John 14:1-14

Together Forever!

            You never know just how long some relationships will last. The friends you had five years ago might not be your friends right now. Or the friends you have today, you might not have even known them a year ago. It’s certainly common for us when we’re in school to form close relationships with those around us. We do everything together for a time and we even tell ourselves that things will never change. But soon, people head off to college, or move to a different town or state. Distance soon kills what once was a vibrant friendship. And while marriages are supposed to be different than a simple friendship, the sad reality is we see marriages end all too often. Even after making a promise to be together “till death do us part”, emotional and physical barriers can pop up that simply divide two people. For if there’s anything we have to learn from life, it’s that nothing lasts forever. Even the best of friendships may slowly fade and disappear. Of course, there are exceptions. But that doesn’t negate the general rule. So, what can we do? How do we keep relationships alive and well? We stay involved. We spend time together. We invest ourselves into others, just as they invest into us. Yes, every relationship is a give and take. It can never be a one-way street. For so too is faith. If we think our faith is any different from any other relationship we have, then you’re in danger of losing that which should be most important to you. We must regularly spend time with God in his Word and in his Church so that our faith may thrive, lest it also fade into nothing.

            For in our Gospel lesson today, Jesus prepares his disciples for his eventual departure by teaching them about his own relationship with the Father. While the disciples don’t fully understand yet, Jesus leaves them with this promise, just as we’ll learn today:

WHERE JESUS IS, THERE YOU WILL BE ALSO!

I.

            There’s no doubt that Jesus’ disciples were filled with grief and loss as Jesus tells them all of this… that he’s going to leave, that he isn’t going to be with them physically anymore, that the three years they have been together is coming to an end. For of all the things Jesus said, this is what the disciples questioned the most. As Thomas asked, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” John 14:5. Where are you going, Jesus? How can we be present with you? How do we know it’s the right place? Separation is one of the greatest pains we feel in this life. Because of sin, because of death, we know our time together doesn’t last. Relationships will end one way or another, whether that be through a slow decay, someone moving away, or the inevitable separation which happens at death. It’s for this reason that Philip piped in also, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us,” John 14:8. If we can’t be present with Jesus, then knowing the Father is the only sufficient substitute. However, Jesus shows that this means we don’t truly know Jesus and who he is.

            As modern-day Christians, we live in this time between Jesus leaving us behind and his eventual return. Perhaps I speak only for myself as I say this, but in faith, there’s always a yearning to see our Lord face to face, to be able to touch him, to sit and talk with him just as we do with family or friends. There’s nothing we would love more than to have him be physically present with us. It’s for this reason that as a pastor, I don’t understand when people decide church isn’t necessary for themselves, or rather, let other things take precedence in their lives. Imagine that you have a best friend who lives across the country, whom you never get to see. They can’t text, call, or talk to you in any way, except, they promised to meet you every week in a particular spot. Would you not regularly go where they promised to be? For this is Jesus’ promise and command to us. He has promised to be present with us in his church, that is, by the communal reading of his word, and the sharing together in his Sacrament. There’s no substitute for this. No other means by which you can receive the same benefit. Where Jesus is, there you should be also!

II.

            All of our faith is based on this singular command… and promise. Yes, our great hope in this life, our joy and happiness. For while we may not always be the best at spending time with our Lord, there’s nothing he wants more than to be with you… not just for a moment, but for eternity! He’ll join us in the one place where there are no more goodbyes, where we no longer suffer loss, where we can be with our loved ones forever! Just as Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” John 14:6. There’s no one else that can promise you what Jesus has. No amount of effort or luck will get you there. It’s only through Jesus. It’s through knowing Jesus in the way which he has given us. Doing the works of Christ, speaking the words of Christ, living a life that honors Christ above all else. As we heard him say, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father,” John 14:12.

            Where Christ is, there you will be also! That’s the promise Christ gives us, a promise he has sealed with his own blood. Christ goes to the cross so that he can bring to an end the endings we face. But as he goes, we can’t follow… at least, not yet. Christ had to suffer every sin, every loss, and every grief which is ours so that we can experience every hope, every joy, and every moment of life that is his! As Jesus said, “And if 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 14:3. Jesus had to die for you so that you may live with him. Jesus had to rise for you, so that you may rise with him. Jesus had to depart for you, so that we may go to be with him forever! Yes, this is the one relationship that shall never end. And because this one never ends, so shall we enjoy eternity with all who believe in Christ! For there will be a day when Christ returns, when Christ comes with trumpet sound, riding on the clouds, and this life will be no more. For we shall be changed so that we may live with him forever!

            Until that day, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, there’s no better place for us to be than to be in that place where our Lord has promised to be. Let us no more be overburdened with the grief and loss we face here, for Christ shall return to reunite us with all we’ve lost and even bring us unto himself in paradise eternal! In Jesus’ name!