Both of our scripture lessons this morning have been read in the translation of the King James Version of the Bible. In the case of our Old Testament lesson, so many of us who are older may have memorized that text according to the King James Version as part of our confirmation instruction when we were youth. It is the version which is most comforting to our ears. That is why I always use the King James Version when reciting the 23^rd Psalm in a memorial service where it is not uncommon to see several among the congregation reciting it with me.

In the case of our New Testament Lesson, who wouldn’t prefer the King James Version: In my Father’s house are many mansions… over, say, the New International Version I customarily use: In my Father’s house are many rooms…? When our time comes to pass beyond this world to the kingdom of Heaven, who wouldn’t prefer a mansion on high as opposed to a mere room? By the way, that particular verse in the King James Version happens to be engraved on my grandparent’s headstone as it is on so many others.

But we get ahead of ourselves; for the text begins with Jesus saying: Let not your heart be troubled… (Verse 1). The title of our meditation on this day of remembrance is "The Cure for a Troubled Heart." There are many cures for heart trouble including angioplasty, bypass surgery, valve surgery or oblation surgery; implanted pacemakers and defibrillators, medications of numerous kinds and good old cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. But that is not the kind of heart trouble Jesus is talking about in our text. He is talking about a heart that is troubled by grief.

Our text is part of what are called "The Farewell Discourses" in the Gospel according to John. These are the final words of Jesus to his disciples in the 24 hours preceding his arrest, trial, crucifixion and death—all on the following day. Perhaps you remember where you were when you received the hard news that a loved one was going to die of a terminal illness perhaps. Jesus has just told those closest to him that he is about to die. Indeed, he has just told them that one among their number is going to betray him, one is going to deny him three times and all of them are going to fall away from him when the going gets tough.

People do weird things when confronting the death of a loved one. Family dynamics get charged. Internally there are causes for regret or guilt. Jesus is not trying to make his disciples feel guilty; only to warn them about what is to transpire soon and to reassure them that faith can sustain them through the trying times. "Trust me," he says, "Believe in God." In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you (Verse 2).

So while Jesus is passing along to his disciples the hard news that it is time for him to go, he assures them that he is going somewhere. He is going to his heavenly home. That should be at least a partial comfort to us when we are losing or have lost a loved one. We grieve for them. What is to become of them? Is everything alright for them now that they are beyond the realm of our caring for them? It is a desperate question for us because we love them still, even if they are not with us. What a comfort to know that they are in the bliss of heaven where there is no suffering or pain or cause for grief.

But this is only a partial comfort for a heart that is troubled over the loss of a loved one because we not only grieve for them, we grieve for ourselves. We needed our departed loved ones. We depended upon them—most of all for the reassurance they gave us that we were, ourselves, loved and valued. Maybe we depended upon them for insight into those blind spots we all have. Maybe we depended upon them in many other ways as well.

Oh how we miss them! We miss their presence. We miss their touch. We miss the sound of their voice. We miss caring for them. Losing them we have lost a part of ourselves. There is a hole in our lives that only they can fill. This is such a great loss to grieve. This, too, troubles our hearts. Jesus sought to comfort those troubled hearts by assuring those closest to him that he was not only going somewhere better, he was going there for them.

He said: I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that were I am, there ye may be also (Verses 2-3). Someday we will all sleep in death—we will all close our eyes to this world for the final time. All those early disciples eventually closed their eyes in death. But imagine them opening their eyes again in the bliss of heaven, beholding the countenance of Jesus and taking his offered hand so that where he is there they may be also—never to part again.

Now imagine opening your own eyes to the bliss of heaven and to the countenance of Jesus and also to the countenance of those loved ones who have preceded you there. What a glad reunion that will be as we discover that our separations were but for a season and now we are back together—never to part again. It is a comforting thought, is it not? Even more, it is "The Cure for a Troubled Heart." Jesus says: Let not your heart be troubled…. In my Father’s house are many mansions…. I go to prepare a place for you.

If you are grieving for a loved one who has departed our earthly presence, let not your heart be troubled. That loved one is in a better place. Indeed, it is so much better that God has not permitted us to see beyond the veil lest we be inclined to depart before our time. If you are grieving the loss you are suffering in your own life from that loved one’s departure, let not your heart be troubled. You will be reunited with your loved one in the bliss of heaven in the blink of an eye.