Our holy scriptures begin with the story of creation. In that story of creation God creates it all . . . the earth, night and day, the seas, and all the creatures of the land and sea. In the first chapter of Genesis, we learn of creation. God creates it all including humanity. In that story we are told that humanity . . . humans, were created in the image of God. As the story goes it tells us: So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27, NIV) We are told this twice in the story. Apparently the storyteller wanted the listeners to get the point . . . that humanity—you and me—was created in the image of God . . . created in God’s likeness.
We are all chips off the ol’ block!
With humans . . . with each of us . . . created in the image of God it is not difficult to see that there is a whole lot of diversity in that creation. When we look at the scope of humanity across the globe we see the diversity that there is in the human race. None of us look the same . . . we are all unique and special creations . . . and we are all told that we are created in the image of God. It says so right there in the start of our Bibles . . . “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.”
If we can grasp and accept this, then we can begin to understand the words of Jesus in our scripture reading this morning about “God’s house with many rooms.” In our reading Jesus is speaking to his disciples about what is to come. He tells them that he is going to prepare for them . . . for all of humanity . . . rooms. Many rooms! Rooms for everyone! He promises them—and us—that he is “going to prepare a place” for you and me.
Now I don’t know about you, but I never pictured Jesus as an interior decorator. But it sounds like in his preparations these rooms will be decorated to fit the relationship between him and the one receiving the room. The room will fit the individual. There will be no “cookie cutter” or mass produced, one-size-fits-all rooms. No, these rooms will reflect that intimate and personal relationship with Jesus . . . built upon that relationship with Jesus.
Jesus says: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” These rooms are based on the relationship with Jesus that each person who follows him has with him. And they are all different. Different because none of us relates to Jesus the same way because we are unique and diverse in our creation and being. Jesus relates to us as we are. None of us are the same, so why would our relationship be the same?
That is why God’s house is so BIG!
You’ve probably heard the joke before about the person who dies and goes to heaven. There in heaven the person is greeted by Saint Peter and given a tour of God’s heavenly mansion. As they are going through the house, Saint Peter points to various doors and tells the individual who is in the different rooms. Over there are the Catholics. Over there are the Methodists. Over there the Presbyterians. Walking past each door Saint Peter tells them who is in the room. Then he comes to one door and tells the person that they need to be quiet as they walk by. Curious, the person wonders what is going on . . . and Saint Peter says, “Shhh . . . that’s the Baptists and they think they are the only ones up here.”
Jesus tells us that God’s house “has many rooms”.
There is only one problem with all of this . . . we humans are a homogeneous group. Homogeneous meaning “birds of a feather flock together”. We like to hang out with people who are like us. Across the scope of our lives we like to be around people who are like us, who think like us, who worship like us, who have the same values, beliefs, and even politics. That is the comfort zone for humanity. For all things different, at best we have a tolerance for diversity. If we have our choice, for better or worse, we would rather have people like us around us. And, for better or worse, that seems to be the way that we view our world.
That is a big reason why there is so much divisiveness in the world today. Where Jesus offers God’s house with many rooms we just want to shove everyone into one great big ballroom and call it good. Problem is that that is not the way God works. To do such a thing . . . to live life in that way, is to kill God’s creation and destroy the kingdom. It is to add another brick in the wall . . . a wall that separates us from God and from one another.
“Another brick in the wall.” Some of you may recognize that phrase from a 1979 song off the rock band Pink Floyd’s album The Wall. This was a concept album about how societies—in this case the British—are built not for diversity but homogeneousness. The album protests that society is a system set up to basically cookie cut everyone into the same mold or image . . . to add another brick to the wall. The album argues that it is destroying humanity and pleads for it to stop before it is too late.
“Another brick in the wall” . . . that is what happens when we—as the children of God . . . as the chips off the ol’ block—cannot find room within ourselves and our lives to embrace the diversity of God’s creation and vision of the kingdom. We add another “brick in the wall” that separates, divides, and alienates us from God and one another. It destroys the house of God, tears down the many rooms, and defeats God’s purpose. It goes against what Jesus tells his disciples in our reading this morning.
Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.” It begins with a relationship . . . a relationship between Jesus and us. One on one. Jesus invites us to come into relationship with him . . . to come and know him . . . to come and understand him . . . to learn how to love. For each one of us, because we are all different, we experience and relate to Jesus differently. How I know, understand, and love Jesus is going to be different than it is for each one of you. And why shouldn’t it be . . . we are all different.
Though each of us has experienced and relate to Jesus differently, each is relevant and valid. It is special. It is unique. Each reflects God. There is not one flavor . . . there are as many flavors as there as humans in the world for God’s house is a house of many rooms. Because of this who are we to judge the experience and relationship of another with Jesus. Because we have had an experience and relationship with Jesus, we want others to have one too. Not our experience, but their own. When it comes to relating to God and one another in love we do not want to keep adding bricks to the wall that separate, but we want to tear down the walls and build the kingdom. We have to step away from our desire to homogeneous . . . to all be the same . . . and to embrace the uniqueness and specialness of who each of us is as created by God. In this way we see Jesus . . . we see God . . . and we begin to discover the kingdom—the Kingdom of God.
God is a mystery that each of us experiences differently, and each is valid in the eyes of God. One of Jesus’ disciples listen but did not understand. Jesus offered himself as the answer. Jesus shows us the way because he is the way. Remember he said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.”
God has a house with many rooms, and everyone has a place in the house. If you know Jesus . . . well, he prepares that room for you. It is not we who makes that decision . . . it is God. So let us rejoice in the words of encouragement offered by Jesus: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Amen.
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