14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.
14:2 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?
14:3 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.
14:4 And you know the way to the place where I am going."
14:5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we
know the way?"
14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through me.
14:7 If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have
seen him."
14:8 Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be
satisfied."
14:9 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'?
14:10 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.
14:11 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.
14:12 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.
14:13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the
Son.
14:14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
Where I am that you may be also, ... isn't the mystics of each of our religions that practice the presence of God. Doesn't it seem that the mystics from the Christian, Jewish, Muslim and other traditions are able to get along in peace? Isn't there some way we can build on that kind of peace until even fundamentalists from each religion can live in peace with each other? Manzel
"you know the way" do we?
Perhaps the way the truth and the life is a little like the chicken and the egg. I don't know which comes first but I know they seem to perpetuate each other. Whenever we find truth, Jesus is there. Whenever we think we have the truth that excludes others, we seem to have left Jesus behind.
Was it Matthew Fox who wrote The Cosmic Christ. That book includes a chapter on the I am sayings of Jesus. anybody remember this? Manzel
I'm thinking about talking about prayer! "If you ask for anything in my name, I will do it." Do we really know how to pray for others? Do we let our prayers always come back to my need or the need of our family? Do we really pray for others as Jesus asks us to pray for those in need, the poor, the down cast? How do we talk about prayer to people who think they are already "experts" at prayer without putting them down or challengeing them to look at how they pray? What do our people need to hear about authentic Christian prayer? Help me with some ideas, if you can. Thanks friends....H in Iowa
Like many of you I'm sure, I have used this text to comfort the grieving at funerals. However, this time I'd like to talk about the "home" we have here on this earth in our relationship with God through Jesus. As we are loved and accepted in God's gracious accomodations, we are also drawn to show hospitality to others needing a home--physically, and spiritually. We cannot turn our backs on all those seeking a safe homeland in the Middle East right now, nor can we ignore those who feel insecure in their own family homes here. Our feeling "at home" in our relationship with God, urges us to continue in God's Way as shown to us through Jesus. Our ultimate home is assured. Therefore we are free to reach out and take risks on this journey now. Any good illustrations, stories for this text? GB in MI
Jesus goes to prepare a dwelling place for us in his Father's house. I, too, most often associate this with funerals, but it might be able to say something for here and now as well. Sometimes he may prepare for us here on earth, such as in times of transition between calls. Even though we may know some details of where we go, we will not know all that awaits us. So it is with all of us as we move to the future. We don't know whether a freak accident will take the life of a loved one tomorrow. We don't know what the day will be like. Like Thomas, we don't know where the future will take us.
Jesus, bless him, doesn't tell us where, either. Instead, he reassures us that he is the way to the future no matter where the future takes us. He is the way, the truth, and the life. Without him, we have no future. With him, our future is assured, and we have no need to fear, no need for our hearts to be troubled. Believe in Jesus Christ, Believe in the Father, for this the Holy Spirit calls us to do.
Michelle
"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.”
How many of us see “greater works” each every day within the people we serve? How many of us see “greater works” in our own lives? Sometimes I see them, and sometimes I don’t. Is this more a matter of “having ears to hear” and eyes to see? More often than not, I think, it’s because we (they AND me) get so caught up in the things of earth rather than the things heaven. Once again, it seems to come down to focus.
This last year, I found out that about 50% of the kids in our small school district are on the free and reduced cost lunch program (about 300 out of 600 students). The Ministerial Alliance (supported by the congregation I serve) decided to prepare and distribute sack lunches to the kids of the town when the school cafeterias are closed -- we’d like to feed the kids in the country, but many are next to impossible to find and are as far away as 15 miles. Anyway, we did over 500 lunches at Christmas break and around 500 during spring break. We don’t ask for proof of income, we just distribute the lunches to the kids. BUT I’ve heard that the program wasn’t successful, because we took the food to the kids, rather having the kids come into a church. There are also some church members in all the churches who don’t think there’s a real need -- “the parents could feed those kids if they’d get a job, or stay off drugs, or . . .”
Jesus said, “the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do.” The promise wasn’t that we’d catch less “flack” than Jesus did, but that believers “will do greater works than these, because [Jesus was] going to the Father.”
You know, I started writing this comment with the agenda of trying to move the congregation just a little further down the road to the kingdom, but maybe we should take time and celebrate what God has done both through and IN us. Our church offerings aren’t what we’d like to see, our buildings are in need of repair/updating, there is more work to do in feeding the kids, families in our community need medical care, but when was the last time we stopped and and saw what Jesus was doing through and in the lives of believers and the life of the church universal?
