The gospel that Natalie read to us this morning is such a familiar scripture reading for me. Selected verses from it are often read and reflected upon at the Memorial Services that I conduct. In fact, because of this, I chose verses 1-27 of John 14 for this morning’s reading instead of only verses 1-14 that the lectionary assigned for this Sunday. It was only later that I discovered that verses 15-21 have been assigned for next Sunday, so you may end up hearing two sermons on the same text two weeks in a row!
 

When reading scripture, it is important to keep in mind three levels or worlds that are at play:
 

1. The world of the text, that is the world of the story being told, the setting, time and characters of the narrative itself, as well as the literary methodology of the writer;

2. The world behind the text, that is, the historical, cultural, political context in which the author wrote and to whom it was originally addressed; and

3. The world before the text, that is what we, the readers bring to the text of our own understanding based on our current cultural, political context.
 

I will reflect with you on each of these levels within this passage. The time of this story is before Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. It is the beginning of Jesus’ farewell discourse that runs all the way though John 17. In John’s Gospel, Jesus does a great deal of talking! With these words, Jesus prepares his disciples for what is to come, specifically that he will be leaving them, rather than how he will die. This is why this text is so frequently chosen for Memorial Services, because the disciples in this narrative are facing what the recently bereaved have just experienced, the reality of their loved one not being physically with them any longer. Clearly the disciples are troubled in anticipation of Jesus’ departure from them. In response, he offers hope, comfort and assurance of an ongoing relationship with them.
 

In this account, the language implies that Jesus must return to his Father’s house, in heaven, where there are many resting places for the righteous, in order to create a new humanity on earth in a new Spirit-accompanied relationship with God. Another characteristic of John’s Gospel is the frequent use of  “I am” statements by Jesus. “I AM WHO I AM” is the name God gives in response to Moses’ query when he encounters God at the burning bush, related in Exodus 3:14. In this text, “I am” is an expression of divinity and oneness with God so points to the ways in which Jesus reveals God.
 

It is challenging that this passage contains several much-quoted phrases that have been employed over the years to justify Christian exclusivity, such as, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” They just jump off the page when I read them so they need careful consideration. This is where it is important to recall the world behind the text. This gospel is considered to have been written around 100 CE and addressed specifically to a mixed community of Jewish and Gentile believers who had never actually known Jesus of Nazareth in the flesh. The Jewish sect of Jesus-followers within this community was in the midst of dealing with a separation from synagogue Judaism. As Bruce puts it, “they were experiencing sibling rivalry.” There were also theological splits within the Johannine community, such as, between those who focused on the redemptive quality of Jesus death and those who focused on his coming to reveal a saving truth. They would be grappling with questions about what happens now that Jesus is gone. Was Jesus’ revelation of God possible for only the first generation of believers, available only to those who had physical contact with him and his ministry? Was Jesus’ revelation of God thus limited to one particular moment in history, or does it have a future? Thus, this farewell discourse acts as a survival guide for the Johannine community in difficult times. Harry Maier, my New Testament professor, would refer to the Gospel of John as an insiders’ document. Hence, it does contain some offensive dualisms and a sectarian, insider / outsider mentality, for example, “This a the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.”
 

It is important to also remember that this is a Spirit inspired story. It was written through post-resurrection eyes, in the absence of the physical Jesus, within a community that must have experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives, in addressing these issues.
 

So what is the world before the text that we bring to this reading? We, too, are a community of faith that has not actually experienced the presence of the corporeal Jesus, yet knows of the presence of his Spirit. We, too, face fear and challenging times and want to know what our place is with God.
 

I was not with you last Sunday because I was participating in a Silent Retreat at Rivendell, a Retreat Centre on Bowen Island. I was reflecting on this gospel reading while walking the labyrinth there and experienced such clarity about how elements of this passage spoke to me. I want to share with you some of what Spirit revealed to me in the present context of my spiritual journey.
 

Many of you know that most of the members of my extended family are Jewish. In fact, I attended a Passover Seder with my family last night. Whenever I witness my little great-nephew or great-niece address their father as Abba, it becomes abundantly obvious that, in the Gospel of John, Jesus’ exclusive use of that name for God, which means “Father” in English, refers to his sense of intimacy with God rather than to the gender of God.
 

This is what I hear Jesus saying, by way of the Spirit, to us today through the narrative of this farewell discourse to his disciples. He encourages us not to let our hearts be troubled, rather to put our trust in God and also in him, who has revealed God to us through his life. In his Father’s house, that is, in all of God’s creation, there are many dwelling places, where the Creator is revealed, including the hearts of humanity. He promises that just as the disciples of his day knew God in him, after he goes, by way of death and resurrection, we also will know him and God in him within ourselves. He indicates that we, his contemporary disciples, know the way to the place where he is located, that is, in our hearts. The way, to which he refers, is stated in the previous chapter, verse 34, where Jesus says, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you should love one another.”
 

Whenever “I am” statements are made, I interpret “I am” to mean that which is one with God, here expressed by, “I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” Hence, being one with God is the way, the truth, and the life. For those of us who identify ourselves as Christians, Jesus’ example of union with God is also humanity’s way to God. It is God who speaks and works through Jesus. All those who recognize this God-given power, will be enabled to do whatever Jesus was able to do and even “greater works than these” as there will be many more “dwelling places” through whom God will work. I had such a powerful experience of God working through me while offering Healing Touch at Rivendell, as I felt the energy of the sun shining in through the window, moving right through me into the person with whom I was working.
 

In this passage, Jesus assures his disciples that he will send the Spirit, identified as the Advocate or Paraclete, in Greek, in his place, following his death, to be a comforter, teacher, helper, sustaining presence and “the Spirit of truth” to guide them in the way of truth.  After his resurrection, in John 20:22, they receive the Holy Spirit by Jesus breathing on them, implying the making of a new humanity by echoing Genesis 2:7, where God created a living being by breathing the breath of life into Adam’s nostrils.
 

However, this Spirit of life was not a new concept. Biblical scholar, Michael Lodahl, has noted that in Hellenistic Judaism, the idea of God’s ruach or breath, as animating, perhaps even permeating, all the world became closely associated with Sophia, wisdom, whose role was to guide people according to God’s will. In rabbinic literature, the title, Shekinah meaning “dwelling” was used most often in reference to God’s presence, specifically indwelling the people Israel. Another scholar, Elizabeth Johnson states that Shekinah is thought of as She-Who-Dwells-Within, divine presence in compassionate engagement with the conflictual world, source of vitality and consolation in the struggle. In the words of another of my professors at the Vancouver School of Theology, Sharon Betcher, “…the metaphor of Spirit was that through which the earliest communities could articulate their sacred passion.” She reminds us that this history of Spirit allowed the Jesus-movements to make sense of the life-givingness of Jesus. In other words, in this text, when Jesus says that the Paraclete will come to remind them of all he has told them, this is remembered Holy Spirit teaching given in order to pattern discipleship.
 

We are assured that this Spirit of truth abides with us and is in us. I love the unitive statement of verse 20, “…I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.” Our relationship with the Spirit of the risen Christ reflects the union of Jesus with God. Also, verse 23, “…Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” So as we love Jesus, we love one another and are loved by God whose home or dwelling place is in our hearts. Knowing this makes it possible for us to experience the peace of Christ, which passes all understanding.
 

This congregation is currently facing challenging times as we enter the "Joint Needs Assessment Committee" process and prepare ourselves to possibly not have Bruce with us as much as previously. In his absence, let us remember that we are recipients of God’s gift of the Spirit, that wisdom residing within us, empowering us to be more of who God has created us to be. Do not let our hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.