by The Rev. Father Don Dunavant, BOSA
San Angelo, TX
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you to myself, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also. Where I am you also may be." John 14:1-4 (New American Bible)
Do you remeber your [childhood] home? Was it wooden, brick or stucco? What do you remember [about] your home? What is the difference between a house and a home? A house refers to the physical aspects of your home. A home refers to what makes the house a home. We think of our homes as places of love with warmth, security, and protection.
When you look at this passage of scripture in various versions, you will see that there are various intrepretations of the phrase dwelling places. These dwelling places are refered to as rooms, abodes, mansions and opportunities.
What was your favorite room in your house? Why?
In our home the kitchen was the favorite room. It was the place where things were happening. We would meet there in the morning to receive love and blessings and to get our day started in a postive way. It was full of love, hugs and kisses plus we got breakfast to get out days started right. The kitchen was the hub of the home. It was where we received our sustance to feed our physical bodies and our souls. It was a place of prayer. It was a place where we would discuss the events of our day.
I was blessed to have been part of a time when fast food was not the norm of the day. I can remember on ocassion the smell of bread baking in the oven, the various smells of garlic, onions peppers and tomatoes cooking as they became chili, stew or soup. Then there was Sunday morning when my mother had the unique talent of being able to cook lunch in the oven as we were going to church. When we came home for lunch after church the meal would be cooked. The kitchen would also be filled with the smells of cookies, cakes and pies being baked in the oven.
I also know there are people that remember their homes filled with many not so wonderful memories. There is the ghosts of abuse, physical pain, emotional, mental and sexual. But the good news is, that will not be the way it will be in our Father's house. It will be better than we can imagine.
Around our table there was lots of love and laughter. There were times of celebration. We had family reuions and birthday celebrations. It was also filled with music. We would have singing after church. We would sing the songs of the church that brought us joy and comfort.
When you were a small child you did not get to sit at the table with the adults. If you were a baby you got sit in a high chair. But if you could feed youself all the childs had their own table to sit and eat. When you became a teenager a place was made for you at the table where the grown ups ate. The food seemed to taste better than it did at the little kids table. But it was the same food.
When we come to Lord's table we must remember that it is His table. It belongs to Him. It is not about us, but Him. It is open to all believers. It is us to be inclusive of all God's children. We are after all a child of the King and we deserve to be treated that way. When we gather around the Lord's table we all have sacred worth. We are loved and accepted as who we are and whose we are.
Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us. It will not be a good starter home. It will not be a fixer upper. It will not be a flipper home. We will not have to invest any money in this home.
San Angelo, TX
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you to myself, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also. Where I am you also may be." John 14:1-4 (New American Bible)
Do you remeber your [childhood] home? Was it wooden, brick or stucco? What do you remember [about] your home? What is the difference between a house and a home? A house refers to the physical aspects of your home. A home refers to what makes the house a home. We think of our homes as places of love with warmth, security, and protection.
When you look at this passage of scripture in various versions, you will see that there are various intrepretations of the phrase dwelling places. These dwelling places are refered to as rooms, abodes, mansions and opportunities.
What was your favorite room in your house? Why?
In our home the kitchen was the favorite room. It was the place where things were happening. We would meet there in the morning to receive love and blessings and to get our day started in a postive way. It was full of love, hugs and kisses plus we got breakfast to get out days started right. The kitchen was the hub of the home. It was where we received our sustance to feed our physical bodies and our souls. It was a place of prayer. It was a place where we would discuss the events of our day.
I was blessed to have been part of a time when fast food was not the norm of the day. I can remember on ocassion the smell of bread baking in the oven, the various smells of garlic, onions peppers and tomatoes cooking as they became chili, stew or soup. Then there was Sunday morning when my mother had the unique talent of being able to cook lunch in the oven as we were going to church. When we came home for lunch after church the meal would be cooked. The kitchen would also be filled with the smells of cookies, cakes and pies being baked in the oven.
I also know there are people that remember their homes filled with many not so wonderful memories. There is the ghosts of abuse, physical pain, emotional, mental and sexual. But the good news is, that will not be the way it will be in our Father's house. It will be better than we can imagine.
Around our table there was lots of love and laughter. There were times of celebration. We had family reuions and birthday celebrations. It was also filled with music. We would have singing after church. We would sing the songs of the church that brought us joy and comfort.
When you were a small child you did not get to sit at the table with the adults. If you were a baby you got sit in a high chair. But if you could feed youself all the childs had their own table to sit and eat. When you became a teenager a place was made for you at the table where the grown ups ate. The food seemed to taste better than it did at the little kids table. But it was the same food.
When we come to Lord's table we must remember that it is His table. It belongs to Him. It is not about us, but Him. It is open to all believers. It is us to be inclusive of all God's children. We are after all a child of the King and we deserve to be treated that way. When we gather around the Lord's table we all have sacred worth. We are loved and accepted as who we are and whose we are.
Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us. It will not be a good starter home. It will not be a fixer upper. It will not be a flipper home. We will not have to invest any money in this home.
Jesus has already paid the price.
Thanks be to God. This is the Word of the Lord for His people this day.
Thanks be to God. Amen and amen.
