May 3, 2026 Sermon -- Reverend Jonathan Vehar [John 14:1-14]

Guest sermon from Reverend Jonathan Vehar from the ELCA South Dakota Synod.

Transcript

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The holy gospel to us comes from the book of John, the 14th chapter. Jesus said to his disciples, Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. 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? 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 will be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going. But Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way? Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do not know him. From now on you do know him, and you have seen him. Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied. 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? 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 work. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me. But if you do not, then believe because of the works themselves. 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 for anything, I will do it. The gospel of our Lord. You may be seated. On a Sunday morning when there was no traffic, it would take about 45 minutes each way. And on a typical day in the middle of the week, about an hour and a half was considered a good time. But on this drive, there was this giant sign that had passed every single day, this white banner that covered a whole wall of an apartment building right along the interstate with big bold letters reading, if you lived here, you would be home by now. And seeing that sign day after day, I wondered if it ever worked. Did anyone just get off the interstate at that point and go in to inquire if there was a room? A home ready for them. Now rarely did I consider inquiring about this offer, but on the days when traffic could be measured in feet per hour instead of miles per hour, I must say there was the thought. Wishful thinking that it were only that easy. But a home isn't made because of the location. Our homes may have addresses so we can tell others how to find them, or so that mail can be delivered correctly. But having an address doesn't make a home. And our houses and apartments and dwellings may have similar qualities, a roof and walls and floors. But again, these don't make it a home. What makes it is the sense of belonging that it provides. A feeling that we when we walk in the door, we know that it is the place we are supposed to be. It is the place for us, that in between the walls is where we find a sense of security and comfort and that sense and feeling in ourselves that's hard to fully describe. So when Jesus talks about his father's house, he's talking about more than a location, more than a building, more than walls with enough rooms in it. In fact, it's likely he's not talking about any of those things at all. He uses this image not to hand us a picture of what God's home looks like, but instead to paint us a picture of what it means to dwell with God. That in the Father's house we find our place. We find the place where we belong. We find the security and comfort, and know that it is for us. We find the place that God has made with us in mind. But hidden behind this story, it's a deep sense of fear. Now, only a few weeks ago we celebrated Easter Sunday, and we're still in the season of Easter. We're in the church, we most boldly proclaim that the Lord has indeed risen. But our reading for today picks up back in the 14th chapter of John's gospel. Jesus is in the upper room with his disciples, the place where they would celebrate the Lord's Supper. And these would be the days before his arrest and crucifixion. And Jesus has been maybe, I'll say it, acting a little oddly. At least that's how his disciples and those who followed him thought about it. He spoke about his death, and the people pushed back. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, and they thought that was kind of strange. Jesus told them that he was about to be betrayed and arrested. Predictions that they questioned and denied. But it was a very unsettling time that Jesus then tells them about his father's house and the rooms that he goes to prepare for them. And I wonder if the disciples are indeed afraid of all that Jesus is doing and saying to them. Because over and over again in these chapters, Jesus offers them words of assurance. Do not let your hearts be troubled, John 14, 1. Or if you ask for anything in my name, I will do it, John 14, 14. Or I will not let you, I will not leave you orphaned, I am coming to you, John 14, 18. Or my peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, John 14, 27. Those are lots of words of comfort in one chapter. Over and over again, Jesus offers these because he knows that the world is not yet right. Everything seems unsettled, and he can feel their unease. They are not at home at all. And I wonder if all the disciples are afraid of losing. They're afraid of losing their teacher who has guided them these last years, their sense of identity and belonging. There's been Jesus who is the center of their life together, the one who called them to follow. They're afraid of losing their sense of purpose. Because I don't imagine that this is what any of them had signed up for. The world is a mess, and surely Jesus' work is not done yet. So why is he talking about leaving? And in the midst of their fear, in the midst of losing everything, they are told to believe. Yet believe isn't about knowledge or thinking through things and having all the right answers. It's not a cognitive activity. Something that can't be proven because it hasn't happened yet. It's not in the past, it is still to come. Or as another way of translating John 14, 1, Jesus says, don't be afraid. Trust in God, trust also in me. Trust that it will all be okay, even if it doesn't seem like it in the moment. Trust that it all be okay, even if things are confusing and uncertain. Trust in me, and you will always find a home, a place of belonging, a place that I have prepared for you. And today there are a couple things happening in this community. We install Pastor Becky, part two of three, to be in your midst. And to install her as an interim, Pastor, may seem like one more sign of uncertainty, something that is less than permanent in a world that is so seeking something concrete. But we aren't putting our trust in a new pastor. That would be too much to bear. We're trusting in the risen Lord, who has conquered sin and death and the devil in order to bring us new life. And in this community, too, we celebrate seniors and we bless them with quilts as they go out. A path unknown, but as that sense of home that this community seeks to send with them wherever they might go. These quilts may not be walls or roofs, but they are designed to give the sense of home and belonging and purpose, a reminder of the prayers of this community that travel with them wherever they go. It's the deeper sense of home that you send out with them. Because this new life that Jesus calls us to, this new life that Jesus makes available in his death and resurrection, isn't just about some future reality that comes after our passing from this life. It is the new creation that Jesus makes for us right now in his Father's house. Which again isn't about a destination, but about a relationship with the one who makes all things new. See, this life of faith isn't like driving past the same sign each and every day, suggesting that if we just moved, then we would find something better and more convenient. Because Jesus has already done the hard parts for creating a place. Jesus has moved the Father to us. Jesus has prepared a place for us to dwell with God and for God to dwell in each of us. The home is created. And baptism, in communion, and the gathering around the word, and the times that we celebrate and bless each other and pray for one another. And whatever life brings. Jesus has already made a home where we find our belonging, our purpose, and new life in Him. Amen.