A Place for You
Fifth Sunday of Easter
May 3, 2026 8:00 am
Scripture
John 14:1-14
Meditation
If you have ever visited a friend or family member in a distant city or unfamiliar city, you know how important it is to have someone there to show you around and help take you to where you need to be. Having this person is the difference between an enjoyable trip and a stress inducing ordeal filled with missed turns and wasted time. Simply put, having the right person gets us to where we need to go. Not having that person, especially in an age before GPS was the difference between getting somewhere and driving in circles all day.
For anyone visiting a new place, there are few things better that first night than being shown to a place that has been prepared just for you. There is a sense in that late hour, that after all the traveling, all the stress, you have finally arrived. In the Gospel lesson for this Sunday, Jesus tells the disciples that a place has been prepared for them in the Father’s house. It is with this same sense of joy and relief that Jesus speaks about this place prepared for us, not just for a night or two or three, but rather a place where we stay and dwell with the Father forever.
This place is what so many people strive for and yearn for. But how do we get there, and what is the way? This is especially where we can get lost along the way. Many people try to get there on their own, through their hard work, their wits, through trial and error. But these things and more just leave us more lost than before and what’s worse, further from God.
Instead, Jesus gives us a different way, the only way actually. It is only through faith in Jesus that we can come to the Father. It is only through the sacrifice of Jesus that we can come into the presence of God. All other ways, every other way leads far from God and far from eternal life. So we trust in Jesus, we follow Jesus, we listen to Jesus who brings us to the Father, forever.
Prayer
Almighty God, move us daily to follow Jesus who is the way to the Father. Let us not rely on ourselves and what we do, but only on Jesus and what he has done for us. Assure us that even in the midst of our sinfulness, that a place has been prepared for us with the Father. Amen.