Bible Text: John 14: 1-14 | Preacher: Rev. Berlin Guerrero | Series: 2020 | The setting is Jesus’ farewell address at his last supper with his disciples. Jesus has washed his disciples’ feet and has explained to them what this means (13:1-20). He has foretold his betrayal by Judas, and Judas has slipped out into the night (13:21-30). He has told his disciples that he will be with them only a little while longer, and that where he is going, they cannot come (13:33). He has also foretold Peter’s imminent denial (13:36-38).

 

No wonder the disciples are troubled. Their beloved teacher is leaving them, one of their own has turned against them, and the stalwart leader among the disciples is said to be on the verge of a great failure of loyalty. It is as though the ground is shifting beneath their feet.

 

Quite similar to our situation today, confined within our houses because of the restrictions, we are somewhat troubled about what’s happening outside because of possible transmissions.

 

Another source of anxiety perhaps is the plan of government to slowly or step-by-step, stage-by-stage ease the restrictions. Why are people anxious about it? It is because people are afraid of  re-infection and what is called second wave eruptions of the coronavirus epidemic.

 

Jesus responds to the anxiety of his disciples by saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me” (14:1). Jesus calls them back to this fundamental relationship of trust and assures them that he is not abandoning them. Rather, he is returning to his Father, which is good news for them. In speaking of his ascension to the Father, Jesus assures his disciples that this is also their destination. There are many dwellings in his Father’s house, and he goes to prepare a place for them, so that they will be with him and dwell with him in his intimate relationship with the Father (14:2-3).

 

It is very convenient and self-assuring to interpret this text very literally particularly the part that Jesus “goes to prepare a room for us in his Father’s house.” In heaven there is a big mansion where you and I are staying for the rest of our lives after death.

 

We should remember that these words of Jesus according to John never anticipated being Scripture, being canonized, being a book in this thing we call the Bible. They are first and foremost words of comfort and hope. Words of grief and parting. Words meant to remind and affirm. Yes, things will never be the same after they leave this meal together and cross the Kidron Valley to the garden. Yet goodbyes do not erase the past. In fact, goodbyes call to mind the past so that a future is possible.

 

And Jesus was actually talking about the future. And in that future, Jesus is all they need. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (14:6). Jesus adds, “If you know me, you will know my Father also” (14:7a).  So that there can be no misunderstanding, Jesus adds, “From now on, you do know him and have seen him” (14:7b).

 

This is the whole of Jesus’ mission, to make known the Father, to reveal who God is. Jesus, who has come from the bosom of the Father and is now returning there, is the fullest revelation of the person and character of God. If we want to know who God is, we need look no further than Jesus. All the words that Jesus has spoken, all the works that he has done, come from God and show us who God is (14:10-11).

 

This passage has everything to do with life here and now because Jesus entrusts his mission to his disciples. “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” (14:13-14).

 

His departure does not spell the end of his mission nor the end of the movement he built. He is the cornerstone, a living stone, of this movement and this spiritual house (1 Peter 2:4-8). Upon the cornerstone are other stones that need to be placed in order to build the house. We are the other stones.

 

Jesus promises to be with us through the power of the Spirit, to work in and through us to accomplish his purposes in the world. This does not necessarily happen in easily visible, spectacular ways. Yet wherever there is healing, reconciling, life-giving work happening, this is the work of God. Wherever there is life in abundance, this is Jesus’ presence in our midst. Wherever there is a movement towards redemption, salvation and liberation, Christ’s Spirit moves within and ahead.

 

As we exit the pandemic… and enter a changed way of living …, even perhaps a change in doing and being church… what do you think the new things will be? What are the thoughts and insights that you gathered out of this experience?

 

Christ in the Pandemic

 

Let us hold onto Jesus promise of the presence of the Spirit, Christ presence, and believe that we can continue do the work that he has given us, that there are still goals that we can achieve, and that in Christ we are constantly being renewed. Amen.