At the beginning of the movie "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone," Hagrid, a friendly half-giant, has the task of safely bringing the newly orphaned infant Harry Potter to his Aunt and Uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley. Hagrid comes roaring onto the scene on a flying motorcycle with the child bundled up in his arms. Hagrid hands the child over to the wizard Dumbledore to place on the front steps of the Dursley’s house. As Dumbledore sets the child down you hear a mighty sniff as Hagrid tries to hold back the tears. "There, there, Hagrid," Dumbledore says. "This isn’t really goodbye."

In the portion of John’s gospel we read today, we look at some of the events in Jesus’ life just prior to his arrest and crucifixion. In this passage, Jesus is saying goodbye to his disciples. But it isn’t goodbye forever. It’s as if Jesus is telling his disciples, "There, there, this isn’t really goodbye." Jesus tells his disciples not to let their hearts be troubled. But it is completely understandable why their hearts would be troubled at this point. After all, preceding the portion that we have read, Jesus had told them that one of them is going to betray him and Peter is going to deny him and all of that is going to be happening very quickly. So there is already tension in the air when Jesus begins to speak about where he is going.

But Jesus tells the disciples that this isn’t goodbye forever. They will see him again. After all he’s going on ahead of them to prepare a place for them. Then, they will see him again when he comes to take them there. Therefore, their hearts should not be troubled about their future. Christ is already promising them that they will see each other again.

Jesus exhorts his disciples to believe. "Believe in God, believe also in me." This call to believe is a call of comfort for these disciples who find themselves on the threshold of terrible events. Jesus’ comforting words calling for belief are his way of comforting his disciples. In this upcoming time of challenge and difficulty as the passion will quickly unfold, Jesus’ call for belief is to be a comfort for his disciples. The disciples will be able to rely upon their belief in Christ during the upcoming troubles.

Jesus knows that it’s going to be difficult for his disciples over these next few days. One of them is going to betray him, one of them will deny even knowing him, Jesus will be arrested and killed, and most of the others will go their separate ways in the chaos that ensues. Belief or trust in God will be about the only thing that gets them through these difficult days. But is belief enough?

Philip makes a request of Jesus. "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Philip wants to see with his own eyes the Father that Jesus has been speaking about. If only he could see, then he would be satisfied. If only he could see, then his heart wouldn’t be so troubled.

You’ve all probably heard the phrase, "Seeing is believing." We trust what our eyes tell us. If we can have the experience of seeing something, then we know that it is true. Well, that’s what Philip wants. He wants to see with his own eyes this Father that Jesus has spoken so much about. If only he could see that, then his heart would not be troubled and he could truly be satisfied with what Jesus has said. Then, he could truly believe in God. But what is belief, really?

Webster’s College Dictionary defines belief as: "2. confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof. 3. Confidence; faith; trust." So Philip doesn’t really want to have belief, he wants to have proof. He wants to be confident in the truth or existence of something because of rigorous proof. He doesn’t want to simply trust in all that Jesus has said but he wants to have some proof.

One of the recent Nobel Prizes was awarded to Muhammad Yunus and the bank he founded. Yunus came up with the concept of micro-loans. In very poor parts of Bangladesh, where Yunus lives, people were unable to help themselves because of a lack of funds. These regions might have received donations of food, but there was no way for the people to make a livelihood for themselves.

A group of people wanted to make a livelihood for themselves. They wanted to start a business but the banks in the area would not give them a loan for two reasons. First of all, they only needed a small amount of money to get their business off the ground – perhaps the equivalent of 50 US dollars. The banks didn’t want to fool with such small amounts.

Secondly, the people had nothing to offer as collateral. They didn’t have anything to prove they would be able to repay the loan. There was no trust in this group of people on the part of the bank. The bank did not believe they would get a positive return on their investment. Therefore, they refused the loan.

But then Yunus came along. Instead of looking only at the bottom line of what he could get out of the equation, he saw a chance to trust this group of people. He lent various people small amounts of money. There was nothing taken as collateral – only trust – belief that the individuals involved would do their best to repay the loan.

Through this trust, something amazing happened. People got their businesses off the ground, paid back their loans and then they invested in their friends and neighbors. Once someone had trusted and believed in them, they trusted and believed in each other. Yunus believed in these people. He had "confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof." His confidence in the people led to a better life for those in the micro-loan program and a Nobel Prize for Yunus.

But for Philip believing without some proof was not enough. He still wanted more. He wanted to see the Father for himself, only then would he be satisfied and his heart would be untroubled. But do you think that would really be the case? Do you think that if Jesus did indeed say, "Okay, Philip, here you go. Look at the Father." Do you think that would have been enough then? Could he believe then?

But instead of simply showing Philip the Father, Jesus declares that if he has seen Jesus, then he has seen the Father. Since the relationship between Jesus and the Father is so intimate, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them both. Well that might have helped Philip but that kind of puts us in a pickle doesn’t it? After all, Jesus isn’t walking around and talking to us any more. How then can we see and experience either Jesus or the Father. How can our hearts not be troubled in times of trial?

Let me ask this question a little differently: Is Jesus really telling his disciples and by extension those of us who call ourselves Christian to not have troubled hearts at all? When we look at Jesus’ call to not have troubled hearts in this passage, he is simply addressing the life that lies ahead. Jesus is promising his disciples that there is plenty of room in the Father’s house so they shouldn’t worry that the "No Vacancy" sign will be on the door when they get there.

Don’t let your hearts be troubled about what lies ahead for you. Don’t worry so much about what will come after this life. Jesus has taken care of all that. Don’t trouble your hearts about that. But certainly our hearts should be troubled by many of the things that go on around us right here, right now. From gunmen entering college classrooms to abuse carried out in families to hunger felt in the stomachs of young and old alike – our hearts should be troubled when we face this as a part of our reality. So Jesus’ call here is not simply, "Don’t worry, be happy." Jesus is simply saying to his disciples that this goodbye isn’t all there is and they shouldn’t worry too much about what is to come in his Father’s house.

But now Philip, he wants more. He truly wants to be comforted. He wants to know for sure that this father the he has heard Jesus talk about so much will truly have enough room in the house for all of them. "Show me the money," Philip seems to say. "Prove to me that you are telling the truth." But Jesus once again calls for belief – trust in the things that are "not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof." The comfort Philip craves will not be given. Jesus only promises that those who are able to trust, will do even greater works than the ones the disciples have seen thus far.

"Sorry, Philip," Christ seems to say. "But you have known me for years. You have followed me throughout my ministry, all I can do now is to ask for you to put your trust in me because of what I have said and because of what you have seen me do." Then comes the promise that those who believe will do even greater works than those done by Christ. So when our hearts are troubled by all of the things that go on in our world we are not powerless because Christ is working through us. When our hearts hear the cries for justice, we can trust in Christ to hear us and work through us.

But we will not work alone but will have an Advocate with us. But I’m getting ahead of myself now. Next week we will hear about the promise of help that Christ makes to his disciples.