For a Friend

This is a picture from home.

For my coursework I've been reading a lot of religious material recently and I felt inspired to do another blog post. I opened up my laptop to write a post about a Deuteronomy reading we had at evening prayer the other day but I got a text from my boss at home to say that one of my favourite customers has suddenly passed away. In light of this I have instead chosen to do John 14:1-6 which is often read at funerals. Working in a small village pub means it's empty most of the day when I'm on duty so you can imagine how nice it is to have someone to talk to. Roger used to come in every day, have his IPA from a beer mug and we'd have a chat and do the crossword together. Since I work every day during the holidays to fund uni I've grown to know him quite well and I'm saddened by his passing.

So this one's for you Roger.

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 may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.' 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.' John 14:1-6

Disciples- When I read the bible I know that disciples mean the twelve (or at this point eleven) followers of Christ who gave up everything to be with him and to spread his Word. If I’m reading the bible for an essay I think of this, but when I am reading for guidance I see disciples as being all of us. The danger of using ‘us’ here is that it might sound that church is a little cliquey; ‘us’ who turn up every Sunday and ‘them’ that don’t. This is not what I mean. I see everyone in the world as having the potential to be a disciple, even if they don’t know it themselves. Christ rejects nobody, so if I’m a disciple and tell someone about him and they want to join the club then they can. Let’s be honest, we all end up in the same place eventually so it’s better to think of everyone as being equal now rather than having to get used to it in eternity. The door is open to all. If we all have the opportunity to be a disciple then instructions go not just to those who are, but to those thinking about it. Anyone with Jesus on the brain as it were. Anyway, where was I? So, Jesus is directing this to his disciples which means I should be listening up, and probably you too if you’re reading my blog.

House- Jesus specifically mentions dwelling places but I’m going to go one further. I don't really go in for the idea of heaven as being a big house but I haven't been so I can't tell you it isn't. Houses have the connotations of home and a warm domestic space for family or friends. Jesus is letting us know there is room at the inn (haha funny no?) for each of us. We are all catered for so there are no excuses. As someone who's always believed in an omnibenevolent God I've never been in doubt that heaven is somewhere I'll end up. Maybe I doubted it when I'd done something really naughty as a kid but for the most part I've trusted the Father to love me enough to welcome me in- the whole reason Jesus sacrificed himself. I can see why one could question a place in heaven. 'Why would he want me?', 'isn't it for really good people who go to church?'. Here we are reassured we are wanted to join God in this 'physical' heaven, heaven as a space. Alternatively, I see 'house' as an alternative word for family. Google puts it as a noble, royal, or wealthy family rather than just a standard one, and actually that is more accurate. 'In my Father's house' becomes 'In my Father's family'. Jesus is welcoming us to the family. While we are all technically children of God, being welcomed into a family is different to just being related. And a wealthy family at that, not in things like gold but rich in love and forgiveness. In having a place prepared we are meant to be there and there's no room for doubt. So far we're doing pretty well- Jesus has extended his arm to all of us, and he's given us a part in God's eternal family.

The Way- The end of the reading is the bit we all recognise but I want to zoom in specifically on that is meant by 'the way'. Thomas says like any sensible person that he has not been given directions to this place (insert joke about men taking directions here), that is under the presumption that 'the way' means some physical route. Surprise, the way isn't a route! The way is how we live our lives and the decisions we make, like the decision to follow Christ. Thomas says he doesn't know the way, but he knows Jesus- and that's it, mystery solved. If Jesus is how we get there that's all fine and dandy for me, but it leaves the problem of how other people who don't know Jesus get in. This poses a problem for me. Well, I believe that we all meet him eventually and that gives us the opportunity. Like Roger right now. He might be having a chat with Jesus, and if you have that chat it's not like you're going to turn him down right? If I was offered eternal love and salvation by someone amazing I wouldn't turn it down. And I haven't. By following Jesus now I have grasped the opportunity with both hands, and I tell you now I am not letting go.

Earthly death can be a struggle for those left behind, and now I understand why this is often read a funerals. It's a reminder that we have the love of Jesus, and that when we meet him we are welcomed into a new family.