Fifth Sunday of Easter A; 05.03.26; G. Miles Smith+
John 14:1-14 Sunday of Easter A; 05.03.26; G. Miles Smith+
The Gospel of John has something…that exists nowhere else in the New Testament. It has been called Jesus’ “Farewell Discourse”. What is so unusual about it…is that it is Jesus…talking to his disciples…for five consecutive chapters. Nowhere else exists such a continuous set of Jesus’ teachings. And what also makes them distinctive is the subject matter…Jesus is concerned about what will happen to his disciples…to the Church…after he is gone from their sight. You could say that…from the length of his talking…that he was mighty concerned…about them…and about us.
For not only was there going to be the crisis of Jesus’ death…which traumatized his first disciples…but even after the impossible truth of Jesus’ resurrection and his many appearances to them…the time would come when Jesus would finally depart from their sight. We too live just as much in the crisis of Jesus’ departure…as did those first disciples…except that we have always lived within this crisis…even when we haven’t even realized…that it is actually a crisis.
Just in the fourteen verses in today’s reading from Jesus’ Farewell Discourse, Jesus gives four divine promises…to those disciples…and us. And within those promises there are also responsibilities…for those disciples…and us. And I’m going to get right to it…and be as straightforward as I can.
Jesus promised an abiding place with God. Now, the first part of today’s text is most often heard in the context of funerals—just as was the case recently with the Celebration of the Lives of Bill and Pooh Johnson. When we hear: “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places (rooms…mansions)” then within the context of our grief in the face of death, we think of abiding with God in eternal life. And that is true. And yet, the more basic sense of what Jesus was talking about when he promised an abiding place in God after his departure…is that we could find such an abiding place in this life now. And though they can be “places”…they are usually not so much places…as communities attached to places…which still gather for Jesus…like here. To discover the truth of Jesus’ promise of continuing abiding with God…then we must look for where God’s abiding can shine through in Christian community. And that of course carries a responsibility for the Church to be the kind of communities which can be transparent to God. Once we are able to recognize God’s abiding in such Christian communities there…and here…then we can recognize many other “places” in this life where God abides with us…even in the midst of crisis.
Jesus promised a dependable way to God despite everything else that happens. We are quite familiar with this saying of Jesus: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also.” So, Jesus explicitly identifies himself as our way to God…that will remain real even after his departure. Now, this saying of Jesus carries a lot of history…of different interpretations…and experiences…all of which don’t necessarily help us hear Jesus clearly. If all we are hearing…is that we won’t go to heaven if we don’t believe in Jesus…then I don’t think we are fully hearing what Jesus means. Jesus is not saying that we cannot be in a relationship with God if we don’t believe in Jesus…because we are in fact already in a relationship with God, by grace, by our very creation by God...even if we don’t realize it. We already live and move and have our being in God. What is distinctive about knowing and intentionally abiding in Jesus…is that only Jesus reveals God as the Father…i.e. not as a muscular male guy god with a beard, of course…but as the God of our creation who can actually be trusted…a God who is actually trustworthy and good. The gods of this world…the gods of the ancient world…and the new gods of this modern world…cannot be trusted. The only reliable promise of an abiding place with God…is revealed by Jesus…to be a God who can be so deeply trusted that we can use the language of “Our Father”…just as did Jesus. This carries a responsibility for the Church to be able to speak clearly about the Father…so we and others can receive this great promise…of such a good God.
Jesus promised power to do even greater works than Jesus. Yes, that is what Jesus said. You can imagine then…all kinds of people then wanting to imagine…that they are somehow as great or greater than Jesus…which of course happens. But that isn’t what Jesus means. But even what Jesus means is shocking enough--that people following in “the way, the truth, and the life” could do some things which exceeded what Jesus had done within his earthly ministry?! Really? But I’ll give you a quick example. It is widely credited that the rise of hospitals and hospices in ancient western civilization are directly attributable to the early Church. A whole sensibility about the sick, the dying, the vulnerable, the poor, and the stranger…as actually being people worthy of attention and respect…led to all kinds of charitable efforts that never existed before…and this arose directly out of the early Church. So this is an example of early Christians who followed in the footsteps of Jesus’ healing ministry and his radical welcome of other people…and those early Christians did so on a scale…that was not possible during Jesus’ three years of ministry. And so this promise that we may do even greater works than Jesus obviously carries a responsibility for us to actually do so.
Jesus promised that praying in his name makes all the difference in the world. Now, we do this liturgically every Sunday, ending our prayers with reference to Jesus. We have often learned to do this in our own private prayers. It has of course gotten confused with selfish intent by Christians who will quote Jesus without wisdom, and effectively say to others for their own profit: “If you are really a Christian, then you can ask Jesus for whatever you want, and you will get it. Just come to our church…subscribe to my Instagram channel…or just send me some money…and we’ll help you get what you want.” But that is not what Jesus means, as I understand it. Praying in Jesus’ name isn’t a form of magic that involves saying just the right words, so that we can compel God to serve us. But there is nevertheless a real promise here. Jesus is inviting us into that abiding place with God in Jesus…as we gradually come to know the way, the truth, and the life of Jesus…and as we learn to discern who Jesus really is and what Jesus really wants. And the more we pray out of that kind of abiding in Jesus…then the more our prayers learn to be in Jesus’ endless prayers…and our prayers can be changed by being in Jesus’ endless prayers. This great promise carries a responsibility for us…to be prayerful about our praying…so as to not end up actually praying in only ours…or someone else’s name…but to seek to abide only in Jesus’ continuing prayers to the Father on our behalf. For only Jesus’ prayers on behalf of the world will be done…on earth…as in heaven.
And so, given these four great divine promises…of an abiding place in God…of a dependable way to God despite everything else…of power to do even great works…and the blessing of joining in Jesus’ own praying to Our Father, Jesus could truthfully say:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.”
