heartfelt | Pastor, Preacher, Pray-er

John 14:1-6, 25-28 – February 1, 2026

(I preached at a memorial service last weekend for a dear woman. Here is the slightly edited meditation on her chosen Scripture reading.)

“Home: Where Jesus Is”

Home. There’s no place like home. I know this feeling is not true for all people, but it’s very true for many people, around the world. Many of us have a deep craving to go home, to be comfortable, with familiar people we know and love. Have you ever been away from home for a long time, and returned at last? Perhaps felt the satisfaction, the deep-down joy at being your own neighborhood, on those familiar streets once more? And especially, in your own bed?

I know that our dear sister had that feeling, growing up for a number of years in an orphanage in Iowa. Yes, there were loving people at the orphanage, but it just wasn’t home.

That is one of the deep emotions our Lord Jesus taps into in today’s reading from the Gospel of John, chapter 14. It is the evening of the Passover Dinner, the Last Supper on Thursday night. He knows His time on this earth is almost over. Jesus gives His disciples as much reassurance as possible. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. ²My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?”

A place, especially for you. That heartfelt feeling of “home” is something that goes deep, indeed. Sure, many people grow up at home. Families are at home. Beloved pets are at home. Even all of our stuff is oftentimes at home.

Remember the movie “The Wizard of Oz”? That MGM mega-blockbuster made in 1939 had Dorothy, played by Judy Garland, singing a song early in the movie about what she imagined about a special place for her. “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” was almost cut from the finished movie by MGM, because they thought that it slowed down the pace of the movie.

This longing, this yearning for a home somewhere far away, somewhere over the rainbow, is deep within the human psyche. As commentator Chris Lohrstorfer says, ““Somewhere over the Rainbow” encapsulates our own wandering heart’s desire for a promised land of rest and restoration. It speaks to our hope – our need for somewhere else.” [1]

The disciples, Jesus’s friends, often did not understand what He was about. Again and again we see how much they did not understand what He said. How often do we misunderstand the words of Jesus, too?

Also remember, the Rabbi Jesus had been an itinerant Rabbi for three years. That meant that Jesus had no permanent residence. He had no home! In Matthew 8 and the parallel passage in Luke 9, “Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.’”

Several people I know are resident aliens. Citizens of another country, they live here in the United States for an extended time. With school visas or work visas, they often cannot live here permanently. True, they can learn, go to school, go to work and provide for their families and loved ones, and go about all the other activities involved with living a full life, but they cannot have a full, deep sense of “home.” There’s no place like home, as Dorothy said.

Here in John 14, we hear Jesus letting the disciples know He understood them, deeply, intimately, completely. We know Jesus can understand us and our problems, too. He knows every tear that falls, even those silent and sorrowful tears that redden our eyes late at night. He knows all the pains and suffering that can come into our lives day by day. Jesus shows us that finding that place called “home” is often not a place, but a relationship. The next verse, from John 14: “³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

See? Jesus is not leaving His disciples all alone. Jesus understood about “home.” He understands our deep need for rest and restoration. He promised to get a place ready for us!

Jesus shares with us – His home, His inheritance, His position. We now are “children of God.” Can you imagine the great love that speaks to us? [2]

This is not only good news, this is great news! The absolutely best news that anyone could ever have delivered to them. This is good news for each of us, and it is good news that our dear sister is rejoicing in, right now, in heaven! We do know for sure, because Jesus tells us in these verses, that God will be with us and take care of us after we die. So, we and every person we love who dies are okay. [3]

Today, we all can look forward to finally going home, where Jesus is. Where Jesus has gotten everything ready for us. Where there will be no more crying, no more tears, no more fighting or wars or conflict of any kind. Jesus has promised! Such Good News. Alleluia! Amen.

[1] http://wbs.edu/2016/06/theres-no-place-like-home/, Dr. Chris Lohrstorfer

[2] http://wbs.edu/2016/06/theres-no-place-like-home/, Dr. Chris Lohrstorfer

[3] http://worshipingwithchildren.blogspot.com/2014/03/year-the-fifth-sunday-of-easter-may-18.html

Worshiping with Children, Easter 5A, Including children in the congregation’s worship, using the Revised Common Lectionary, Carolyn C. Brown, 2014.

“Heavenly Prescription for Prayer”

James 5:13-20 (5:13) – September 29, 2024

How many of you remember being really sick? So sick that you had to stay in bed for days, or perhaps even had to go to the hospital? Thank goodness here in the Chicago area we have many devoted doctors and excellent hospitals to choose from, and to figure out exactly what is ailing us. And, thank goodness we are able to have effective medicine prescribed for us when we are sick, too!

