Sermon May 14, 2017
“God’s First Agents”
Emory Presbyterian Church
TEXT: John 14: 1-14
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe [a] in God, believe also in me. 2 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?[b] 3 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. 4 And you know
the way to the place where I am going.”[c] 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know
where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way,
and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you know
me, you will know[d] my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
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Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” 9 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’? 10 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. 11 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. 12 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. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may
be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me[e] for anything, I will do it.
INTRODUCTION:
I am always struck by those words; "Do not let your hearts be troubled." It is a clear
command from Jesus. Don’t let your hearts be troubled. To make such a phrase in my
opinion is clear indicator that the disciples have either received or about to receive
information that could be devastating for their understanding of and relationship with
Jesus Christ. I can imagine it’s not drastically worlds apart from being on the receiving
end of those age old, relationship ending words, “Its not you, it’s me.”
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In moments like this, to not let our hearts be troubled seems like a tall order. Given the
circumstances, it do not seem clear that the disciples can do this. Jesus has just given
indication that he will be betrayed by one of them, Judas just left in the dark, betrayal
on his mind. And Phillip wants Jesus to call God down so he can have proof. Aren’t
troubled hearts something that would seem natural in a moment like this?
Jesus attempts to still the waters of their troubled hearts by telling them he is leaving
and he will make a place for them where he is going. On the one hand, it must have
comforted them to be included. On the other, I am sure this kind of leaving must have
troubled them even more.
When I was a boy, I loved going to visit my grandparent’s house. If I could’ve had my
way we would have spent every weekend on the road for 3-1/2 hours driving from West
Helena, AR to Crossett, AR. My grandpa was my best friend and no visit was ever quite
long enough. My parents however, always seemed to worry about bringing three
rambunctious boys and my older sister into my grandparent’s home for any more than a
few days. I’m guessing they felt it was a lot to ask. Since my parents were both
educators, we usually left after work on a Friday evening and arrived very late, long
after Grandma and Grandpa's normal bedtime.
When we arrived it always seemed as though my grandparents and older cousins who
lived with them, were ready to spring into action. One of my favorite memories of
those days was winding through the house into the back bedroom and finding grandma
spreading the blankets out on guest beds and the couch. The time of night did not seem
to matter, nor the fact that we were far from home. It was about her love for us, not
about distance or trouble.
I think this is part of what Jesus means when he tells the disciples that the only way to
the Father is through him. The way home is not about going to a place, it is about the
relationships that make the place home.
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Jesus is going to prepare their place, wherever that may be and whenever they will
need it, because he already loves them. All through the Book of John, the writer is trying
to share the importance of knowing Jesus. He stresses the kinds of signs that point to
who Jesus is and not to the miracle itself.
Jesus' long speeches and "I am" statements point to the ways the disciples can relate
to Jesus. He speaks of the connections they share and the difference this will make in
their lives.
Not allowing a troubled heart need not be seen as a promise of a worry- and fear-free
life. If we read verse one that way, it seems to promise too much. But it does say
something about the kinds of things that Jesus thinks might trouble them. He wants
them to know that the only thing that should trouble their hearts is separation from
him. His words about preparing a place should take care of that.
Jesus promises that they too will have the ability to share this relationship with
others. Part of their job as disciples will be to stay in relationship so they can be the
place preparers for future disciples.
John's use of the word "household or family" rather than "house or building" gives the
sense of community and relationship. In the Father's household or family there are
many ways of being or dwelling. We translate the nominal form of the verb meno, to
abide, "dwelling places." Abiding with Jesus weaves its way throughout John as a
formative idea.
Jesus tells the disciples and us something important about "where" he is going. "To the
Father" is perhaps a relationship, not a place. These many dwelling places reveal to us
not changes in geography, but changes of heart. It is an ongoing thing, because it has
already been done for us in some sense, and remains a future hope as well.
Understandably, the disciples are uncertain about how to get where he is going. Jesus
assures them that he himself is the way, hodos. In Greek, as in English, the word can
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mean path or road or can be used to mean way of life or practice. In this sense of
passage, our journey with Jesus, spiritual and otherwise, is affirmed. Life with him is not
a destination or an accomplishment—or a victory won—as much as it is a way of being
and becoming.
A transformation happens. A change of heart from troubled to peace-filled embraces
those disciples as they learn along their way that Jesus has come with them, and goes
ahead to prepare a place. A destination like this changes everything. Companionship like
this changes everything.
As a very young child every year my family reunion was held at Chimanehaut Park in
Bastrop, LA. On one weekend, we stay in cabins, paddle boat on the lake, sing, and eat
together. In the evenings there would be a big bonfire with marshmallows for toasting.
My dad and uncles would go ahead of time to stack up the wood and find some
marshmallow toasting sticks. They would get the fire going, then the rest of us would
come. It was usually dark by the time we went to the bonfire, a trek down a steep hill
and up another through the woods. Of course, one time we got lost and took so long
that dad had to come find us. We had turned the wrong way and were going toward the
lake and away from the bonfire. But I remember that moment when we got close
enough we could hear the others singing and see the fire. We made it. After that year,
we knew the way. We never got lost again.
Home is not a static place. becomes a moveable feast. Even on those nights when we
cannot fully trust ourselves or one another, there is a place prepared. And that makes all
the difference in the dark.
For many of us God’s first agen\ts of love were our mothers. Today we give thanks
for the many women God has used to share the awesome blessing of Love. For many
women and young women have been ushered through the threshold of motherhood
and wondered if they chould live up to the task. But thanks be to God that they said
yes to being the first agents of God’s love in our lives. The first stewards of God’s
care for us, God’s love for us, God’s unconditional affection for us, before we ever
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wondered if we were worthy of it, before we ever felt pious and desirving of it. God
gave us mothers to
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