Jesus said, “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.” I think it’s time for me (and the congregation) to look at our works and see if Jesus is in our works, is God found in our works, or are we just trying to be “do-gooders.” I truly believe we should live our faith and our works should be an outflowing of having Jesus in our lives. But doing “stuff” to look good or to be busy isn’t what we are called to do. It is Jesus who prepares our “mansion,” not us through our works.
That’s odd, I usually don’t ramble this much so far in advance, but we are having a combined worship service with another church in our town and I am not preaching this week, so I’m trying to get a head start on rambling for next week.
Blessings on your congregations, and on your faithfulness to bringing God’s Word to the people of God. Grace and Peace, Charley in NETex.
It's funny to me that we always look forward to the place Jesus is preparing for us. We look forward to being in the presence of God, yet we have that opportunity right now. We don't have to wait until we die. Jesus taught us to pray and through prayer we have fellowship. Many people seem to want God to be near them only when they are in church. I believe there is more comfort in knowing He is with us everywhere we go. It's hard for me to behave as Jesus did, but just knowing He is with me and will not leave me helps me to face all things, even myself when I feel like I have failed.
Rhonda in Tx.
kay,
Go back to John6:44 "No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day." (NRSV) These are more statements of identification of Jesus with the Father than a set of directions.
When Jesus identifies himself as the truth, then when he says no one goes to the father but by me, it does not sound exclusivly christian at all. All religions that worship God in truth are in the spirit of Jesus.
This is wonderful stuff already...so early in the week!
This is NOT an argument for universal salvation. "All might be saved," said Wesley and Arminius ...saved in the Name of Jesus.
But what's in the Name? Fredrick Buechner has something to say about "no one comes to the Father but by me." The gist of it is that coming to God is not done by subscription to a particular creed, denomination, doctrine, or attendance at a worship service. We come to God Almighty through Jesus...that is, through the Way of life he embodied. Buechner says, "Thus it is possible to be on "the way" and not know it." It's possible we will meet many in heaven with Jesus who don't have the proper paperwork at all. (See Romans 2: 14-16. Paul has in mind Gentile Christians here, but it seems as if he’s opened the door on universal salvation a little.)
The church has been in the grip of "Christian imperialists" for centuries...those who suggest there are two choices open to everybody: Jesus or Hell. I would suggest that’s a wrong way to read Jesus’ sayings. A reading in context suggests the Gospel writers, as they battled persecution and hostility from the synagogue after 70 A.D. were saying, "You knew Jesus...you knew better... and look what's happened. You knew him and you turned your back on the Gospel."
Who might that apply to today? Hardly those who have never heard the Gospel, or even more than that, have never had a vital, personal relationship with Jesus as Savior and Lord. To truly reject Jesus you have to know whom and what you are rejecting. If damnation awaits those who “knew better” and turned their backs on Jesus, we had better be careful, because we’re the ones who at one time had such a relationship and hopefully still do.
What, then, are we to do? Proclaim the Good News the best way we know how to those who do not know him: 1Cor. 9:19-22ff (v. 22: “I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some.”) It’s clear we’re in a human predicament we cannot solve. The One who can is Jesus.
We operate in and out of a Christian framework. It is a reliable framework for us. It has something vital to say about God and humanity, about our purpose in life and our ultimate destiny.
I am wondering about preaching on our witness. After three years, Philip still does not know Jesus - it suggests that we may never know Jesus but that we are always getting to know him. But what do we know of Jesus? Perhaps an invitation to reflect upon our stories and our need to identify moments of "knowing", so that we might in turn share them with others. I Peter suggests that we might proclaim the mighty acts, and certainly there was a story of Stephen behind his martyrdom. What do we proclaim? How do we proclaim? What of our stories, and what we know of Jesus, can we pass on to others? How do we pass it on? What is our witness?
Tom in TO
We are celebrating Heritage Sunday--having people bring pennies for each year they have been a member of(or associated with)the church, and going through a renewal of membership vows.
This is an often-used text for funerals. I think I use it in about every funeral I do. How to transition it to a church that is afraid it's on the verge of dying and is reluctant to try any new ministries because of the work and the wear and tear on the church building?
Also, how to keep away from condemning especially Muslims with the text. Early thoughts.....
Carol in IA (USA)