Except – what do we do when our hearts and spirits are feeling sick? Anxious, or disturbed? Where do you and I go when our faith in God seems shaky? We could perhaps go to the doctor or the hospital, but they probably will not have the right tools or equipment to help when you or I have spiritual afflictions. [1]

This is our fifth week looking into the letter of James, and we have seen over the past few weeks that James is a very practical man. He displays a great deal of common sense, and does not pull punches when it comes to talking straight to his friends scattered around Asia Minor. (The area to the north and east of present-day Palestine.)

Let’s hear from James about this very problem: “Are any among you in trouble? They should pray. Are any among you happy? They should sing praises. ¹⁴Are any among you sick? They should send for the church elders, who will pray for them and rub olive oil on them in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵This prayer made in faith will heal the sick; the Lord will restore them to health, and the sins they have committed will be forgiven.”

What I have seen in these past weeks and months are the overwhelming number of people with heightened emotions and reactions to anxious, even fearful situations. As someone involved in pastoral care and trained as a chaplain, I notice these things. In our scripture reading today, we find the apostle James talking straight about how to pray, and thus deal with things similar to these things he mentions: heightened, negative emotions and reactions to anxious situations, not to mention physical needs, too.

The apostle James was a practical kind of guy. We can see that from this short letter, the only letter he wrote, included in the New Testament. He gives some practical advice to his readers on how to live a faithful and effective Christian life: how to live faithfully with others in society, how to control the tongue, how to turn away from evil and towards God. Here, in the fifth chapter of James, he turns to prayer. As we look at this passage, James tells his friends how to pray, in very practical terms, almost the same way as a doctor with a prescription pad might write it out.

What are the beginnings of this spiritual prescription? You and I need a special place and a special way to access God; we need to be open and willing, in this place! You and I need God – especially through the Holy Spirit – to help our hearts and spirits feel renewed, and we need the body of Christ–all of us–to help us strengthen our faith. In fact, we all need each other. [2]

When I was a hospital chaplain, working in critical care units like the Emergency Department, Intensive Care, and trauma support all over the hospital, my primary job would be that of compassionate listener—even before prayer, and also as a heartfelt part of prayer.

Now that I am a hospice chaplain, compassionate listening becomes an even more important part of what I do, not only for my patients, but for their loved ones. I suggest for all of us to consider a heart of compassion and a gentle hand of mercy. It’s time to put our defenses down and instead experience the vulnerability of listening to one another.

“If someone has a story to tell, the greatest gift you can offer is simply to listen. You don’t need to have answers or wisdom. You probably don’t need to say anything except, ‘I hear you. I believe you. I’m sorry you experienced that.’ In the compassionate version of the world I yearn for, we offer one another solidarity, a listening ear, and a tender heart.“ [3]

Another way of defining this spiritual prescription is through prayer – corporate prayer. James says, “¹⁶So then, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you will be healed. The prayer of a good person has a powerful effect.“

Again, I am reminding us all, this exercise of prayer is not meant to be only for persons in isolation. It’s true, as a hospice chaplain, I see many people isolated in hospitals, in care centers, all alone in their rooms with no one to hold their hands or offer them a kind word of compassion or comfort. James would give us – fellow Christians – the practical advice to come alongside the sick persons in prayer and fellowship, even solidarity.

My commentator Dr. James Boyce echoes this very call from our letter-writer: “James knows a wisdom that is communal, especially in its faithful exercise of prayer. Twice he charges that confession should be “to one another,” and that we should pray “for one another,” if we have any expectation that the promised healing is to take place (James 5.16). Such prayer exercised within and on behalf of the community has power — James says it is “effective.” [4]

I think all of us can agree that as God’s people, we all need regular repentance and soul-searching, no matter what. We are also all in need of healing, personally, and certainly communally. Isn’t that what James tells us here?

At the end of this 5^th chapter, this practical how-to manual on the Christian life, we can follow the heavenly prescription James sets forth. We can pray. We can worship. “We learn about how to be God’s people by reading the Bible. We find ways to serve – to do spiritual exercises that both help the world and strengthen us. We develop relationships within our faith community [or church] that are healing and helpful. And we learn to be generous – to share the many good things God has given us with others.” [5]

Whether it is the healing touch of the laying on of hands, or a simple hug from a sister or brother in Christ, or the potent power of prayer or the relief of corporate confession, active participation in the Body of Christ is preventative medicine at its best. What are you waiting for? There’s no co-pay, third-party billing, or lifetime limits on God’s grace and love. Prayer is our heavenly prescription from God.

Alleluia, amen!

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

[1] https://www.stewardshipoflife.org/2012/09/rx-for-broken-lives-and-faltering-faith/

[2] https://www.stewardshipoflife.org/2012/09/rx-for-broken-lives-and-faltering-faith/

[3] https://fosteringyourfaith.com/2018/09/30/time-for-compassion/

[4] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-26-2/commentary-on-james-513-20-4

[5] https://www.stewardshipoflife.org/2012/09/rx-for-broken-lives-and-faltering-faith/