Sermon on John 14:1-14 (Coronation Sunday)

Sermon on John 14:1-14
Originally given 07 May 2023 at St. Alban’s Church, Coventry

Audio for Sermon

As I get closer to my due date, I think more and more about space. Of course the baby will share our room at the beginning, so we’ve got a bedside cot and a changing table in our bedroom with our king size bed and double wardrobe and night stands. In one room we’re trying to fit all the baby stuff in with our stuff, and it does feel like a bit of a squeeze. We are fortunate to have more than just one room though – the boys also share a room. They have the smallest room, but it fits a bunk bed, a wardrobe, and a bookcase that’s also a display cabinet. And then we have the spacious guest room. Although it’s technically a spare room and if space gets tight we can use it, we feel strongly about keeping it as a guest room. With all our family living a distance, we always want them to have the option to stay with us, especially since we haven’t always had that option in previous houses we’ve lived in. But we also want to show hospitality for friends and family, allowing them to feel at home whenever they stay. Ensuring that in our house there is always room.

With the space in our house seemingly decreasing, it’s hard to imagine a house that has space  for everyone. But as it’s the weekend of the Coronation, I suppose Buckingham palace, with over 200 bedrooms, is a good starting place for the imagination. According to Google, there are 52 guest and royal bedrooms, as well as 188 bedrooms for staff. I wonder how these rooms differ. I wonder if the beds are of different quality depending on if it’s for a guest or for a staff member. I wonder if there’s different linen used for guests or staff. I wonder how many bedrooms have an ensuite; or a nice view out the window. I wonder if the guest rooms have a facility for ringing servants like on Downton Abbey. I wonder about all these things about a house that exists, because I find it so hard to imagine the house that Jesus tells us about in the Gospel.

Depending on the translation of the Bible you read, Jesus talks about many rooms, many dwelling places, or even many mansions. And then he says each and every one of us will have one of these rooms, dwelling places, or mansions prepared for us by Jesus. This Gospel reading is often used at funerals as a reminder that this life does not end in our mortal death, but rather we go on to that place that Jesus has prepared for us. That place beyond our imagination. I wonder what kind of place Jesus has prepared for me? As God, who knitted us together in our mothers’ wombs, knows our innermost workings it must be a place that reflects our innermost desires. How indescribably joyful to imagine a place that is set specifically to all our wants and needs. Jesus describes just this place, and then our friend Thomas asks the crucial question, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’

The next verse is seen as foundational to Christian belief, but it is also one of the most controversial statements, debated among Christians for centuries. Jesus responds, ‘I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’ On the surface, as believing Christians, we might think this is an obvious Christian truth. We have accepted Christ Jesus because we know Christ to be the way to our salvation. We know the way to the unimaginable Father’s house in heaven is through following the way of Christ. But this becomes a bit more problematic when we consider the billions of people who follow a different way, the billions of people who still follow the command of Christ to love your neighbour as yourself but do not believe in Christ as the incarnate Son of God. And this is why there is debate among Christians concerning salvation, and why there is a theological wide spectrum on the idea of salvation which ranges from exclusivist to inclusivist to universalist.

An exclusivist would say John 14:6 is clear – nobody can enter the Kingdom of heaven unless they accept and follow Jesus Christ as the one true way. Exclusivists might also point to the verse from Matthew 7:14 that says, ‘small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it,’ as a way to illustrate that not all people will have a place in the Father’s house. An inclusivist could be described as slightly less restrictive, but is still quite a broad spectrum itself. They would generally say that people of other faiths might still be able to find a place in our Father’s house, but they will only secure salvation through belief in Christ. Finally, a universalist would say that all are saved regardless of belief because of God’s limitless power and love for all. They would point to the verse from 1 Timothy 2 that says God ‘desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.’ The bottom line of this thinking is that because God loves every single person and wants everyone to be saved, then all people will have space in our Father’s house. 

I’m not here to tell you which of these three is the best way to believe, or even which one I think is the most correct. I don’t have all the answers for how people should live their life or practise their faith. What I will say is that during the Coronation service, our King Charles prayed to God, ‘Grant that I may be a blessing to all children of every faith and belief.’ So whether or not people have a Faith or not, we can still love all people. And whether you identify as exclusivist, inclusivist, or universalist, you are still fully and completely loved by God. And I believe whether you have fully accepted Christ into your heart or are still on a journey to knowing Christ better, you are still wonderfully and fearfully made by our Creator God who loves every single hair on your head. As Jesus said, ‘do not let your hearts be troubled’. You are loved, and there is a room prepared for you.

Homily for Epiphany (Matthew 2:1-12)

Homily on Matthew 2:1-12
Given 06 January 2022 at St. Alban’s Church, Coventry

!Los Reyes han venido! The Kings have come!

A lifetime ago, I celebrated Epiphany in Spain, where it is commonly referred to as the Day of the Kings. Culturally it was more common for Spanish children to put out treats and drinks for the three Kings and their camels, as opposed to waiting Christmas Eve for Santa and his reindeer. An argument could be made that an Epiphany gift exchange is more biblically logical. After all, Epiphany is when we remember that the wise men brought gifts to Mary and Jesus after the birth. But my theological issue with this celebration is that the spotlight seems to be taken away from the main hero – Jesus Christ. Of course Christmas has also become incredibly commercialised, and most children would respond that Christmas is about Santa rather than Jesus, but at least Christ gets named in that celebration. For the so-called King’s Day, it’s about the wise men and their presents, but very little about the one true King.

When I read through these verses in Matthew 2, I actually have quite a few issues about the visit of the wise men. If they hadn’t got lost and ended up in Herod’s palace in the first place, then Herod wouldn’t have known about the birth of the Messiah which led to the brutal murder of all boys in Bethlehem under the age of two. Or if they had returned and simply said they never found such a child, that could have also averted such a massacre. And what about the gifts? Well, I assure you having experienced being the mother of a newborn, gold, frankincense, and myrrh isn’t very helpful. A baby can’t play with gold, nor can it be washed in the oils produced from frankincense and myrrh, and would likely respond quite negatively to their fragrances. But when I start getting worked up about my critical analysis of biblical stories, I realise it’s probably time to take a step back.

As the Vicar of Dibley beautifully explained, this is the greatest story ever told. And that’s what I need to check myself on – it is a story. And any story has plot devices to move the story forward, and perhaps even a few plot holes for those with a critical eye. But I think I should probably cut the wise men some slack. They are vital to this story because they show that Jesus Christ came not just for an exclusive group in a little town, but for all people in all corners of the world – north, south, west, and even east. Their gifts show that this helpless baby born to humble beginnings was true royalty, and that his life would be one of pain and sacrifice. But it is because of his sacrifice that each of us will have life eternal. 

So the real question about this story is what does it say to us as followers of Christ and what does it call us to do? I suggest that just as Mary welcomed strangers from the East to her home, we should also be open to everyone with hospitality. And although we aren’t able to bring gifts to the Christ child in the traditional sense, I think we can bring gifts to Christ every day we live our lives with love for our neighbour. Today as we celebrate that the kings have come, let us keep our heart on our divine King who came to serve us and still lives in each of our hearts today and evermore.