5 Easter Yr A

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe in me also. These are the words Jesus says to his friends as he prepares them for his departure from this world. And Thomas still responds with fear, How do we know where you are going? How do we know the way? And Jesus tries to explain again; I am the way, and the truth and the life. And yet, Jesus’ friends continue to be troubled, you and I continue to be troubled. We are always looking for the certainty that what we believe will relieve our trouble.

Many people look toward Jesus to relieve that trouble, many look toward this particular passage for certainty, for the answer, for the one way. In the culture of fear in which we live, we look to this passage for the explanation, the answer.

If this passage gives the answer, if this passage certifies the need for one and only one way, it also allows us to place blame and to assign responsibility to others because it’s more comfortable to make sure some people don’t make it into the club.

I just don’t think that sort of certainty is there. In fact, I think this passage from the gospel of John affirms our anxiety, it lets us know it’s ok to be unsure, just like Jesus’ friends were unsure, troubled, afraid. Instead of closing down to a very narrow ONE way, it invites us into the breathtakingly wide-open wonder.

In addition to the rich language of the gospel of John, poetry comes close to describing the awesome wonder of the way, the truth, and the life. Two poems, one by the 17th century poet George Herbert, and the other by the 20th century poet W.H. Auden have both been favorites of mine, and coincidentally share the theme, the way, the truth, and the life. Both also, are in our hymnal, The Call, George Herbert’s poem is hymn number 487. Come my way, my truth, my life: such a way as gives us breath; such a truth as ends all strife; such a life as killeth death. Come my light, my feast, my strength: such a light as shows a feast; such a feast as mends in length; such a strength as makes his guest. Come my joy, my love, my heart: such a joy as none can move; such a love as none can part; such a heart as joys in love.

And the one by WH Auden is number 464. He is the way. Follow him through the Land of Unlikeness; you will see rare beasts and have unique adventures. He is the truth. Seek him in the Kingdom of anxiety: you will come to a great city that has expected your return for years. He is the Life. Love him in the world of the flesh: and at your marriage all its occasions shall dance for joy.

Jesus says, I am the Way. The invitation is not to a simple answer, but to a complex relationship. A relationship that breathes new life, a relationship that is about transformation, a relationship like no other. We know Jesus, and come to God through Jesus, not by learning and believing one time, one way. Instead, we belong to Jesus, we journey together, we are a community walking the path together. The way is a way of continuous conversation and discovery. The way is not an answer we can teach our children; it is an adventure we share with them and with Jesus, our companion on the way. And this adventure will bring us to people in whom we meet Jesus.

Jesus says, I am the Truth. Truth is encountered on this adventurous journey. Jesus is the embodiment of truth. Truth is not defined narrowly. Truth is about a lived reality. Truth is the story of life, death and resurrection. Living in relationship with Jesus is the truth. The truth will accompany us on the journey whose destination is unknown, but is promised to be magnificent. We see at the journey’s end a spacious place, open and welcoming, full of grace, far greater than the bounds of our understanding, full of the expectation of our return.

Jesus says, I am the Life. We define life so narrowly. In our culture it seems more and more that the boundaries of life include seeking ways to alter the reality in which we find ourselves. Our culture sells us images of fame, images of bigger and better everything, from homes to cars, trucks, and body parts; rather than inviting Jesus into the midst of that reality and living it fully. Throughout the scriptures we gather and glean that God’s deepest desire for humanity is to live life fully and to know the abundance of God’s love.

Life is the relationship that Jesus invites us into, a relationship with him and with others. Life, love is the call to us in this world, right here and right now, in our work, in our homes, in our schools. Life is the relationship that Jesus calls us to, a relationship that demands loving oneself and loving others. A relationship in which no one of us is the main character, because God is the main character. A relationship that is full of living, a relationship that is full of giving. Giving for others, giving of ourselves, giving because it is the right thing to do.

WH Auden imagines that life this way: He is the Life. Love him in the World of the Flesh: and at your marriage all its occasions shall dance for joy.

The way, the truth and the life is not a narrowly defined exclusive club for people who profess a particular way of belief. The way, the truth and the life is an invitation into a transforming relationship with Jesus, a relationship like many of our relationships, with good days and bad, with joys and sorrows, with arguments and apologies, with forgiveness and new beginnings.

The way, the truth and the life is an invitation into a transforming relationship with Jesus, a relationship that is lived out in community, lived out with others who also each day strive to bring their passion about and their love of Jesus into the world.

The way, the truth and the life is an invitation into a transforming relationship with Jesus, a relationship that brings meaning to life and death, and new life. A relationship that speaks the truth in the face of evil and injustice, a relationship that makes possibilities out if impossibilities.

I pray today, in the words of George Herbert,

Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life;
Such a way as gives us breath;
Such a truth as ends all strife;
Such a life as killeth death.

Alleluia! Christ is risen. Come let us adore him. Amen.