 John 14:1-3
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also
in me. In 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? And 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. We hear these
words quite often at funeral services. We hear these words and think about
death and where we will spend eternity. We want to hear these words
because we want the assurance that God has prepared a place for the one
that has died. We want the assurance of eternal life that these words tell
us about. You and I want to know about these dwelling places and maybe
even where those places are. Jesus told his disciples about going to a
place they would not go, at least not for awhile. They would eventually go
to where Jesus as going but that would be after Jesus provides the place
and after Jesus went to the cross to die so that they would be able to go
there. It is good for
us to think about eternity and where we will spend it. It is also
important for us to be prepared for the coming of the Lord but these
verses also teach us about believing and trusting. They tell us about
Jesus telling us the truth and about Jesus preparing places for us so that
we will join with him and be with him throughout eternity. Jesus tells his
disciples to not allow their hearts to be troubled. Jesus has been talking
about being betrayed into the hands of sinners and returning to the
Father. Jesus spoke about returning to the Father glorifying the Father
and the Son. The disciples were confused and sad. They were sure they
would be lost without Jesus to guide them yet Jesus tells them to not be
troubled. You and I know
about having troubled hearts and minds. Our lives are filled with
uncertainty. Our loved ones get sick and we wonder if they will recover.
We lose a job and our lives are turned up-side-down. We search our lives
and we want to know what to do next and our hearts are troubled. We get that phone call that says
your father, mother, spouse or anyone you love has died and your hearts
are troubled. Yet Jesus says do not let your hearts be troubled. We are
God’s people. We grieve our losses but not as others grieve. We experience
a loss and we are sad and we cry. We know the pain of the loss and we
experience grief but as we grieve we continue to hope and trust in the
power of God to overcome our loss. Jesus says, “Do not let your heart be
troubled. You believe in God. You believe in me.” Because we believe in
the Lord our God our hope is not shattered and our faith continues to be
strong. We continue on because we know the Lord is with us to walk us
through the difficult time. We trust that God will care for us and listen
to us and will be with us in the struggle. Because we believe in God and
in the Lord Jesus we know that Jesus will not abandon us nor will he
forsake us. We know he will share our burden and give us what we need at
the right time. The Greek text
helps us understand what Jesus is saying. Our translation from the NRSV
says, “Do not let your hearts be
troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.” The Greek text makes it
more personal and to the point. Jesus says “you” believe in God and “you”
believe in me. Jesus was talking to his disciples but he also talks to you
and me. The Greek text also says, “Do not let your heart be troubled.” It
is both the individual heart of the disciple but the heart of the group.
Maybe you have used this phrase when talking with someone in trouble, “Do
not lose heart.” We might even say this to the people in our congregation
when we are facing difficult times. Do not lose heart when things are not
looking good. Jesus says that we must not let the heart of the church be
troubled when we are facing trials and temptations. Why is our heart not
troubled? We believe in God and we believe in Jesus. We know that this is
the Church of Jesus Christ and the body of Christ. You and I trust in the
promises of the Lord and we know that God is
faithful. John 14:2,
3
In 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? And 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. Believing in the
Lord is not magic and it does not magically make things disappear.
Believing in God does not mean death is no longer a reality and it does
not mean illness is a thing of the past. Believing in God and believing in
the Lord Jesus means we know where to go with our struggles. When we are
sick we go to the Lord and God hears us. When you lose your job you go to
the Lord and God hears you and gives you direction. When we face the hour
of our death or the death of a loved one we go to the Lord and we trust in
his promises. You and I know that death is not the end of things. We know
from the word of God that death ushers us into the rest of our lives. We
have the assurance that God is here to guide us and to give us what we
need. How do we know
we can trust in the Lord our God? We know because the Lord tells us the
truth. The Lord told us the truth about what we can expect if we follow
him. He told us the truth about servants being leaders and leaders
becoming servants. We know we can trust the Lord because he told us so. He
told his disciples and us about the dwelling places and about going there
to prepare it for us. When there were doubts Jesus said that if it were
not true he would not have said it was. You have the assurance of this
truth from God that where he is you will be
also. John 14:4-6 And you know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. There have been
many discussions about these verses. The discussions are between those
that believe Jesus is the only way to the Father and those that say this
is one way to the Father and there are many others. As Christian people we
respect all God’s people. We respect those that may not share our belief.
As I read scriptures I have come to believe that Jesus is the Way, he is
the Truth and he is the Life. Without Jesus my life would be worth very
little. My family is important to me and so are you but without the Lord
Jesus the rest would take on much less meaning. Everything I do and every
decision I make comes after consulting the Lord. What does the Lord say
about the decisions I am making? Because Jesus is the way, the truth and
the life I must believe the Lord when he says that no one comes to Father
but through him. Jesus is the truth we find in the Father and he is the
life that flows into us and out of us. We proclaim every week that Jesus
is true God from true God. He is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
We proclaim that it is through Jesus that we go to the Father and it is by
the Holy Spirit that the Lord is made known. I know what I
believe. I believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father. I believe
that on the cross Jesus won my victory and provided me with new life. In
Christ I am a new creation. In Christ I am made new. It is through the
Lord Jesus that I have salvation. I live my life by the truth of the Lord.
I am quite happy to dialogue with those that do not believe that Jesus
Christ is the only way but I know what I believe. Some may say this is
bigoted or prejudiced but the Lord saved my life. When I was lost the Lord
came looking for me and did not stop until he found me. He invited me back
and he picked me up when I stumbled. This is the Lord that is the
resurrection and my life. He is my salvation. Because you and
I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ we will do greater things. The greater
things we do are taking this message to all people. You and I are
spreading the message of the gospel to the people in our community and we
help share it around the world. Jesus did not leave |