"the Way And The Truth And The Life"

“The Way, the Truth and the Life”

John 14:1-9

Recently, I came across a cartoon in which a man was lying on the couch of his psychiatrist.

When the psychiatrist asked the man what his problem was, the man told him he had all kinds of fears about the future.

“Doctor,” he said, “I’m worried about the Covid-19 Pandemic, the economy, political and social upheaval in Africa, climate change, our diplomatic relations with China…” and he went on and on.

In the final frame the psychiatrist responded: “Shut up and move over,” after which he proceeded to get on the couch with his patient.

There is a lot of truth in that cartoon.

The problems of the present and the future seem almost overwhelming.

And we are all in the same boat.

We are all just human beings.

No one has a leg up on anyone else.

We are all just fumbling along, are we not?

None of us have all the answers.

Not one of us holds the key.

In our Gospel Lesson for this morning, the disciples are gathered together with Jesus on the last Thursday night of His life.

He has washed their feet, and given them a new command: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

He has foretold that Judas will betray Him, and sure enough, Judas has slipped out into the night.

He has told His disciples that He will be with them just a little longer, and that where He is going they cannot come.

He has also predicted Peter’s denial.

No wonder the disciples are troubled.

Their beloved Teacher and Friend—their Hero, their Leader—is leaving them.

It’s as though the ground is shifting beneath their feet.

I know a bit of that feeling, do you?

I’ve been doing funerals for about 21 years.

And for 21 years, I have been telling people who have lost their parents in death that I can’t imagine what they are going through.

But that is no longer the case.

My dad died more than 3 years ago, and my dear sweet mother--I watched her die this past January for nearly two weeks until she took her last breath and then her heart stopped beating and her eyes glazed over.

And I felt like I was in hell.

I felt so lost, troubled, alone.

And so now, when someone has lost a parent, I can say, “I know what it is like, and it feels like you are in hell.”

And so far, every person I have said that to agrees, “Yes it does.”

So, I would imagine, that in our passage for this morning, Jesus’ disciples were feeling like, well, like they were in hell.

And we know that Jesus was distressed as well.

He was God in the Flesh—but the key word here is “Flesh!”

He knew what He was facing.

Jesus was going away, by means of a tortuous Roman cross.

And yet, even though Jesus was the One headed to this nightmare—He comforted His fearful and confused disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled,” Jesus said to them.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled”? they must have thought: “how can’t we be troubled?”

The disciples couldn’t imagine life on earth without the earthly Jesus--

just like many of us cannot imagine life on earth without our earthly parent, or spouse or child.

They cannot see how Jesus leaving them can be good in any way.

So, Jesus says what He always says: “Trust me,” “Believe me.”

“You believe in God; believe also in me.”

And there can be no doubt; Jesus gives us many reasons to trust Him!

Remember when the disciples were on the Road to Emmaus?

We talked about that two weeks ago.

Two disciples were walking home on Easter day.

They couldn’t comprehend what had happened.

But one thing was for sure--they thought Jesus was dead.

And as they were walking along, Jesus suddenly appeared and started walking with them—but they didn’t recognize Jesus.

And then, “beginning with Moses and the Prophets, Jesus explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”

Later on, after their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus “They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened Scriptures to us?’”

Have you ever felt your heart burning within you as Jesus opened the Scriptures to you and you saw the Truth…

…and you experienced and recognized the Risen Christ…

…not just as Someone you recite in a Creed…

…not just as a blond-haired guy in a painting…

…not just as someone far away and far out of your reach—but right there with you—as real as anyone else and even more so?