May 14, 2017                   Dwelling Places

                                                                                           

         Two years ago, in an effort to form a married couples group in the church, a colleague and I invited a number of married couples to join us for an evening of food, fellowship, and program. For our program we listened to a number of marriage enrichment tapes, discussed them, and even worked a few exercises. One of the exercises was responding to the question, Where have you seen God in your marriage? One of our couples, gave us quite an answer.

         Matthew and Susan had been married for roughly six months, and it had not been going well. Before they got married, when Matthew came over, Susan had done all the cooking, and clean up. Susan was a very good housekeeper who cleaned regularly and did not like a messy house. After they got married and moved in together, Susan expected that Matthew would help her with these chores. Unfortunately, Matthew had never really done much of this on his own, and wasn’t very helpful.

         Over the first six months, Susan became more and more upset about Matthew not helping with the housework. In response, Matthew became more and more upset, thinking Susan expected him to do more than what he saw as his fair share.  At the end of six months, they fell into a routine of coming home, pointing out what the other had not done, and going to separate rooms to watch TV or work on the computer. Neither one was very happy.

         One night, as Matthew sat at the computer, he prayed, “Dear God, I want my marriage to work, please help Susan to come to her senses.” Of course, he got absolutely nothing out of this prayer. Then he prayed, “Dear God, help me to be a better husband, and show me what I can do to make this marriage work.”

It was as if a light bulb went on inside his head, all sorts of ideas came to him, “do some of the work, stop trying to make Susan upset, point out what you are doing, and tell her you want your marriage to work out.” The next day, Matthew applied these ideas, and when Susan ignored the work he had done, he pointed it out, and told her he was making an effort for their marriage to be successful. Over the next six months, Matthew stuck to this plan, and Susan, responded by making a similar effort as well. And at the end of that time, more often than not, they came home from work, and enjoyed the evening together.

         Matthew told us, that he believed God answered his prayer, and without God’s help, he and Susan would no longer be married.

         This morning’s gospel lesson is one of the most well known lessons in the bible. Mostly because it is regularly used at funerals. I have often heard preachers speak about how through our faith in Jesus Christ, we create dwelling places in our lives together, and that when we die, that we shall be raised to life in God’s house, and that house will be full of these dwelling places, full of the moments and relationships of love and life that we have created here on earth, to enjoy for all eternity. 

         And I think that is what Jesus is getting at in our gospel lesson today. Phillip and Thomas miss the point, they think that Jesus is talking about a particular place, far off in heaven somewhere, and want to be shown the way there. Or perhaps, they think there is some secret knowledge or formula for God, that will help get them to heaven. Instead, they get Jesus saying to them, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” What he is saying, is that by following him, by living in his Spirit, they will enter into relationship with God the Father, and the dwelling places that Jesus speaks of will become present in their lives.

         It is no coincidence, that Jesus tells the disciples this, on the night before his passion. In that passion, Jesus will give his life for his followers, and for the salvation of the whole world. In our worldly and fleshly lives, we are told to focus on ourselves, what is best or even fair for us. When we do so, divisions, arguments, and broken relationships often arise. It is only by living for one another, that we overcome our broken humanity, and the Spirit of Jesus, creates those dwelling places of faithfulness, love, and commitment in our lives. In the case of Matthew and Susan, it was when they put aside themselves and chose to work together for each other and for their marriage. For us, it happens each time we repent of looking at others only for what we can get for ourselves, and seeking instead the life that we can have together.

         Last week, Jesus told us he was the gate, through which we move from a world filled with chaos, fear, and violence, to a world of peace and abundance. This week Jesus tells us that by following him our broken lives can be transformed, and our broken relationships with God and with each other be healed, if we allow Jesus to become the way, the truth, and the life for us.