Episode 4 Familiar Words

The conversation explores the themes of finding peace and comfort in the words of scripture, the reassurance of God's presence, and the promise of belonging and comfort in times of uncertainty. It emphasizes the daily invitation of comfort and the journey of faith, highlighting the heart of God and the presence of Christ in suffering.

Takeaways

• Words of comfort
• Presence of God

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:01

Welcome to After Sunday After the Amen. Join Reverend Rick as he shares the word finding peace in the prayer we pray after Sunday after the Amen.

SPEAKER_01 0:22

Hello and welcome to After Sunday After the Amen. It's really good to have you with me again. Whether you're out walking, driving somewhere familiar, or just taking a few quiet moments with a cup of tea. However, you're listening today and you're very welcome. Now Sunday might already feel like it's slipping away a little. The words have been spoken, the hymns sung, and the conversations had, and life has picked up its pace again. But this space, this is where we pause, where we come back, where we reflect on what might still be speaking to us. Because sometimes it's not in the service itself, but after the amen, that something begins to settle. Now this week we're thinking about a passage that many of us will recognise straight away, those words of Jesus In my Father's house there are many rooms. And if we're honest, for many of us those are words we've most often heard at a funeral, words spoken in moments of goodbye, words that bring comfort when hearts are heavy. But what if these words were never only meant for the end of life? What if they were meant for the middle of it too? Because Jesus wasn't just speaking about where we go one day, he was speaking to people who were anxious, uncertain, and not quite sure what lay ahead. In other words, people not unlike us. So today, let's come back to those familiar words and maybe hear them again, not just as words of comfort for the future but as words of reassurance for right now.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

So let's go back to Sunday just for a moment.

SPEAKER_01 2:40

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house there are many dwelling places, if it were not so, but I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also, and you know the way to the place where I am going. Now Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way? And Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him. Now Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied. And Jesus said to him, Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you, who don't I do not speak on my own, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me. But if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do, and in fact will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father, and I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything I will do. I had one of those moments recently. You know the kind when you walk into a room and completely forgot why you went in. I stood there looking around, thinking I came here for something important, but absolutely nothing came to mind. So I did what any sensible person does. I walked back out again, hoping it would magically come back to me. It didn't. Now, I wonder if you've ever had that feeling on a bigger scale. Not just forgetting why you went into a room, but feeling like you've somehow been forgotten, forgotten by people, forgotten by the world, maybe even at times forgotten by God. And into that very human feelings comes these free readings today, with a message that is as simple as it is powerful. You are not forgotten, you are not alone, and you are not lost. We heard those beautiful words, but God remembered Noah. Now that doesn't mean God had forgotten and suddenly thought, Oh goodness, Noah, I left him floating out there. No, this is one of those deep biblical phrases, and the Bible says God remembered. It means God turns towards someone in love and acts for them. If we remember Noah is in the ark, floating, waiting, unsure of what comes next. The storm has passed, but he's still in that in between place, and isn't that where so many people live? The crisis may have passed, but life isn't back to normal. The prayer has been said, but the answer hasn't yet come. The door hasn't opened, but the old one has closed. That in between space that can feel like being forgotten. But in Genesis, even in the waiting, God remembers. God is already at work, drawing the waters, preparing the ground, and making a way forward. And maybe that's a word for someone today. Just because you can't see it yet doesn't mean God isn't working. And then of course we move to that reading from Acts, and the tone changes quite dramatically. Stephen is not in safety. He's in danger. He's being stoned, and yet in that moment we hear he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. What a moment not sitting as is often described, but standing. And if Christ himself rises to welcome him, Stephen is not rescued from death, but he is not alone in it. And notice what happens next. Lord, do not hold this sin against them. Even in the most brutal moment, Stephen reflects the heart of Christ, which tells us something extraordinary. When we know we are not alone, even suffering does not have the final word. We may not face what Stephen faced, but people carry all sorts of stones today stones of grief, of illness, of anxiety, of loneliness, pressure that no one else sees. And the promise here is not that life will always be easy, but that there is no place we go where Christ is not already present. And then we come to that gospel passage we just heard. It's the many it's the one that many of us know so well. In fact, if we're honest, as soon as we hear do not let your hearts be troubled, in my father's house there are many rooms. We instinctively think funeral. We've heard it at gravesites, in crematorium chapels, in moments of goodbye. And it's absolutely right that we do, because these are words of deep comfort. But here's the thing Jesus didn't first speak these words at a funeral. He spoke them to people who were very much alive, people who were anxious, uncertain, and afraid about what was coming next. Which means this passage is not just about the end of life. It's about how we live now. Do not let your hearts be troubled. That's a daily invitation. I go to prepare a place for you. That's a promise we carry every day. I am the way and the truth and the life. That's not just for the final journey. That's for every step that we take. So yes, it speaks powerfully at funerals but it is just as much a word for the Monday morning worries, the sleepless night, the decisions we don't know how to make, and the moments we feel unsure or lost. Because Jesus is not just the way at the end, he's the way all the way through. So across the readings this past weekend, we have quite a journey from that story of Noah and the Ark, where God remembers through the suffering in that reading from Acts, where God is present and into the future, when God makes a way, or simply not forgotten, not alone, and not lost. Maybe it's to pick something off a shelf, maybe to check a price. Just a second, and in that moment the child sees something bright or interesting, a toy, a display, something that catches the eye, and they just wander. Not far, just a few steps. But when they turn back, that parent is gone, and suddenly everything changes. The noise feels louder, the place feels bigger, and the panic sets in. And here's the thing it only took a moment. Not rebellion, not a big decision, just distraction. And isn't that often how people drift? Not by choosing to walk away from God, but by slowly becoming distracted. Life gets busy. Other things take our attention, and before we know it, we may feel lost. And here's the good news. In that shop, the parent hasn't stopped looking. They are scanning every aisle, calling the child's name, moving towards them. And when they find them, it's not anger, it's relief, it's embrace. It's there you are, I've got you. And that is the heart of God. In the flood he remembers. In the struggle he is present, and in the wandering he comes looking. So whatever this week may hold for you, when life feels overwhelming, remember Noah, God has not forgotten you. When life feels heavy, maybe remember Stephen in Acts, you are not alone. And when life feels uncertain, remember Jesus, you are not lost. Because our story, your story, always ends the same way, not in chaos, not in fear, but in the presence of the one who remembers, who stands and who brings us home.

