Acts 17: 1 – 15; Psalm 66: 1 – 8; I Peter 2: 1 – 10; John 14: 1 – 14
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL, on Sunday, April 20th, 2008
There’s a song we sing at our Junior and Senior High youth retreats, which goes something like this:
His ways are higher than mine, His ways are higher than mine.
His ways
are higher than mine, much higher.
Chorus:
Higher, higher,
much, much higher,
Higher, higher, much higher.
The succeeding verses insert the words “deeper”, “greater” and “wiser” in the place of “higher”.
Of course, since young people are involved, there is a set of gestures for each verse (which I can’t demonstrate in a printed text).
That song – which seems to be quite popular with our young people, accurately describes today’s Gospel, in which we read these very familiar words, spoken by Jesus: “I am the way, the truth and the life.” (verse six)
For Jesus’ coming to us, to “dwell among us”,[1] is – at its root – a movement of God which is higher, deeper, greater and wiser than we are. It is – at its root – a part of the divine mystery, which might prompt us to ask, “Why did God choose to reveal Himself in Jesus Christ?”
“I am the way, the truth and the life.” Jesus is describing – in essence – His relationship to the Father, when He says, “I am the way.”
How can that be the meaning of Jesus’ words, “I am the way?”
Simply because, whenever He talks about His coming to us, and the purpose of His coming to us, Jesus always talks about the Father, “who sent me.” So, Jesus’ coming to us from the Father describes the relationship Jesus has with the Father. Jesus’ return to the Father describes the perfecting of the work the Father has given Him to accomplish, namely, His death on the cross and resurrection to life again.
At one point, Jesus will even say, “I and the Father are one.” (John 10: 30)
So it’s safe to say that Jesus is describing the nature of His relationship with God the Father, the one who sent Him, who tells Him what to say, and whose works He does.[2] In response to Philip’s question, we read Jesus’ answer today, “He who has seen me, has seen the Father.” (verse nine)
“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” That is the central Christian proclamation to the world. It says (in essence), “In Jesus Christ, we see the nature and love of God most completely, most purely, most forcefully. No other revelation of God can surpass the revelation we have in Jesus Christ.”
But, let’s unpack this phrase, “the way, the truth, and the life” a little more.
We’ve looked briefly at “the way.” Essentially, as we’ve said, “the way” refers to Jesus’ relationship to God the Father.
But part of His relating to the Father also involves His return to the Father, in order that we, too, might be united to the Father, even as Jesus Christ is. That seems to be the point of Jesus’ words, which we read in verses two through four, “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
Secondly, Jesus says that He is “the truth.” The meaning here seems to convey the truthfulness of the revelation of God that Jesus Christ provides, and this trustworthiness is based on the faithfulness of Jesus’ words and works. At one point, Jesus will underscore His faithfulness to the Father’s words and will when He says, “For I have not spoken on my own authority; the Father who sent me has himself given me commandment what to say and what to speak.” (John 12: 49)
Thirdly, Jesus identifies Himself as being “the life.” Here, Jesus points to the fruit of His relationship with the Father and His faithfulness in revealing the Father to us. When we enter into the relationship that exists between Jesus Christ and God the Father, we are united to the source of all life, God, and to the only one who can grant us eternal life, God. Jesus Christ’s faithfulness to the words and works the Father gave Him to do ensure we are seeking union with the only true God.
Put another way, Jesus faithfulness is evidence of His truthfulness (“the truth”), and His ability to grant life (‘the life”) is the product of his intimate union with the Father (‘the way”).
The Christian proclamation says, “No other revelation of God surpasses the one we have in Jesus Christ. He is the most complete image we have of God. God seeks us out in sending Christ Jesus, instead of the other way around. Jesus creates the way to unity with God.”
To be authentically Christian, this understanding of Jesus Christ as being “the way, the truth and the life” must be an essential part of our belief and our practice.
It is a part of our belief and practice, even as we struggle to understand it (remember, we are dealing with the divine mysteries of God, parts of which we can understand, and parts of which, we can’t understand). That’s where the business that the song we started with today comes in: His ways are higher, deeper, greater and wider than ours.
This understanding of Jesus Christ, who is “the way, the truth and the life,” means we must – as faithful Christians – accept the witness of the Apostles. For the Apostles are those who ate, drank, and walked with the Lord during His earthly life. The Apostolic teaching and witness are preserved in the words of Holy Scripture. Holy Scripture serves as our foundational document (much like the Constitution serves to found the governing principles of the Republic in which we live).
Yet, if we grasp at least some of the divine mystery of Jesus Christ, “the way, the truth and the life”, we might be tempted to become a bit arrogant in our spirituality. As if we might say, “See, I’ve got it figured out, and so I’m a pretty wonderful Christian.”
But if we are to look closely at this divine mystery, God’s working in the person and teachings of Jesus Christ, any realistic appraisal of our situation should immediately lead us to a place of deep humility….For we “understand in part,”[3] and have much yet to learn!
May God have mercy, that by the working and the power of the Holy Spirit, we might more fully understand Jesus to be “the way, the truth, and the life.”
For God’s ways are higher, deeper, greater and wider than ours.
AMEN.
[1] The phrase used in John 1: 14
[2] See John 5: 36 – 37 for Jesus’ words about His origin and purpose.
[3] St. Paul’s phrase in I Corinthians 13: 9.
