At Home in Love

“At Home in Love” -  John 14:23–29 

Our passage today is part of Jesus farewell discourse to his disciples in John’s Gospel that runs from chapter 13-17. In these verses, Jesus is preparing his disciples for his immanent departure and he is preparing the way for them to enter into a new kind of relationship with him, a relationship in the Spirit rather than in the flesh.  And in this context, in  verse 23 of our passage today Jesus says the following -  ‘If anyone loves me, they will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.’” John 14:23

There’s something beautifully tender and domestic in this verse.  “We will come and make our home with them.” This is not the language of fear or judgment but rather it is the language of relationship, of love, intimacy, and hospitality. It is the language of belonging.  And that word “home” is where I’d like us to dwell this morning.

But firstly we might ask:  What Does It Mean to Keep His Word?

Jesus says, “If anyone loves me, they will keep my word.” At first, we might hear this as a call to obedience, obeying specific rules or ethical commandments.  But in John’s Gospel, “keeping”  doesn’t mean simply obeying or following rules. It means holding close. Guarding. Treasuring. It’s the same word used of Mary who kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.  So when Jesus says, “keep my word,” he isn’t just saying “Do as I say.” He’s saying, “Hold on to the purpose I came for. Live by it. Let it live in you.”

To understand this verse a little better it is helpful to consider a very similar verse a little earlier in the chapter. In John 14:15, the English translation of the original Greek is often translated - 

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

Again, this sounds like instruction, but it is helpful to look a little deeper.  The Greek word for commandment, entolē, doesn’t just mean rule. It means objectives, purpose, goal, or even mission. Jesus is saying to his disciples: If you love me, you will hold close, guard, and treasure my objectives, my purpose, my goal and my mission. 

And what is that mission?  We hear it echo all through John’s Gospel: 
“I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)
“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:32) 
“A new Commandment (a new objective) I give unto you… that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34)

The purpose, the entolē, of Jesus is to draw us into divine love, to awaken us to the life of God within us, and to invite us to become fully alive, fully human, fully divine.

And so when Jesus says “keep my word,” he is inviting us to live by this larger vision:
To be people who draw others in with love, not push them away with judgment.  To give life, not to control it.  To help people become more of who they are in God, not less.  And to become a home where the Spirit of God finds rest.

That’s what it means to keep his word: To align our lives with his purpose, to love, to give life, to draw others toward wholeness. And then we hear the great promise, perhaps the heart of it:  “My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”

This is no longer about us climbing up to God.  It is about God coming home to us. Making God’s home within us, making us alive to the Divine Presence within us that we have perhaps ignored and neglected. 

And so Jesus is saying: “When you live by this love, when you let it shape your words, your actions, your spirit, then God’s very presence will rest in you.” He doesn’t say: “If you are perfect…” Or “If you believe the right things…”

“If you love me, and keep my purpose close, we will make our home in you.”

And this is the promise of Pentecost which is coming up in two weeks time... 
It is the promise of presence, peace, and power, of God’s Spirit within.   We at home in God, and God at home in us. Interestingly, in this verse, Jesus is offering us not a mansion in the sky, but a home in the heart. When we make room for Christ’s ‘word’, his life-giving purpose and loving objectives, then we find ourselves already dwelling in God, and astonishingly, God dwelling within us.

And so in closing, what does it mean to follow Jesus? It is not just to believe something about him. But to embody his vision: To draw others in with love. To bring life where there is despair. To be a safe, welcoming place, for others, and for God.  And as we do, we discover that we are not alone. We are not abandoned or left as orphans. We are at home, at home in God, and more wonderfully still, God at home in us.

Amen.