Sent Ahead

Reverend Philip Stringer

John 14:1-14

LET US PRAY: We ask, O Lord, that the words which we hear this morning, and the worship which we offer, may bear fruit in our hearts and be acceptable in your sight, our strength and our redeemer. AMEN

Jesus seems to be doing a lot of coming and going in our gospel reading today. And he asks for a lot of knowing and believing and being one — it's easy to get lost in it all. There are three things that come to mind for me in connection to our gospel reading today. First is the fourth of July. Second is a really bad book, and third is a vacation. If that doesn't make sense to you either, don't worry — I'll explain.

I got lost once. It was on the fourth of July. In Fort Wayne, where I grew up, the 4th of July fireworks display used to be held at the golf course that was about a mile from our home. Tens of thousands of people descended upon the park with blankets and folding chairs to watch the display.

My Grandparents were visiting from Florida and had brought my cousins. My godparents were there, too, with their kids — and afterward, we all started the walk home. I must have been about seven or eight years old.

I was amusing myself along the way by staring into my flashlight as we walked, and then looking around in blindness into the darkness. . . I was a strange child, I'll admit.

Anyway, I looked up and everyone was gone — well, everyone I knew, that is. I was surrounded by strangers. No trouble. I'll just stay put and they'll come and get me, right? Wrong. I don't know how long I stood there, but the crowds eventually started to thin out. I was scared. I was alone in a dark park. They had obviously not missed me. They had left me there and gone home without me.

I'm sure everyone has had the experience at one time or another — or has at least seen it happen to some poor child in a store. There's nothing more pathetic than a lost child. But it is a thought that strikes fear into every heart — no matter how old we are — the notion that we might not be missed. That we will be forgotten — cast aside and left behind.

Which leads to the second thing that comes to mind — You have all likely heard about the wildly popular novels in the "Left Behind" series. They are novels — purely fictional accounts of what the authors say the end of the world will be like, according to the Bible. They're popular because they touch a common nerve in us.

Now, I have to admit that I haven't actually read the books. Having read numerous reviews about the books and interviews with the authors, and knowing the lousy theology they present, I couldn't actually bring myself to waste the time reading them — but I did watch the move! Let me simply say that all of my expectations were met!

The premise is that the good and the innocent are snatched up into heaven because the end of the world is about to take place. This is the teaching of "rapture theology." Those who aren't so pure and good are left behind to battle the forces of evil, and struggle for their salvation.

The books have been wildly popular, as I've said, and they purport to be written from a Christian perspective. But I'll tell you one thing for certain that got left behind in these books: The gospel. There is not a shred of the good news of Jesus Christ present in the story. And it's no wonder, of course. The purpose of the books isn't to reveal the good news of God's love; it's to sell books! . . . People will spend lots of money when motivated by fear. The gospel dispels that fear.

In our gospel reading for today, Jesus speaks to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled." — don't be afraid, he tells them. Yes, Jesus is going where we can't go ourselves-- but the disciples aren't being left behind. He goes to prepare a place. Jesus comes back. Indeed, that is the message of the whole gospel: Jesus comes. He is Emmanuel, God with us. God comes to us where we are, in brokenness, in sinfulness, in weakness. He comes because he loves us, and he promises that he will not leave us behind. . . ever.

So instead of thinking in terms of being "left behind," let's think in terms more in keeping with the truth. Instead of worrying about being left behind, think of yourself as being "sent ahead," because that is what you are. You've got a mission, and it comes to you through your baptism into the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Jesus' promise to his disciples is that he is coming, and that he is going.

He is coming into your heart. (present active imperative) He is coming into your heart, and into every human heart. He is coming with his Holy Spirit to prepare a place. . .

. . .and he is going. He is going ahead of you to prepare a place for you as his messenger; to prepare the way for you to enter other people's hearts. He is preparing them to receive you as his messenger.

How is he making them ready to receive? How are you being made ready to go? By his forgiving love.

In a conversation with confirmands about Holy Communion, I asked them to imagine that they are stranded on a tropical island with five other people-- with no way to get off, and no hope of rescue. We asked the students, "what are you going to need to survive? What is going to be essential." We all guessed the first three things quickly: You would certainly need water, food, and shelter. But there was a fourth thing needed, too. Something as important as the others if six people are going to survive together on an island: It is forgiveness. Forgiveness must be present if we are going to survive together. Forgiveness is the only thing that can make relationships work when there is sin.

Jesus is coming. . . and he is going. . . He is coming into your heart, and into your neighbor's heart. He is going ahead of you to prepare a place for you in your neighbor's life. He is going ahead of your neighbor to prepare a place in your heart, so that in one another, you might know the love of God for you both. And it happens here, in this meal. In the forgiveness of your sins, and the healing of your relationship with God, you will find healing for each other and for the world. Healing that comes for today.

And that brings us to the third thing that comes to mind: a vacation. I was talking with a friend the other day about vacations, and it got me thinking about driving trips. I've been on two kinds of driving trips, and you probably have, too: the miserable kind and the happy kind. And the difference between the two is quite simple. The miserable kind are focused on the destination, and the happy kind are focused on the present moment.

The miserable kind has to get to Yellowstone by 5:00, and so it is filled with questions like, "are we there yet?" "How much longer now?" It is filled with frustrated statements like, "I can't believe we took that wrong turn! Now we're going to be late!"

But the happy kind of driving trip is filled with comments like this: "Hey, let's stop in the next town for a while and let the kids stretch their legs." Or, "Oh, look, Lincoln's boyhood home is 30 miles east of here-- let's go have a look!"

You've likely heard the saying before, but it's true: Life is not a destination. It's a journey." The truth of that for us, in the light of the gospel is overwhelming. God intends the journey of life itself to be a blessing. Following Christ isn't about going to heaven when you die. It's about discovering your loving God in the midst of life right now, and trusting and believing his promise to be with you always and forever. That makes even the darkest "places" of our lives, places where hope lives.

Our gospel reading reveals a remarkable truth to us — Heaven, without God, isn't heaven anymore. Conversely, any place where God is present, is blessed. If God isn't in heaven, there's no reason to want to go there. We want to be where God is. Jesus tells his disciples that he is coming to them — not the other way around. Jesus tells them that the place he prepares for them is a place in God's family. Jesus roots them into relationship and promises to be present with them in that relationship. Jesus tells us that where two or three are gathered in his name — that's where we will find him, and that's where we will want to be — forever.

He has gone before you to prepare a place. . . and he is sending you ahead to the places he has prepared. . . he is coming to you. . . he is coming to you in your neighbor, that where he is, you might be also.

He is coming to you. He is coming with forgiveness and new life, and the promise of salvation. He is coming in his Supper. . . and he is going with you, out of these doors and into the lives of those you will meet. You have been sent ahead. You who are receiving a foretaste of the feast to come, he is sending you ahead. And you have good news to share.

AMEN