Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Do you have a place you call home? Maybe you have a second home . . . a lakeside cottage or a cabin in the mountains. In John 14, Jesus talks about two homes.

He said, “My Father’s house has lots of rooms. I’m going there to make a place for you. And you know how to get there” (v 2-3). 

“Not so fast,” said Thomas. “We don’t know where your father’s house is and we don’t know how to get there” (v 5).  

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (v 6). That’s odd. How can a person be the way to a place? 

Then Jesus introduced a second home by saying, “Those who love me obey my teaching. My father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (v. 23).

Jesus isn’t coming alone. He’s bringing his father. And someone else is coming with them. Jesus said, “The father will send the advocate, the Holy Spirit, to teach you and remind you of everything I’ve told you” (v 26).

Advocate? That’s the word for a lawyer, for legal counsel to defend me in court, or press my case against my enemies. Why does my spiritual life need a lawyer? 

Perhaps because of another guest at the party. “The prince of this world is coming,” warned Jesus (v. 30). That prince is Satan. The devil is on his way. He’s a lawyer for the prosecution, exhibiting our sins in court, accusing us of being fake Christians. 

The Accuser (Satan) and the Advocate (the Holy Spirit). Talk about opposing forces in my life. Opposing forces in the world. Opposing forces in cosmic history.

Meanwhile, we know the story ends happily, because Jesus is waiting for us in his father’s house, where he’s preparing our forever home. 

Until then, Jesus and his father and the Holy Spirit Advocate live in us, protecting us from Satan the Accuser, showing us the way home.

Let’s pray. 

O Jesus, you have gone to prepare a home for us. And you came to make your home in us. 

Sometimes I feel you at home in me. Sometimes I feel the father’s love. Sometimes I hear the Spirit’s gentle promptings.

But often the loudest voice in my life is the Accuser who says, “You’re not good enough. You don’t love God with all your heart. You’re a phoney, not a serious Jesus follower.” 

O Jesus, help me live more fully in the knowledge and power of your life in me. Help me hear more clearly the voice of your spirit offering help and forgiveness and hope. Help me live more wisely as a child of the father. 

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Has someone offered to wash your feet recently? Would you let them do it if they offered?

I was in a group with people who had difficult marriages, difficult jobs, difficult children, and a difficult faith life. At one meeting, we took towels and a dishpan of water, and washed each other’s feet. How moving to see couples step back from their disagreements, kneel in front of each other, and wash their feet.

That’s what Jesus did in John 13. 

John’s gospel contrasts dirty feet and the dirty job of washing them with Jesus’ eternal power and glory. Jesus knew he had come from God and was returning to God, that God had put everything under his power. So how did he use his power? 

He used it to wash his disciples’ feet, teaching them to serve others. But Jesus wasn’t the only one mentoring disciples. The devil showed up, prompting Judas to betray Jesus. Dirty devil, dirty plans, dirty feet. Lots of cleanup needed. 

Why didn’t Jesus delegate the footwashing? President Trump doesn’t wash the feet of his MAGA faithful. But Jesus waded right in with towels and water. He didn’t evict the devil. He didn’t confront Judas the betrayer. No, he just washed 24 dirty feet. 

Only Peter understood how inappropriate this was. “Thanks, but no thanks,” he said. “I respect who you are, Jesus, but it is not your job to wash my feet” (v 8).  

Jesus replied, “You need me to wash your feet. Let’s get on with it” (v 8). 

And then Jesus talked about other dirt in the room, saying, “One of you will betray me” (v 21). Judas accepted the footwashing and broke bread with Jesus, then he welcomed the devil into his life. John’s gospel says “Judas went out, and it was night” (v 30). A night of spiritual darkness, a night to betray Jesus. Judas’ feet were clean but he was getting them dirty again.  

Meanwhile Jesus said to Peter, “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!” (v. 38). Peter, with clean feet and a full stomach, would soon dirty himself with three denials. 

Let’s pray. 

Jesus, that was a long night for everyone. For Judas the betrayer, for Peter the denier, and for you who walked into betrayal and denial.  

