GOD'S HOUSE HAS SPACE FOR EVERYONE

Sunday’s Gospel Reading offers us an alternative vision—one that stands in stark contrast to a world where displacement, dispossession, discrimination, and disenfranchisement are lived realities, especially for the most vulnerable among us. This vision is not sentimental escapism. It is deeply grounded in the Gospel of John, and it is a vision shaped by communities struggling under empire, exclusion, and fear. 

For many of us, this vision finds poetic expression in the song “Mansion Over the Hilltop.” The imagery was comforting, even if imperfect. Most modern translations now speak not of “mansions” but of “rooms” or “dwelling places”. This shift is not merely linguistic—it is theological. "Dwelling" in John is never about luxury or private ownership; it is about abiding presence, shared spaces, and communal belonging.

When Jesus says, “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places” (John 14:2), Jesus is not describing real estate in the afterlife. This is the same Gospel that proclaims, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). God’s dwelling is not removed from the world—it is planted firmly within it. God’s house is where God chooses to live, and God chooses to live among people who are vulnerable, displaced, and marginalized. 

My friends, God’s house has space—safe space—for everyone. In a world obsessed with borders, exclusions, and gated communities, John insists on radical hospitality. This vision, then, is God’s vision for the world God loves, not a distant heaven disconnected from present realities. It is a vision that calls us into the hard, unfinished work of making space—real space, safe space, just space—for others. It challenges systems that normalize displacement and invites us to embody God’s dwelling here and now.

The work is not easy. It demands courage, solidarity, accompaniment, and sustained commitment. But as followers of the Risen One, you and I are not spectators. We are participants. We are part of the ongoing realization of God’s household—called to live, build, and resist in ways that make God’s inclusive dwelling visible in our communities, churches, and world.

art, "All Are Welcome," book cover of the New York Times bestselling book by Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman.

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