MANY DWELLING PLACES

Dr. Richard J. Henderson April 20, 2008

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Psalm 31:1-5
John 14:1-14

Introduction

Kids grow up so quickly. When they're first born, they are so tiny and fragile. You have to support their necks to keep them from wobbling. When our daughter Jennifer had a newborn, our son didn't want to hold him; he was afraid he might break him.

But then, before you know it, they are crawling and talking and walking. You blink and they're going off to school, and then losing their baby teeth, and playing soccer. They start to drive and date; and soon they graduate. A few days later they're finishing college and starting their first job. Then they're getting married and starting a family of their own. That little baby grows into an adult.

In a way similar to how we develop physically, we also grow spiritually. In some ways the stages along the way are similar.

I

No two people come to faith in the same way. No two people grow up in their faith the same way. For some the road to spiritual maturity is a life-long growth process from nursery through Sunday school to adult faith. Others find faith later in their lives. The ultimate are "death bed confession," when at the last minute someone turns to God.

Most people are somewhere in between the life-long faith and the death bed confession, I suspect. There is no pattern for growing in faith. But there do seem to be some stages we go through no matter when we come to faith.

II

For a lot of people, faith begins in our lives before we know it. For many people the first phase of growth happens without our understanding. A squirming baby is brought to the front of the church by a nervous mom and dad. Promises are made to help the child understand what Christianity is about. The baby is startled as water is placed on its head and the baptism words are spoken.

The child didn't have anything to do with that act. The baby didn't even know what was going on. For many people faith begins before they even know what faith is.

As we grow up, we learn Bible stories and begin to lay a foundation of faith. At this point we are mostly absorbing what our faith is about. Children learn the Lord's Prayer and the Apostle's Creed. They learn what worshipping God means. Those early years are soaking up the basics of faith.

Of course, not everyone has this experience. Many years ago a woman came to church for the first time with her son. It was around Christmas time. Later, I called her to follow up, welcome her, and get to know her. She said she realized that she needed to be in church because of a question her son asked. "What was that," I asked. "Well, he came home from school one day, and they had been talking about Christmas. He asked, 'Who's this Jesus guy?'" She said she had no idea that he didn't know. That was a wake up call to get to church!

Did you see Desperate Housewives on Sunday? One of the housewives decides it's time to go to church. Dad doesn't think this is necessary, so mom asks the kids, "Do you know who Jesus is?" One boy jumps up, "I do. He's the guy who helps Santa Claus!" Dad says, "We're going to church on Sunday!" (It caught my attention because they go to a Presbyterian church)

III

Usually, when a person reaches young adulthood, they begin to ask questions about their faith. Many parents think this is a bad thing, but it's actually an important phase in the development of faith. This is when people begin to take on faith for themselves. They're not just accepting faith, but beginning to wrestle with it in their lives.

We confirm young people in the ninth grade because this is a time when they begin to ask questions, and we want to be there to help them with those questions. These are the days when we test what we have learned and how it applies to our lives. Through this process the foundation of faith is strengthened.

In the same episode of Desperate Housewives, the family goes off to church and mom raises her hand and wants to ask a lot of good and difficult questions during the service, right after the sermon. The next day her neighbor tells her, "Church is not where you ask questions; it's where you get answers." The mom responds, "Well how am I going to learn if I don't ask questions?" "Just listen and you'll get the answers" her friend answers. Fortunately, the (Presbyterian) minister later says, "We're here to deal with questions, not dole out answers."

Questioning is important. We hope we don't get stuck there, but it is part of our faith. The questions, of course, will go on throughout our lives, but they tend to be in the context of faith, rather than a questioning of faith.

IV

As we mature in faith, we emphasize living out our faith. How does my faith change the way I live and how I deal with people? As we grow in faith we not only get outside of ourselves, but we also give of ourselves and make sacrifices for others. Most people begin to tithe in this stage of development.

During this time people grow in their concern for the poor, those who are starving, the homeless, those who are without power and without a voice. During this time we are concerned for the people who haven't heard the good news of God's love.

Because we are built on a strong foundation, we look out for other people. We express our concerns about injustice, and we work for peace. At this stage we develop our theology - although no one would think of it as that. We begin to put together a fairly consistent understanding of our beliefs and how they affect our lives.

V

Our faith grows, but we never fully mature. We still have lots to learn and do, and we can always grow closer to God.

The last phase of our journey is the most mysterious. Jesus says, "In my Father's house there are many dwelling places." At the end of our days, we reach the final stage of our faith. We go to be with God. It is a reunion - a homecoming - the final phase of growth. After death we take another step forward in our faith.

We don't know much about it. It surely is not what all the caricatures about heaven tell us. On my desk I have a cartoon from the New Yorker. A sour looking woman is standing in front of Saint Peter at the entrance to the pearly gates. Because it's heaven, the clouds surround them at their feet. The woman, her hair tightly bound and her arms crossed in front of her, asks Saint Peter "Is it always so cloudy?" Some people are never satisfied!

But heaven is not clouds, pearly gates, and Saint Peter standing behind a desk with a huge book of our successes and failures. Those images are funny, but not really helpful in trying to comprehend the wonder of afterlife with God. Heaven is not a place up in the sky, of course.

In fact, we don't know what afterlife is like. We do know that we will be with God; the distance between God and us will be gone. If sin is separation from God, and our sin is taken away, we will be closer to God than we have ever been.

Conclusion

We grow all through our lives. At first we are given and absorb our faith; then we learn for ourselves. We question and wrestle with faith; then we mature and grow and give and serve. The last phase of our development is being with God in a way that is closer than we have ever experienced. The final stage is homecoming.

We remain our same selves, only better and closer to God. We are with loved ones who have gone before us.

In the funeral service there is a phrase that I think says it best. The service says we look forward to "glad heavenly reunion." The last phase of our faith is joyful heavenly reunion with God and with those we love.

Amen

© Richard J. Henderson 2008