Dear God, “It says in the Bible that you have a great big house with lots of rooms. Is it true that when I get there, if I don’t keep my things picked up, you’ll kick me out? That’s what my mom says.” Tommy
May 2, 2004; St. Philip and St. James (transferred), Year C
The Rev. Harold "Skip" Comer, Rector
I love those kids’ questions and statements that several of you email to me. Here are a few questions to God based on John 14.
| Dear God, “It says in the Bible that you have a great big house with lots of rooms. Is it true that when I get there, if I don’t keep my things picked up, you’ll kick me out? That’s what my mom says.” Tommy |
| Dear God, “If you are almighty and Jesus is able to perform miracles; how come the Cubs haven’t won the world series. My daddy took me to a game the other day and I heard lots of people praying to you and Jesus. They would yell Jesus Christ and God but the Cubs couldn’t hit the ball. Don’t you care if the Cubs win?” Johnny |
| Dear God, “I learned in school last week that one plus one equals two. Why did Jesus say, ‘I and the Father are one’? Is this some kind of new math?” Susie |
| And this one is addressed to Jesus. Dear Jesus, “Last Sunday in Church the preacher read from the Bible where is says, ‘If in your name I ask you for anything you will do it.’ Would you make my big sister treat me better?” Joshua |
I believe that it is important to have a good laugh every once in a while. It is also important to hear some of the questions that the disciples asked Jesus and the response that he gave to them.
To Philip it seemed like a reasonable question or request, “Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied.” He had been trying to follow the conversation but it was very strange. Jesus had said something about being with them just a little longer and then he was going someplace where they could not follow. Jesus must have seen how worried they were by these statements because he then said something about his Father’s house having many rooms and that he was going to prepare a place for them. They had been to Jesus’ home and it was not that big. What was he talking about? We know that this was a figure of speech intended to reassure them that there was a place for them in God’s kingdom. It was Thomas who piped up first saying, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus replied by saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” What did he mean by that? “No one comes to the Father except through me.”
If you believe that salvation is only through Jesus Christ, this statement is pretty cut and dried. You can only be saved by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. That is the Christian message – eternal life is offered only through Jesus Christ.
But what about other people, people who have not accepted Jesus Christ, like Jews, Muslims, Buddhists; people of other religions, people who do not believe in God at all? Well, according to the New Testament, an absolute claim cannot be made that they will inherit eternal life. But what about the story that Jesus told of the Rich Man and Lazarus.[i] In this story told by Jesus, Abraham is in God’s eternal kingdom and greets Lazarus. Remember, Abraham lived and died long before Jesus was even born. And in the Gospel of Matthew it stated that when Jesus died on the cross “The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.”[ii] Now it may be referring to the followers of Jesus who had died before his crucifixion, but in all likelihood it is referring to Jews. That Jesus’ death brings about the salvation and resurrection to eternal life of others – even those who did not believe in him seems to be evident. That speaks of the power of God to raise whom ever he chooses to eternal life in his kingdom.
In the end we have the words of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels, it is an assurance, a guarantee, that acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior delivers us into eternal life. What about all of the other people? Well, God is the one who makes the decision and not us.
Jesus also said that if they (the disciples) know him then they know God and have seen him. I believe that Philip was scratching his head by this time in confusion. He may have been wondering if he had missed their visit with God? Bewildered he finally spoke up, “Jesus, if you will just show us God, then we will be convinced.” Philip has become an example of those who did not fully understand the mission and identity of Jesus. Philip asked for a personal experience to bolster his faith. Jesus’ response certainly revealed some frustration with Philip, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’”
Jesus came to reveal to the world – to his disciples and us – what God is like. That is why it is so important to read the Gospels and take note of what Jesus was like – because he thinks, behaves, and acts as God does. This is how the people of Jesus’ time had the unique opportunity to really experience the God that they believed in. It is a bit different for us today, as Jesus is not physically walking among us. Yet we have the witness of the Gospel writers who recorded the words and actions of Jesus in order that we too might share in this experience – the experience of knowing God more fully.
We like Philip may not completely understand how Jesus and God are one. But, like Philip, we don’t throw up our hands and walk away. We gather in a community that shares the same faith in the resurrected Jesus as Philip and the other disciples, a community where questions can be asked and where we search for the answers together. We belong to the community of faith known as St. Philip’s, which celebrates Philip’s honesty to seek answers when he was confused, who bore witness to his faith in Jesus Christ to friends and strangers, and who loved God and Jesus Christ.
May we in the words of St. Paul find that God has “made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”[iii]
