October 12, 2008
"The Only Way"
John 13: 31- 14: 14
There's a reason why men don't ask for directions. Let me illustrate.
"I need to find the Christian Reformed Church in town. Can you help me?"
"Oh, yeah, keep going down this street and then turn left at the second light... or is it the third light? I can't remember. There's a gas station on the corner.."
"Do you know what kind of gas station-the brand?"
"I think it's a Citgo? Or, did they change that to a BP? One of the two: Citgo or BP. You can't miss it.
And then where do I go?"
"After you turn right..."
"I thought you said left"
"Yeah, I meant left. Sorry!"
"After you turn left go about 1 mile, maybe a little more, you'll see a brown brick house on your left. Turn right at the house."
"Right or Left?"
Oh, left, I meant for you to turn at that point.
"Okay, where do I go from there"
"Drive a block or so and you should see the steeple to your right."
"Steeple? I don't think they have a steeple."
"What church was that again?"
Thank the Lord for GPS!. But then Don Slager has another story about GPS. Right Don?
Sometimes it can be just as difficult finding direction in our lives. We lose our job; our spouse leaves us; a son rebels and runs away; we are told that we have a terminal illness; someone dear to us dies. Well meaning people try to help us find direction. But, we still feel lost. Where do we go from here?
The disciples certainly must have felt that way. Suddenly Jesus declared that he was going away and that they would not see him any more. Jesus, the one whom they had faithfully followed, whose teachings had inspired them, whose miracles had astounded them.; Jesus, whom they had hoped would become king and throw out the evil Romans; this Jesus was leaving!
Immediately Peter tries to figure out what is going on.
When Jesus explains that he is going to a place where Peter cannot go, Peter declares, "Lord, I'll lay down my life for you."
But Jesus tells Peter that he will not only be unable to follow, but that he will deny him. Now the disciples are really concerned. Even courageous Peter can't follow? And when the going gets rough, he will abandon him? They can't believe what they are hearing.
Jesus knows what's going on in their hearts and tells them not to be troubled, but to believe in God and in him. He then tells them that he is going in order to make a place for them in his Father's house and that he is coming back to bring them to himself. Finally, Jesus tells them that they already know where he is going and that they know the way.
Now the disciples are really concerned.
So, confused Thomas declares, "Lord we don't know where you're going and we don't know the way. Where are you going?"
The disciples' world had fallen apart. They had such high hopes and now they were worried. Jesus was speaking such strange words. What could he mean?
It is in this context that Jesus speaks the words of text. They are meant as gracious words of comfort to Jesus' confused disciples..
Jesus begins by declaring that he is the way . No, it was not his purpose to explain to his disciples everything that was going to happen and why. It was enough for the disciples to know that he is way, This is a call to faith without sight. To Peter it is a call to stop trusting in Peter and to begin clinging to Jesus. Jesus is the way and he alone!
Jesus is the way to what? Obviously, Jesus was just speaking about going to the Father. Thus, he is here declaring that he is the only way to the Father. In verse 2, he spoke about his Father's house as having many rooms and that he was going to prepare a place for his disciples. Thus, he is telling his disciples that they are going to live in his Father's house. They are going to live with is Father.
God made us human beings to live with him. In Genesis we find that God walked through the garden where Adam and Eve lived. He was right there in the garden where they were living. All of creation has a calling to glorify God, but only human beings are called to live in close relationship with him. That's why he made us like himself (in his image): so that we could live with him.
Because we were made to live with God, we cannot find true meaning or purpose apart him. Human beings cannot be all they were meant to be and do all they were meant to do if they are not dwelling with and fellowshipping with God. Like fish out of the water will die, so human beings who are not in fellowship with God will die.
In Psalm 73 we read,
"Whom have I in heaven, but you. And being with you, I desire nothing on earth. My heart and flesh may fail, but you are my portion forever. Those who are far from you will perish. (Psalm 73: 25- 27)
In Ecclesiastes 1:2 we read "Meaningless, Meaningless, Utterly meaningless. Everything is meaningless." The writer then looks at the various pursuits of life such as work, pleasure, obtaining wealth, gaining wisdom and knowledge, etc., and he finds that all of these things are empty and meaningless. He concludes that only way to find meaning and purpose in life is to "fear the Lord and keep his commandment. for this is whole duty of man." (Ecclesiastes 12: 13). It is only in relationship to God that people can have real meaning and purpose in their life.
Let's face it, everything else can and eventually will be taken from us. If you're living for family, what happens when a family member's death separates you from her? If you're living for your career, what happens when you retire or lose your job? If you're living to change the world, what happens if you don't? If you're merely living to be useful, what happens when you become unable to work because of infirmity? If you're living for pleasure, what happens when life becomes unbearable? If you're living to obtain knowledge, what happens when you start forgetting what you've learned? It is only when we put our relationship with God first that our other relationships, our works, our accomplishments, our learning, and even our recreation have any lasting meaning or value.
