When I was 22 and just finishing graduate school in Washington, D.C., I decided to go and live somewhere where I didn’t know a soul. I had never in my life lived anywhere that I knew no one, so I thought I’d give it a shot. So I moved to Miami, Florida.
(I went to Miami a couple of years ago and found that Thomas Wolfe was right! It took 45 minutes to drive six blocks. Everything had changed. Of course, 40 years will do that.) It was the late 1970s, before the Mariel boatlift, and Miami was a super mid-sized city, with lots to do. But it wasn’t long after moving there that I felt alone. Everywhere I went, I went alone. Everything I did, I did alone. Even at work, for the county manager of Dade County, most of what I did, I did alone. I began to learn what it was like to be alone, to know nobody, to be a nobody. Then, Frank Seely popped his head into my office.
He asked, “You play golf?” I said, “You bet I do.” He said, “Good! After work today let’s go hit some balls.” So after work we drove halfway out to Key Biscayne, on the causeway. He drove right up to a grassy knoll overlooking the bay, popped the hatchback of his V.W. Beetle, pulled out a cardboard box filled with range balls, and said, “Here, hit ‘em.”
So I hit balls into Key Biscayne Bay for 15 minutes, while he watched. He didn’t hit any. He watched me hit them. Finally, after a quarter of an hour he said, “Okay, you can play. But let me tell you something. You’ve got to get rid of that damn high ball. The winds down here will eat your lunch!” And from that day on 63-year-old Frank Seely and I became golf buddies. We played almost every day after work.
After a few weeks Frank said to me, “Here’s my number,” as he handed me a slip of paper. At first, I thought it was his phone number, but when I looked at the slip, I could see only four digits. I said, “What’s this?” He said, “That’s my membership number at Doral Country Club.” Now at the time, the Blue Course at Doral was a tour stop! The Doral Resort was one of the finest in the country. So I say to him, “Frank, I can’t use your number. I’m not you.” He said, “Of course you can! They all know me there. I’m in charge of all the street lights in this county. I can shut them off anytime I want to. So, you go out there any time you want and use my number. They won’t give you any trouble.” I said to him, “But Frank, why are you doing this?” He said, “Two reasons: I like you, and I know what it’s like to be alone.”
When you come to John 14 you find the disciples scared to death of being alone. And they’ve got good reasons. They’ve left everything to follow Jesus, and now it’s crystal clear that He’s leaving them. He’s leaving them to a world that hates Him, and by extension, hates them. Their panic is palpable because Jesus is ticked at them. In fact, He’s hopping mad when He says, “Let not your hearts be troubled!” And the reason He’s mad is two-fold. First, they’ve got their eyes squarely on themselves. Second, they have yet to comprehend what Jesus’ departure means for them.
We’re going to go deeply into all of this on Sunday morning as we examine John 14:1-7. I can tell you that I’ve taught and preached this text dozens of times, but never as I will this Sunday in the Sanctuary and in the newly-completed Barclay Building!
In preparation for Sunday’s message entitled, “Words for the Panicked,” you may wish to consider the following:
1. How is Peter’s question in John 13:36 a perfect set up for John 14:1-7?
2. How is John 13:1 & 13:34-35 a set up for John 14:1-7?
3. How does Peter demonstrate that he knows little of what Jesus says in John 13:34-35?
4. How do Jesus’ words in John 13:38 relate to John 14:1-7?
5. What does the Father’s house have to do with ridding the disciples of their fear?
6. The words, “I go to prepare a place for you,” was a common expression in Israel. Do you know who said it? And to whom?
7. In verse 3 Jesus says, “I will come again and take you to myself.” This was another common expression in Israel at the time of Christ. Who said it and why?
8. What common human relationship is Jesus citing here that should bring every disciple peace and joy in the face of fear?
9. If someone were to ask you what Jesus promises to do for you throughout eternity what would you say?
10. What prophetic image used through the Old Testament to describe the relationship between God and the children of Israel is Jesus seizing upon and reinterpreting?
See you at the celebration on Saturday and worship on Sunday!
