Three years ago I recorded the comments on John 14:1-14 that you can find right here… My focus then was on two problematic aspects of the first paragraph of this passage – that it appeared to be escapist, as though all that matters is getting us safely to heaven; and that it is also rather exclusive with its One Way to God message. I suggested that once we read these features in their proper literary and social contexts they have much more to say to us than we might first think. Listening to it again, I still think what I had to say was worthwhile, if you are wrestling with the same problems I named then.
I also suggested that if you have no such problems with the text, my remarks might not offer you much. So now, three years later as I prepare to preach this Sunday in the Waiapu Cathedral, I have moved on to think about another prominent feature in the text: its opening sentence in fact. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust in me also.” No worries then! Be happy! Oh really, is it that simple? Forget about all that is going wrong in our world? If you are anxious and insecure, just whistle a happy tune, because God has everything in hand?
But it could be the case that this verse is describing the living heart of Christian faith, the spiritual dynamic connecting us through Jesus with the living God, in whom lies all our security and from whom we receive power-filled mission to transform our world. Here At last, on Saturday evening before I get to preach on it, my second take on the text can be found alongside the first…
Howard Pilgrim