You came from the father’s glory, you were returning to the father’s glory, and you accepted the cross as part your glory saying, “Soon I will be glorified” (v 31). 

Holy and powerful Jesus, wash our feet. Wash away the dirt of sin. Teach us to be faithful through the long dark nights of our lives. And bring us at last to your glory.

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Did Jesus act out a parody? I think his Palm Sunday procession into Jerusalem was a parody of a Roman victory parade. 

A Roman general, having crushed his enemies, would ride into Rome on a war chariot pulled by fierce war horses. Troops, captives, and spoils of war accompanied him. Military, political, and religious celebrations made for a spectacular and vivid holiday. 

Jesus rode into Jerusalem, not Rome. No war horse or chariot, just an unimpressive donkey. No troops and captives in to show off, just friends and disciples who hoped his popularity in the countryside would bring acclaim and fame in Jerusalem. 

Always up for a good parade, people spread palm branches and shouted, “Blessed is the king of Israel!” (v 12). 

But Jesus didn’t want to be king. He said, “Here’s the kind of glory I will earn. A kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies. I am wheat. You are wheat. We have crosses to carry and deaths to die before our hope grows to life” (v 23-26). 

Hmmm. That doesn’t sound like a victory speech.

Jesus’ fame kept growing. News of Lazarus’ resurrection spread through Jerusalem, until the religious leaders said, “Not good. This guy’s going viral! The whole world is watching him” (v 19). 

For the last time in John’s gospel, Jesus defends himself, saying “I am the light of the world. Walk in the light while it is here. Otherwise, darkness will overtake you” (v 35-36). 

Let’s pray. 

O Jesus, you knew darkness was coming, that soon Judas would betray you. That soon the sun would not shine when you were crucified. Soon, a funeral, your funeral, with your body sealed in a dark, borrowed tomb. 

And you invited us into darkness and death . . . unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone. 

O Jesus, we want you to give us spiritual gifts to affirm our identity, to comfort us, to give us strength. We want you to be our light and love, but you warn us of darkness and death. 

O Jesus, light of the world, help us as we follow you into darkness, like buried seeds, like children of God carrying crosses. And afterward, bring us to your glorious light. 

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Do you know who first called death “The Big Sleep”? Raymond Chandler wasn’t first, but he made it famous in a 1939 hardboiled mystery novel and film.

Guess what! Jesus used the metaphor centuries earlier. In John 10, two days after Lazarus was reported sick, Jesus said, “He is sleeping. I think I’ll go wake him up” (v 11). 

The disciples said, “If he’s sick, he needs sleep. It’ll help him get better” (v.12). 

Jesus said, “Lazarus is dead. Let’s visit and see what faith can do” (v 14-15). 

Doubting Thomas said, “Good idea. Let’s go die with Lazarus” (v 16).

Sure enough. When they arrived, Lazarus had been dead and buried for four days. Jesus said to Martha, “Your brother will rise again” (v. 23). 

Martha replied, “Well, yes, in the distant future when all the dead are raised. But that’s not much help today” (v 24). 

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. I’m helpful today” (v 25). 

Was this a helpful response to Martha, while she was grieving her dead brother, remembering that she too was on the road to the Big Sleep? 

Lazarus’ other sister, Mary, said to Jesus, “Lord, if you’d been here, my brother wouldn’t have died” (v 32). 

Jesus said, “Show me the tomb” (v 33). 

There they rolled away the stone from the entrance, releasing the stench of death. Jesus said to the stinking body, “Lazarus! Come out!” 

He did.

Jesus said, “Take off his grave clothes and let him go” (v 44). 

Let’s pray. 

O Jesus, as you journeyed toward the cross, Lazarus foreshadowed your death and resurrection. We still hear your words to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life.” But what does that mean for us as we journey toward our last and lasting sleep? 

For Lazarus it meant release from his tomb and decomposing grave clothes. For Mary and Martha, it meant a restored family in the present, not just a distant resurrection at the end of the world.

As we live in our dying bodies, we believe you give eternal life. When we attend funerals, we trust in a future resurrection. When we lower a coffin, we believe you overcame death. And we believe that whether we live or sleep, you give eternal life. 

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube.