There’s a Place for You, Preached on 5-14-17 Focus Scripture: John 14:1-14 The disciples and Jesus are gathered around the table, for what is to be the “Last Supper.” In the case of John’s gospel, there is no ritual breaking of bread and sharing of the cup. Instead Jesus washes the disciples’ feet, an act of service and love. And then he talks and talks and talks. Jesus is taking his leave of the disciples, he knows this is his last chance to teach them. He wants them to know what to do, and how to be when he is gone. Jesus is doing the best thing for any relationship that is coming to an end, or going through a change. He talks about it. Perhaps an elder, a matriarch or a patriarch, is passing from this life to the next, and they know it. Perhaps there have been a number of warnings: minor strokes, heart events, a malignant tumor. And the beloved one knows the end is near. A mature person will do leave taking well. It takes practice, and since no one can know when their end of life will actually come, it is best to begin to practice early. We all have many “good byes” to say during the course of our lives, it is wise to learn to do them well. When my former pastor was terminally ill, he knew how to do his leave taking. Although his body wasn’t handling much food any more, he invited me to lunch. We ate in a small Thai restaurant near where I lived, and after we had exchanged greetings made our orders, he began to say good bye to me. It wasn’t a sad conversation, though. He had some words of guidance, he wanted me to know the way. He suggested that I got in touch with my friend and fellow church member, Diane. He told me that she was going to take some classes at the Andover Newton Theological School, perhaps I’d like to talk to her about it. Yes, I replied, I’ve been thinking of taking classes too. He nodded, this wasn’t a surprise to him. We’d talked before about my possible calling to ministry. Ken couldn’t possibly have known the destination of my journey into ministry, but he helped me to trust that there was a place for me. Then, he talked with me about his funeral plans. There would be two services, a traditional church service and then something more casual at the home of church members set on the edge of the local lake. He told me there would be a cookout and he listed his favorite desserts the church ladies would bring. He said “we’ll invite all the church friends from far and near, and we’ll sing the songs: gospel, spirituals and jazz. I’d like your son, Ben, to be included in the band, Liz. I’d like him to play his saxophone.” Ken’s detailed planning included ensuring there was a place for Ben to share his musical talents. I couldn’t help but smile. “You’re planning on being there, aren’t you, Ken?” At first I thought he knew he’d be there in spirit, but he told me that he’d talked to other church people and they’d thought we should hold the event while he was still alive. That made a lot of sense. Jesus’ leave-taking is a little like Ken’s, or rather Ken’s was modeled on Jesus. Over a meal, still teaching and guiding, Jesus tells his disciples what will be coming next for them. Of course, being human disciples like you and I, they don’t entirely get it. He tells them he is going to prepare a place for them, in his Abba’s household. This is a spacious dwelling, where there will be many places to abide. There is plenty of room for all. He tells them that they know the way to the place where he is going. So, of course, Thomas, gets confused and says "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" It is as if he expects a map, a GPS location, or Google directions. But that isn’t the way. Jesus is talking about the way to the roominess of God’s household. Jesus is the way to that welcoming place. Because he is not talking about physical location, or an earthly road map. He is talking about relationship with God, and the way of Jesus – as a way to be in that relationship. There are many dwelling places, so that those who have felt uninvited to other places may be assured of their welcome. In effect, Jesus is saying “there’s a place for you.” Think of all the times when it has seemed that there was no place for you.
Jesus says, “God’s love isn’t like that. There’s a place for you in God’s household.” The thought takes me back to me first year in college. I had the idea I would have a great experience at the university I had chosen to attend. I had the perfect opportunity to be close to the city of London, having grown up in the North of England. I was coming fresh from the end of a High School romance. So I was excited for the male to female ratio, in this college where engineering classes predominated. Never mind that I didn’t really know what engineering was. I found that I struggled in classes where my male classmates excelled, such as circuit design. And I couldn’t understand why my northern accent was so difficult for the southerners to understand. What I didn’t realize is that the guys would already had plenty of guy friends. And so, when I was hoping for potential friendships, there was often pressure to get into a romantic relationship instead. As I became increasingly lonely, a romantic involvement was the last thing I needed. My life line, that first year, was the mid-week communion, offered by the Anglican chaplain. A small collection of students gathered with the chaplain in the basement of the library on Wednesday, for a simple bread and soup lunch around a table. This gathering helped me through loneliness, homesickness and academic struggles. The chaplain and my fellow students fed my body and soul, with lunch, prayers and table fellowship. I was comforted to feel a part of a greater whole and able to put my problems into perspective. Each Wednesday, having gathered there, I knew there was a place for me. Last week we talked about the profound loneliness so many people are suffering in our age of supposed connectivity. This resonated with many people, and so I think it is worth continuing the conversation today. A couple of days ago I read a blog, written by Rev. Jennifer Bailey, entitled “The Power of Welcome in an Age of Loneliness.” [1] Rev. Bailey says “We’re living in what’s been termed ‘the age of loneliness’: we’re more connected than ever before, and simultaneously, more isolated. We rely on social media in place of face-to-face contact. We bemoan the deterioration of conversation as we spend more time looking down at our screens than up at the people we’re talking to. But, really, the problem is that we do not give ourselves permission to talk about the things that truly matter.” Rev. Bailey has created a form of table fellowship with two friends, in a campaign called “100 Days 100 Dinners”. The organizers asked everyday Americans to host a dinner in their home, during the first 100 days of the presidential administration. Participants could invite people they already know, or strangers. The idea was to bridge political, ideological, and identity differences. Over the past three months organizers heard from people in 282 villages, towns, and cities, who were hungry for connection. All the dinners began with the same set of three questions, encouraging tablemates to tell stories of times they felt unwelcome and times they felt at ease. That is to say, times when the diners felt there was a place for them … times when they didn’t. The point of the campaign was not to promote a particular political, religious or ideological point of view. Rather it was to recognize that the recent election cycle has highlighted what Rev. Bailey describes a “painful truth …. that there are many among us who do not know people whose life experiences are different than our own.” She goes on to say “In our echo chambers, we find shelter and reinforcement for both our core values and worst prejudices.” This story appealed to me especially as you may remember that our accompanist, Sally, proposed a similar idea for our church, back during our annual meeting. She told us how many of her friends were feeling troubled at that time, with no place to talk about their feelings of disconnectedness in our polarized political climate. When Jesus assured the disciples that there were many dwelling places for them in God’s household, I don’t think he was imagining separate, isolated echo chambers. God’s household, for the hearers of John’s gospel, resembles a magnificent villa, or a community of closely clustered dwellings. The rooms are spacious enough for all identities, all traditions, all life experiences. But these dwellings are not walled and gated from one another. This is the beloved community of God. In his life of teaching and table fellowship, Jesus has shown the way. As they gather to break bread, each person is carefully and attentively listening to the stories of the other. Hearing of times when they felt unwelcome, and times when the felt the wonderful, spacious welcome of God. This is a vision for this place. May it be so. Amen. [1] https://onbeing.org/blog/jennifer-bailey-the-power-of-welcome-in-an-age-of-loneliness/ accessed on May 13th, 2017
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
If you enjoy a sermon or have a question, please leave a comment. If you would like to quote any of my material in your own sermons or writings, please use appropriate attribution. I look forward to hearing from you!Archives
April 2022
Categories |