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Kirk of St James
Sunday May 14th, 2017
Sermon 'The Day Death Died"
Rev. Amanda Henderson-Bolton
When I say the word home what do you picture? What words first come to mind? Do
you picture the country or the city? Is it modern, or heritage or something in between? Do
you picture particular people like family or friends? Do you picture a specific country,
language or tradition? What smells make you think of home? I know whenever I smell
fresh cut grass, or freshly baked bread, or the wind off the ocean I am instantly transported
home. Is there particular music or, accent? In North Carolina this past week we heard lots
of accents! Whenever I hear the Log Drivers Waltz I picture my grandparent's house. There
used to be a cartoon that went along with the song and I could not tell you how many times
we watched it. As you think about what sights, smells, sounds, people and places make you
think of home, I want you to gather up all those thoughts and memories and hold them with
you as we talk about the idea of home this morning.
Home is a special word in our lives. It is the place you escape to at the end of the day.
We work hard to make it a place we want to be—it becomes a sanctuary for us. When home
becomes a place we do not want to be because it is filled with stress or, if it is not a place
that is life giving we will likely find ourselves trying to change it or at least dreaming of the
ways we would like it to be.
In our Bible story today Jesus is talking to his disciples about the idea of home and
what it can mean. This passage in John may sound familiar because it is often read at
funerals; it is actually the passage we chose for dads. At first it appears odd that we turn to
the idea of death while talking about home. If we were to be completely honest death in
many ways feels like it is the opposite of home because it separates us, it causes chaos and
upset. However, Jesus knows exactly what he is doing. “At the edge of his grave, Jesus
means to reassure his disciples that his death is not the end but, the beginning of “the way”
whose destination is the room he is making for them in God."
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This moment is a time of high anxiety for the disciples. Things are happening that
they do not understand. Jesus is talking about leaving them and they already feel as if they
do not grasp what Jesus has been trying to teach them. How on earth can they navigate
anything without the teacher they have come to depend on? It is such a stressful moment for
them. While driving from Charlotte to Montreat this past week I was reminded of how hard
it is when you do not know where you are going. We drove to and from the conference
centre and both times we ended up driving in the dark. We didn’t have a GPS because it was
too expensive to rent one for the week and I was too cheap to pay for the extra package that
would have let me use my phone in the states. As we were driving down Black Mountain at
3 in the morning through a fog bank my mantra became “Amanda just pay for the extra data
package next time.” What if we got a flat tire? What if someone sideswiped us? What if we
missed an exit and didn’t realize? A lot of things run through your head. What if a possum
runs out in the road and we swerve to miss it etc. I didn't say they had to be logical fears!
The thought of being lost is an anxious one.
The disciples are feeling those same anxieties. It is Jesus who heals, it is Jesus who
preforms miracles, and it is Jesus who shows them what is possible. It is Jesus who has led
them unerringly through the wilderness and, these are just some of their tangible fears. There
is also their expectation of who the Messiah is and what he would do and, dying was
certainly not one of them. The Messiah was supposed to be different, act powerfully, and
lead a victory against their oppressors that would be final and decisive. The Messiah was not
supposed to be a wondering homeless man from Nazareth who talked about peace, talked
about love, and talked about forgiveness. He was definitely not supposed to die by the hand
of the system he was supposed to overthrow. The Messiah was not supposed to be like that.
There must still be work to do? Right?
Throughout the centuries leading up to the life and death of the Messiah certain beliefs
began to take shape. There is a group of writings called the apocrypha, which are not
included in our official canon. These books are an ancient collection that is recognized as
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being significant but there was not enough consensus to include them in the official cannon.
Among these books you will find first and second Macabees. These books were written
during the time of the Maccabean revolt. These accounts covered a number of Christian
martyrs who bravely went to their death in order to not betray their faith. "A theology of
resurrection developed as a response to the question, what will God do for those who die for
a righteous cause? The hope of resurrection was articulated by one of the martyred brothers
who said "You dismiss us from this present life, but the King of the universe will raise us up
to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his laws (2 Macc.7:9). For
believers over the centuries martyrdom was an ugly possibility and for people trying to cling
to their faith in the face of great hardship they were looking for hope. In Christ that hope is
realized. The author of the Fourth gospel reflects a more sophisticated doctrine that is that
persons will die and rise in Christ. For our disciples this morning they are not yet at this
stage. They do not know the impossible hope that is to come.
So that day Jesus looks at the terrified, anxious disciples gathered around him. He
loves them. He knows them so well he called them by name. He knows their strengths and
weaknesses. Peter’s stubborn streak. Thomas’s doubt, the beloved disciples dogged faith
and so on. Then to reassure them he takes one of the greatest mysteries known to us in this
life, which is the question of life after death and he calls it home. To paraphrase Jesus “I
know. I know how scared you are. I know this doesn’t make sense but picture the safest,
most comfortable place you know. I am going ahead of you to make it ready. I will be
there, and there is a place just for you. You won’t go there alone. I am ahead of you, I am
beside you, and I am behind you. There is a place here just for you.”
One of the things they talked about at the conference was this idea of the past and
future that we hold in tension. How God’s kingdom is both here and not yet. This world is
both home, and yet not yet truly home. Which is difficult to grasp. There are things in this
world that we love so much we could not imagine life without them. I must confess that my
favourite description of heaven comes from C.S Lewis who says that heaven is this world
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perfected. It is sunshine without the burn, and evenings without mosquitoes, and there is
enough for all. We really don't know what that part of the journey will look like but, Jesus
does.
Despite all the descriptions the disciples still feel afraid. As one writer said "They
want to cling to the perceived safety of location--they want to know where Jesus is going and
how to go there with him. Throughout the gospel of John, however, location is used as a
metaphor for the intimacy of a close relationship. The sheep are kept close to the shepherd;
Jesus is proximal to the heart of God. As they are sitting in the room sharing the feast of
loss, John's Jesus attempts to assure them that there will be a place with plenty of rooms for
them; the relationship is going to continue, even as it changes. They will not be forgotten.”
I have done a lot of thinking about death over the past year and a half. I don't mean
that in a morbid way but, trying to figure out what are the things you hold onto, and what are
the things you let go of. What are the things you hope for and believe in? What is the
purpose of this life? At least lately I come back to this idea that we are an Easter people and
that changes everything.
I want to close today with a story. It is from an interview done with Bono who is the
lead singer of the band U2. When Bono was fourteen he was standing beside his
grandfather's grave, and as they are preparing to lower the casket into the ground Bonos'
mother suffered an aneurism and died there at the graveside. His life after that point was
spent trying to write and fill the void that was left by death in his life. Later in his life he
went on a pilgrimage to Israel where he visited what some say is Golgotha where Jesus was
crucified. He had this fantastic line about that experience "I was standing on Golgotha, the
place where death died." We are an Easter people. We believe in a God who takes what is
dead, and lifeless and hopeless, and he breathes back into it life, and hope and joy. Do not
be afraid to live as Easter people.