And Jesus says that the only way to have a relationship with God; the only way to dwell with him is through him. He is the way to God. We must follow him. Young person, the most important question you face is not what occupation you will have or who you you'll marry; rather, it is what will you do about Jesus. For, it is only when you decide to accept Jesus as the only way to God that anything else you do or decide will have lasting value. Elderly person, even though it's hard when you are no longer able to do the useful things you once could, your life still has meaning and purpose if you have Jesus. It is not activity that brings meaning to your life, but it is your relationship to the Lord. Remember that's why we were created to fellowship with him. Why not use some of those lonely hours to spend time with him.
When Jesus calls himself the truth, he is, in part, referring to his reliability. He is the only one in this universe on whom we can rely. When everything is so confusing and nothing makes sense, we can rest in Jesus and know that he will never let us down. He is the true one. When we think we can't believe in anything or anybody anymore, we can believe in him.
Finally, Jesus says, I am the life. In John 1: 4, we read, "In him was life and the life was the light of men." Jesus is not merely the way to life, he is the life. He is the one who created all things. In him they live, move, and have their being. And after human beings brought death into the world by their rebellion against their Creator, he by his death is bringing the world and all who believe back to life.
Death abounds from Afghanistan to Iraq. It abounds in the streets of our cities, in our abortion clinics, and even in our own communities and neighborhoods. Each of us must come to terms with death in our own lives and the sin that causes it. We must learn to deal with the pains, tragedies and sicknesses we suffer, and even with our own physical death. The only way we can face such death is if we experience the life of Jesus welling up within. Only then do we have the comfort of knowing that life will prevail and a day is coming when death will be no more. Only then will we know that "the dwelling of God [will be] with [us], and he will live with [us]. [We] will be his people, and God himself will be with [us] and be [our] God. He will wipe every tear from [our] eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21: 3b- 5)
But, what about the present? What happens in the meantime? Remember that the disciples concern was that Jesus would soon be leaving and they would be left on earth without him. Yet, Jesus has provided for them. Let's read the section we didn't read earlier, verses 15- 18,
1If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Jesus gives that same provision to his disciples today. Jesus is present with us today through the Holy Spirit who lives within each believer. That Spirit enables us to believe what God's Word teaches and he uses it to guide our lives. The Spirit assures us of Jesus' presence and of the Father's love, even in our darkest times-when tragedy strikes, when the evil around us becomes more than we can bear. Like Daniel's friends who saw the Lord's presence in the fiery furnace, we can know that he is with us.
These are wonderful words, but do they always ring true? I suspect there are times in your lives when it seems like they haven't. At least they haven't always rang true in my life. I might have mentioned this before. I was speaking with a friend of mine who asked me whether I spoke in tongues. I told him that I didn't. He then asked about some other miraculous gifts. I had to admit that I didn't have them either. Finally he blurted out, "How do you know you have the Holy Spirit?"
There are times when we ask ourselves the same question. That's why it's so important to remember Jesus' promise to his disciples in Matthew 18: 20,
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
In this verse Jesus was specifically referring to difficult times in our church's life when we must discipline members who are doing wrong to others. Jesus tells us that even in times like that we can know his presence when we gather together with other Christians in his name, doing what he commands and relying on him in prayer.
Sometimes when we go through difficult times in our lives we have a tendency to stay away from others, especially other brothers and sisters in church. We don't want them to know what we are going through. We don't want to "lose it" in front of them. In the end we are so busy protecting our image that we deprive ourselves of the comfort we need. We deny ourselves a glimpse of God's presence among and within us.
In a few moments we will gather at the table of our Lord. Although all worship is a time when we become aware of our Lord's presence through the Holy Spirit, this is especially true when we celebrate the Lord's Supper together. When we eat the bread in true faith we are united to Jesus and to each other in a very special way.
This reminds me of that story of the men from Emmaus. You remember the story, don't you? They were grieving Jesus death as they traveled to home to Emmaus together. Then Jesus came and began to explain the scriptures to them. But, they didn't recognize him. Yet, they were so moved by his teaching that they invited him to eat with them.
When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" (Luke 24: 30- 32)
They saw Jesus in the breaking of the bread.
Lee Eclov, a pastor in Lake Forest Illinois, tells about a time when he had communion with patients in a psychiatric hospital. He writes
"A young friend called me to say she'd admitted herself to a psychiatric hospital. While she was there, I visited her when I could. One of my visits was on Good Friday. I asked her if she'd like for me to bring Communion to her. She said she would and asked if some of the other hospitalized Christians could join us.
On that spring afternoon, five or six of us gathered in her room and shared the sacred meal. I think it was the most meaningful Communion service I ever shared-half a dozen strangers, each scarred by heartache, sitting helpless in a locked ward.
Yet Jesus was there because we were there as his beloved. He was not only among us, but he was there within us. Even as broken people, we were one with each other. We were strengthened by his presence; we were healed, in a way. We were nourished, washed, and rejuvenated all because we had Communion."
Today all of us gather in our brokenness. Some of us are also struggling with the pain and troubles of this evil world. All of us are struggling with the evil thoughts, words, and behaviors which, as much as we struggle against them, are still present within us. We come as broken people seeking to be whole again. Today, our Lord is here too, our Lord who calmed the sea, our Lord who brought the sight to the blind, our Lord who healed the sick, our Lord who by his death forgives our sins and by his life gives us hope. He invites to eat and drink that our eyes might be opened. Let us do as he commands. AMEN!