“Three Days” (John 14:23-29)

“Fish and visitors stink after three days.”  I think that ol’ Benjamin Franklin knew what he was talking about.  Think about it . . . why are most family reunions, church retreats, and conferences scheduled to only last three days?  Because, after three days, things begin to get stinky.  Three days is the perfect amount of time for any group of people to gather together.  Most any person can put up with and tolerate any other person for three days . . . after that, well, things begin to deteriorate and get stinky.  After three days no one can stand Uncle Joe and his hee-haw laugh or Aunt Millie’s constant clearing of the throat or all the little nephews and nieces running amuck.  Same goes for church retreats or conferences . . . after three days the niceties disappear and reality sets in.  Life gets back to normal.

From my experience, and I imagine from your own, we can all affirm Benjamin Franklin’s sentiments when he proclaimed: “Fish and visitors stink after three days.”  At the same time, I think we do so with some remorse in hearts because . . . in all honesty . . . those first three days are usually wonderful.  Wonderful because everyone is having a great time.  Everyone is enjoying each other.  There is a lot of camaraderie . . . lots of laughter . . . and, lots of goodwill towards one another.  It is like paradise . . . a little slice of heaven.  But sadly, something happens.  As one person said, “When two or three are gathered, someone always spills the milk.”  Even though we know the quote is true, we still wish we could bottle it up and always keep those first three days with us.

Last Sunday I alluded to John Lennon’s song, Imagine.  In that song, Lennon proposes a vision of what the world could be if we live up to what I believe are the teachings and examples of Jesus . . . a perfect world with none of the problems we see in the world today.  Lennon even admits that most who hear his proposal in the song would call him a dreamer . . . that it could never happen.  That it is a pipe dream.  Yet, you cannot help but to have hope.  Hope because we know that what he is proposing . . . in what Jesus proposes . . . can happen.  We have seen it . . . we have experienced it.

Then the three days end . . . and everything gets stinky!

So, what gives?

God’s world is not of this world.  What God wants is not what the world we live in wants.  Jesus says so in our scripture reading this morning . . . God’s world is nothing like our world.  Jesus says: “I do not give to you as the world gives.”  We all know that the kingdom of God . . . God’s world . . . seems to be in contrast to the world in which we live and exist.  At the same time, we know that God’s world exists because we have experienced it . . . even if it was only for three days! 

In our reading this morning we are hearing Jesus say to his disciples that because of their relationship with him they have experienced God’s world . . . God’s kingdom . . . through the words that he spoke and the actions that he took.  They had seen it and experienced it, and it was nothing like the world that they were living in.  No, it was much better than the world they were living in.  God’s world is not of this world.  And, now, he is telling them he is leaving. 

The assumption is that with his leaving . . . there goes the neighborhood . . . there goes God’s world . . . there goes the Kingdom of God . . . because it was all centered on Jesus—his words and actions.  At least that is how it seems and nothing could be further from the truth.  Jesus understands this mindset of the disciples, thus it is that he assures them that it is not the case.  No, far from it.  Jesus is not taking God’s world away.  He tells them that it is now their responsibility to reveal, build, and live the world that God desires.  It is their job to continue the work of kingdom building . . . of living the words and actions Jesus has set in place.

Tough work . . . and, Jesus knows it.

Because it is tough work Jesus lets his disciples know that they are not alone in the work they are called to do.  Jesus tells them that they will have the Holy Spirit—the advocate: “. . . who the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”  As the followers of Jesus we are not alone in this work of kingdom building that we have been called to . . . we have the Advocate—the Holy Spirit.  It is with the Spirit’s help and presence that the followers find the God’s purpose, direction, and determination to bring forth God’s world.  It is through the Spirit that strength is found to constantly be moving towards God’s will and not the will of the world.  The Spirit provides the assurance necessary for embracing the dream and always hoping for it fulfillment.  Such assurance brings a sense of peace . . . that we are not alone, and that if it is God’s will, then who can be against it . . . it will succeed.

That is the sort of peace needed to follow in the footsteps of Jesus towards restoring God’s Kingdom . . . of creating God’s world.  A peace that is grounded in knowing that we are not alone, nor will anything deter us in reaching God’s goal.  It is a peace that is grounded in knowing that we are certain in who we are a child of God and that we are God’s.  This is a peace that can be maintained no matter what life throws at us . . . good or bad, because we know that the path Jesus took was not easy.  No, it was far from easy.  Thus, Jesus tells his disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

In other words, I think that Jesus is telling his disciples . . . us included . . . that he believes that they can get the job done.  That they can establish the Kingdom of God.  That there can be a world just like the one that John Lennon sang about in his song, Imagine.  Jesus is saying, “You can do it!”

And, I think that Jesus is right . . . if we can just get beyond three days.

When I was doing a lot of youth ministry, I came to enjoy retreats more than camps.  Retreats were three days, camps were a week long.  At retreats the kids and counselors were able to put on their best fronts . . . they made an effort to get along . . . there was a sense of community . . . and, it always seemed like a mountaintop experience when it was all said and done.  Camp, on the other hand, was great for the first three days—just like a retreat; but, on that fourth day it began to stink.

It began to stink because people were tired of putting on their best fronts, they wanted to let down their hair and be themselves . . . good, bad, or indifferent.  Grouping started taking place that included some and excluded others--cliques.  Tolerance was lost.  People quit watching out for everyone else and started looking out only for him or herself.  There was a lot more arguing and division.  It was no fun when the camp crossed over the threshold of three days.  And, typically there was always a good portion of the campers who were not too sure they would ever want to do camp again.

Though it might have taken me awhile, I came to realize how camp reflected the world in which we live.  How it starts out with great potential to be something great, but it gets lost when reality sets in and the real work begins.  With camps I realized that to avoid the stink one must do the work of learning how to love others begins . . . to do the work of Jesus.  It is hard work, but necessary work.  But because it is so difficult, it is easier to fall back on what we normally do . . . of falling back on how we live our lives in the world that is around us.  This is something that is unacceptable to Jesus.  Jesus expects the work to be done if God’s world is going to exist.

Why is the work hard?  Because we are scared.  Scared for a lot of reasons, especially scared about being rejected by the world around us . . . of not being accepted or included . . . of being left out.  Scared of being persecuted. Ridiculed, or even physically being harmed to the point of being killed.  Wasn’t that the fear of the disciples? 

Jesus understood this.  To his followers he assured them: “All this I have spoken while still with you.  But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

He tells us that this morning . . . God’s world is not the world we live in.  No, it is a much kinder, more loving, and peaceful place that stands in opposition of the way our world exists.  From time to time we have experienced its loving grace . . . and, always long for it.  Jesus showed us the way.  It is not impossible . . . it is not a dream.  It is a way of living life, and Jesus showed us how it is to be done.  It is a lot of scary work, but we are assured that we can do it . . . we can do it because we are not alone.  There is nothing to be scared of.  Jesus said so.  We should believe!  Amen.