April 13, 2015

“Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in G*d, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” John 14:iff

“When He referred to the many mansions (rooms) in His Father’s house, He may have been intending rooms–places where those who had been associated together on earth may be gathered together; but He may be rather intending stations–stages in that long ascent of life that shall extend through the ages of ages. It is at once a contradiction and an explanation, for it combines the ideas of rest and advance–a life of achievement, where the tent is pitched, a life of possibilities, where it is being for ever lifted.” John Watson (1850 – 1907) A Sermon
“Continuity of Life” in The Mind of the Master “For All The Saints” volume III (P. 1080)

It is the ongoing conversation and the impetus for many questions for members of the congregation – “What will heaven be like?” The text from John 14:1 and following is one of the texts we often use in funerals, for it helps us form some idea of what heaven “might” be like. What better image could Jesus give us than a place of many rooms – since we all have rooms in our lives that have given us some comfort and peace.

When I was a kid, I used to have those emotional days where one thing or another would bother me, so I would do like a lot of kids do, I would retreat into my room. There was something really comforting about sitting in my room, having some time alone, where I could collect my thoughts, listen to some music, escape from my siblings, etc. In John’s Gospel, we are told that Jesus is preparing a room for us – but it will not be a room of solitude – it will be a room of presence – where we will be surrounded by the presence and the love of G*d. As I often say in a funeral homily, G*d is preparing a room for us like the expectant parents lovingly prepare a room for the newborn child. It is a room prepared for life – and the presence of love.

Pastor Dave