SPEAKER_00 12:52

Amen.

SPEAKER_01 13:23

Lord of the Church, we pray for your people throughout the world. Strengthen all who follow you, that we may live with courage, speak with compassion, and be a sign of your presence in every place. Bless this our ministry area, our churches, and all who serve within them. Guide us in our life together, that we may reflect your love to those around us. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Creator God, we pray for the world that you have made. Where there is chaos, bring order, where there is conflict, bring peace, and where there is injustice, bring your righteousness. We remember all places of war, unrest and suffering, and all who live in fear or uncertainty. Guide the leaders of the nations in the ways of wisdom, of justice and peace. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. And loving God, we pray for all who are struggling this day, for those who may feel overwhelmed that they may know you that you remember them, for those who feel alone, that they may know your presence beside them, and for those who feel lost or uncertain, that they may be guided by your light. And we pray for the sick, the anxious and the burdened, and for those known to us personally. Bring comfort, healing and hope, Lord, according to their need. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. And faithful God, we remember before you those who've died, those whose anniversaries fall at this time. We give thanks for their lives and commend them to your loving care. Rest eternal, grant unto them, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them. May they rest in peace and rise in glory. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. So as we come to the end of this time together, we let we're left with those familiar words, words we may have heard many times before. In my father's house there are many rooms, and perhaps today we hear them just a little differently. Not just as words spoken at the end of life, but as words spoken into life. Words that remind us that there is a space for us, room for us, a place where we belong. Even in the uncertainty, even in the questions, even in those moments when we're not quite sure where we're heading. Because Jesus speaks these words not to people who are who have everything sorted, but to people who are unsure, a little troubled, even maybe afraid. And he doesn't give them a map. He gives them a promise, a promise that they are not lost, a promise that they are known, a promise that they are held. And maybe that's something we need to hear today. That wherever this week takes you, in the ordinary moments, the busy ones, and even the difficult ones, there is already a place for you in the heart of God. You are not without a home, you are not without a place, you are not without hope. So as we go into this week, may these words stay with you, may they settle gently in your heart, and may you find yourself returning to them, not just in the times of goodbye, but in the middle of everyday life. So thanks for listening to After Sunday after the Amen this week, and wherever you are this week, may you know peace, and may you know that you are always held.

SPEAKER_00 17:55

Amen.