Loading...This portion of John’s Gospel [14:1-14] is used often in funerals, especially the part about the many mansions that Jesus goes to prepare. The words are heard as words of comfort and consolation. But, this text has also been used to exclude people: as though “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” meant that Jesus is the only Way, the only Truth, and the only Life.
What if we heard in the text....
that Jesus offered in and with his life the Way of being, the Truth of love, and Life in communion with God?
What if we heard in the text....
that Jesus “going to prepare a place for us”
meant that Jesus was already abiding (or dwelling) with us?
What if we heard in the text....
words of comfort for those who are anxious and fearful about their lives and the future (not just after death, but right now)?
What if we heard in the text....
a remind to us of just who Jesus is
(so that we could remember to trust him)?
And a reminder of who we are:
beloved and claimed people of God.
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We often have questions about our own sense of identity:
Who are we?
Who are you?
“Who am I?”
And you may answer those questions in a variety of ways:
•[On this Mother’s Day, some of you may say] Mother, auntie, grandmother, daughter.
•Retiree, student, worker
•Taxpayer, voter, citizen, refugee, immigrant
•reader, hiker, musician, volunteer, dog-walker, artist, athlete
You are all of these things and more!
As we are reminded in today’s Epistle reading,
we are also a royal priesthood, a chosen race, and God’s own.
Our identity is as God’s people who have a place in this world with Jesus leading the Way in the life of faith, love, forgiveness, and hope.
Amen
