A Bigger Table

Gospel: John 14: 1-6

"In my Father's house there are many dwelling places."

If God is infinite and God is love, then it is natural to infer that the dwelling places within the house of God are infinite as well.  The home is welcome to all, just as the Father had room for both the Prodigal Son and the older son reluctant to forgive.  So, when Jesus says that the house of God has many dwelling places he means this very thing.  The love and mercy of God are infinite and open to all.

We see this phenomenon in the ministry of Jesus himself.  He fed multitudes without excluding anyone.  He ate at table with sinners of all types as well as Pharisees who saw themselves as saints.  He healed men, women, foreigners, outcasts, and many whom his disciples did not want to heal.  He liberated people from their demons, even when others did not want him to do so  He forgave even those who put him to death, betrayed him, denied him, abandoned him.

The family of God embraces all people, invites and welcomes them to the table of the Lord. It is not a table for two in a private corner of an expensive restaurant.  It is a long banquet table growing ever longer and open with the passage of time. If God's house has many dwellings and is open to all, should not ours be as well?