Where is not a place

During this time after Easter, many churches focus on the farewell discourse that Jesus provided.

According to the common lectionary, his interactions with the disciples and followers are found in John 14. A key theme in his message of comfort and support includes his statement, “I am going to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2, NIV).

Being named Thomas, I was often linked with the disciple Thomas and was called a “Doubting Thomas” numerous times. While being called a doubting Thomas was often meant to be an insult when growing up, I have found the act of humble inquiry versus doubt to be a great attribute. It is Thomas's humble inquiry to Jesus that have provided some of the most quoted scriptures within the Bible. As noted above, Jesus tells his disciples that he will prepare a place for the disciples and us. Jesus will come back and take us with him so that we may also be where he is going. “You know the way to the place where

I am going.” (John 14:4, NIV).

Thomas's humble inquiry sets the foundation for the Christian faith. “Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Where is Jesus going is the heart of Thomas's question. The issue of “where” is an important one in John. Pilate asks, “Where do you come from?” On one level the answer is Nazareth. On another level, the answer is “from God.” The “where” can be a place or the intimate relationship Jesus has with God.

Before exploring the reply Jesus gave, let me share a little bit about my place. Where do I come from? In the 50s, I would have said Washington, In the 60s, it was Oregon, In the 70s, it was Iowa, in West Virginia, in the 80s. I am now coming up on my fourth decade of being from Woodland. Do I come from Woodland? My place is not my current home in Woodland nor my previous dwellings on both coasts or the Midwest. Where is my place? I am the third child of Paul and Shirley. Paul was the third child of William and Emma. William was the second child of Henry and Margaret. I can build a similar family tree on my mother's side and pinpoint the place within my family. And it is within this family I find a place, coming or going.

The point here is that where I came from, can change when it is thought to be a location. However, no matter where I physically live, I will always come from Paul and Shirley. I have a place in their hearts and them within mine. They have always loved me as their son, and I have always loved them as my Father and my mother.

I have been blessed to provide housing for several foreign exchange students. Each has stayed and remained in our house for a year. After the year each did not remain in our house, they returned to Japan and Germany. My son, who was in the house with our exchange students, has also moved out and to another state. However, he remains my son forever. Do the words “remain” and “house” refer to a physical place or to a relational state? My son remains my son forever, even though he may not be living in our house. The relationship remains.

Given this understanding, “the place” Jesus is preparing is not a spot in a physical dwelling, but a“place” in God's family — a “place”; where one can be related to and remain with the Father as closely as Jesus does. So, if the place being prepared for us is a relationship in God's family,

Jesus was clear with his reply to Thomas. “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6).

Thanks to that humble inquiry from Thomas, we know the way and the where.