I go to prepare a place for you
John 14:1-14
“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. 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. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus 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’? Do 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. Believe 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. Very 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. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it."
By Hunini - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72063114
If we are lucky, the dwelling places of our lives are spaces that (until recently) we took for granted. Many of us are lucky enough to live in comfortable rooms, furnished with much more than the essentials, which can also be a creative outlet and a source of our self-expression and identity. We may even have been able to choose whether to spend our time in these places, or not.
The lockdown measures over previous weeks have profoundly changed our relationships with our dwelling places. For those of us who are not essential workers, they have become the places in which we (involuntarily) spend almost all of our time. The resulting narrowing of our world and loss of physical contact is creating a sharp rise in loneliness and isolation for so many people.
And yet, the impact of the lockdown is felt even more strongly by those of us with disabilities, who are more likely to be spending this time alone. Those living on the streets or in temporary accommodation have been struggling to obtain food, water and other basic necessities throughout Europe. Meanwhile, countries in the global south are facing not just the impact of the virus itself but also potentially catastrophic effects on jobs and businesses, leading to an economic and humanitarian crisis.
The words of Jesus in our Gospel reading paint a picture of a rather different housing situation to those which have been dominating our news headlines: "in my Father’s house there are many dwelling places". This image is striking - a single house that holds not just one but many dwelling places, and not just many - enough that there is always a place for anyone who wants a room.
As human beings we are desperately in need of not just housing, but a place we can call home. Home can be a slippery idea, hard to identify or put our finger on. And yet, home is something we all recognize: it can be created and destroyed, given and received. We know the importance of home, and of making space in our homes for others (even though that isn't possible during physical distancing). But in the Father's house, it is Jesus who makes space and works and prepares - it is Jesus who gives us our home. Jesus is the way to this home - he stands outside and calls each one of us out of the wilderness of our lives, beckoning us towards what we might not have realized we needed. The bed is made, fresh towels are in the bathroom, dinner is ready. Come and receive.
Some of us might experience resistance to accepting this invitation, especially when faced with the reality that so many people around the world lack even the basic necessities of life. We might feel overwhelmed with an urgent need to give, to do something to relieve all the suffering of our world which this pandemic has both revealed and amplified. We might find it far easier to believe that a place has been made for someone else more deserving, than that there is a place just for ourselves.
But as Jesus reminds us, "the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these". It is the way of Jesus which leads to the justice and peace that we yearn for, as we hear stories of suffering in our own lives and around the world. But this way ultimately leads us not away but home, to a place that Jesus has prepared for us. We must allow ourselves to abide and flourish within our Father's house, to desire and to ask for justice from that holy ground, within the place that has been made for us. It is through this kind of abiding that we shall do the works that Jesus does, full of compassion and mercy. It is through this kind of desiring and this kind of asking that we shall - at last - receive.
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus 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’? Do 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. Believe 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. Very 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. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it."
By Hunini - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72063114
If we are lucky, the dwelling places of our lives are spaces that (until recently) we took for granted. Many of us are lucky enough to live in comfortable rooms, furnished with much more than the essentials, which can also be a creative outlet and a source of our self-expression and identity. We may even have been able to choose whether to spend our time in these places, or not.
The lockdown measures over previous weeks have profoundly changed our relationships with our dwelling places. For those of us who are not essential workers, they have become the places in which we (involuntarily) spend almost all of our time. The resulting narrowing of our world and loss of physical contact is creating a sharp rise in loneliness and isolation for so many people.
And yet, the impact of the lockdown is felt even more strongly by those of us with disabilities, who are more likely to be spending this time alone. Those living on the streets or in temporary accommodation have been struggling to obtain food, water and other basic necessities throughout Europe. Meanwhile, countries in the global south are facing not just the impact of the virus itself but also potentially catastrophic effects on jobs and businesses, leading to an economic and humanitarian crisis.
The words of Jesus in our Gospel reading paint a picture of a rather different housing situation to those which have been dominating our news headlines: "in my Father’s house there are many dwelling places". This image is striking - a single house that holds not just one but many dwelling places, and not just many - enough that there is always a place for anyone who wants a room.
As human beings we are desperately in need of not just housing, but a place we can call home. Home can be a slippery idea, hard to identify or put our finger on. And yet, home is something we all recognize: it can be created and destroyed, given and received. We know the importance of home, and of making space in our homes for others (even though that isn't possible during physical distancing). But in the Father's house, it is Jesus who makes space and works and prepares - it is Jesus who gives us our home. Jesus is the way to this home - he stands outside and calls each one of us out of the wilderness of our lives, beckoning us towards what we might not have realized we needed. The bed is made, fresh towels are in the bathroom, dinner is ready. Come and receive.
Some of us might experience resistance to accepting this invitation, especially when faced with the reality that so many people around the world lack even the basic necessities of life. We might feel overwhelmed with an urgent need to give, to do something to relieve all the suffering of our world which this pandemic has both revealed and amplified. We might find it far easier to believe that a place has been made for someone else more deserving, than that there is a place just for ourselves.
But as Jesus reminds us, "the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these". It is the way of Jesus which leads to the justice and peace that we yearn for, as we hear stories of suffering in our own lives and around the world. But this way ultimately leads us not away but home, to a place that Jesus has prepared for us. We must allow ourselves to abide and flourish within our Father's house, to desire and to ask for justice from that holy ground, within the place that has been made for us. It is through this kind of abiding that we shall do the works that Jesus does, full of compassion and mercy. It is through this kind of desiring and this kind of asking that we shall - at last - receive.
Comments
Post a Comment