1 Thessalonians 4.13-18; John14.1-8
As we gather here today some of us will have particular people that we will remember. Military personnel or civilians who have died as a consequence of war, or conflict. I always remember Sapper Warren Beatie, who served under me in Northern Ireland when I was a troop commander, building a new police station in Forkhill, South Armagh. Warren had been posted into my troop one week before we arrived in Northern Ireland. Warren was an interesting person. What he lacked in social skills he made up for in his ability to do complicated maths problems in his head. He was extraordinary and I quickly warmed to him, and was delighted when he sailed through the maths module that I taught in the evenings. On my 25th birthday, 6 April 1982, Warren was shot dead. Not by a member of the IRA but by an another Sapper. At the inquest it was shown that this latter Sapper was prone to irrational behaviour under stress.
War/armed conflicts are horrible. We can all look up the figures of casualties, both military and civilian in each conflict. The figures particularly for the two world wars last century are so overwhelming but each statistic was an individual, each one had family and friends who knew them and loved them, and in remembering them we honour them. Honour them for their fellowship, honour them for what they meant to us, honour them for having the courage to put themselves in harm’s way.
But our remembering of them does not stop there. In our Gospel reading, taken from Jesus’ final words to his disciples as recorded in John’s gospel, Jesus knows he will be killed the next day and he is assuring his disciples that in his Father’s house, the place where God the Father has dwelt since the beginning of time, there are many dwelling places - some translations say mansions so not a hovel but something grand - and that he will prepare these places for his disciples, which includes us. This last week I was privileged to look at RE books in Hanwood school, and two girls aged 5 and 6, took pleasure in showing me their drawings of the stable that Jesus been born in, complete with teddys. This promise from Jesus of preparing homes makes me wonder if each home will be decorated and fitted out to each disciple’s preferences and likes? That would show intimate knowledge of each person and a desire to do what they would like. I knew Warren a little bit, but Jesus, God, knows everything about every one of us, even down to how many hairs - or none - that we have on our head. So we can be assured that these homes will be perfect for each one of us.
Jesus also promised that he would return and take each disciple to heaven when they die, a seamless transition from this world to the next, so that we will be with him and his Father for all time. In some ways I look forward to that moment, for then not only will I see my parents and my daughter again but I will also see Warren with his grinning face, and that will be very special.
These two promises - of a mansion and of being escorted there by Jesus are so reassuring, so comforting. They show the enormity of God’s love for us, and his desire that all who die will live with him forevermore.
Elsewhere in the bible, some 600 years ago, God spoke these words to the prophet Isaiah:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts".
God’s perspective is very different from ours. He sees beyond what we see and He has a plan in which in the end all will be redeemed and healed, all will be made whole. The dead will come alive again and Jesus Christ will return and a new earth will be created. There will no more wars, no more violence, no more torture, no more death. Instead we will all live in love and harmony for evermore.
We are not yet in that time. When it comes everyone will know! Everyone will be changed in the twinkling of an eye. Almighty God will do this. Meanwhile we have to continue to live with violence and war around us. This can leave us feeling impotent and helpless. But Jesus promised that he would be with us always, that he has overcome all evil, that the victory is his, that we need not be afraid. In prayer we can know his presence, his reassurance, his guidance his help. All we have to do is ask.
So as we remember those from here who died in the two world wars and others we may know, let us remember that God is almighty, that he has a purpose for each one of us, that he loves everyone and desires that all might know and receive that love. Amen.
Postscript for those reading on line who want more, not to be read out in church.
When the leader, Joshua, was about to start a lengthy campaign to take the land of Israel, an Angel, appeared to him and said that he was the Commander of the Lord’s army. Joshua was instructed to remove his sandals as he was standing on holy ground. Later, the prophet Elisha saw a great heavenly army surrounding them and protecting them. The letter to the church in Ephesus reminds us that we are in a spiritual battle. Praying for peace, praying for God’s presence, holiness, authority, and purpose is something all of us can do.