In our final Bible reading we see Jesus facing
his own death.
This passage may well be read at your funeral.
In it, Jesus prepares his disciples for life
without his physical presence and tells us, amazingly, that we too can face
death unafraid.
John 14:1-14
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
“We’ll meet again!”
Or “We’ll Be Together Again”
Many of us will have sung or
listened to it this weekend.
I’ve been belting it out around
the house, probably to everyone’s annoyance!
You’ll be pleased to hear I will
never sing to you online!
Dame Vera Lynn made the 1939 song
famous.
She also took the lead in the
1943 musical film of that name.
It was also used in the 1979
World War II film, Yanks, about British citizens and American soldiers during the build-up
for the D-Day Invasion.
Of course the words resonated
with soldiers going off to fight as well as their families and sweethearts left
behind.
Sometimes it was true in this
life; sometimes, tragically, it wasn’t.
Many returned with joy following
VE day, some only after VJ day, or much later, and many never at all.
“We’ll meet again.”
It could also be the title of
Jesus’ words to his disciples in John chapter 14, which we had read.
I recommend to you the whole of
the chapter, or indeed chapters 13 to 18, which cover the last night of Jesus’
life.
Vera Lynn said “we don’t know
where, we don’t know when”.
And Jesus’ disciples show
ignorance and confusion in this chapter.
They are full of questions:
“What are you talking about,
Jesus?
“Where are you going?
“How can we know the way?”
Jesus doesn’t give them full and
precise answers.
He doesn’t set out a detailed
timeline or give a great description of either how or when.
But he tells his disciples he
will go ahead of them.
He will see them again:
They will meet and be together
again.
He will rise from the dead and
come back to be with them.
He will not leave them as orphans.
Indeed, he will always be with
all his people by his Holy Spirit, whom he will send.
And by his death, Jesus will
make a way to heaven and the new creation for all who will trust in him.
His death will open the way to
life and glory and blessing and peace to them.
His death will remove the
barrier of sin and the judgement of God that they might know friendship with
heaven.
The disciples can’t know the
future.
But they can know Jesus.
And if they know him they know
God the Father, because he is God the Son who perfectly reveals God to us.
And Jesus is The Way, The Truth
and the Life.
If we know him we know the way:
We know that when we die, be in soon
or many years from now, we will go to heaven to be with Jesus and all those who
have died in the love of Christ.
We will meet again.
Jesus is the Truth of God and
the Resurrection Lord of Life.
He is all his disciples really
need.
All we need, for this life and
the next.
We hope never to face another
world war in our lifetimes.
But the future is always uncertain.
And indeed, the present corona crisis
has made us face our own fragility and mortality.
So much in life, life itself, is
uncertain.
But Jesus would give us a sure
confidence in him.
With Jesus, we can face the
future, we can face death, even, with an untroubled heart.
May God enable us to trust in
God and to trust also in Jesus Christ, the Saviour whom he sent.
Jesus is the Way, The Truth and
the Life.
We may come to God the Father
and be sure of eternal life even now by putting our trust in Jesus.
Therefore to God the Father, God
the Son and God the Holy Spirit, be all honour and glory and power now and for
all generations. Amen.
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