Sermon for Sept 16, 2012

John 14:1-14

Jesus the Way to the Father

‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’

 Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

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I'd like for you to think a moment about your 16^th birthday, or whatever age you were when you first got your driver's license. What are the words that come to mind when you think about that occasion? How would you describe the feelings that came with the ability to drive?

Ok—now for a somewhat related question. I promise this will make more sense later in the sermon. If nothing else, you'll spend the next ten minutes wondering when on earth I'm getting around to this. Often, you'll be driving down the freeway and come up on the shattered remnants of a massive tire that has been shed by a truck. Sometimes you'll come up on other debris left on the road. I once almost ran into a couch that somehow ended up in the middle of the freeway. What's the craziest thing you ever saw sitting in the middle of the road?

Just trust me—this will all make sense later.

Let's go back to those feelings you had when you first got a driver's license, or perhaps when you first got behind the wheel of a car. When I was 15, my dad let me drive a rental car in the middle of Kansas. It was straight, flat and boring, like most of the freeways in Kansas, but it's hard to think of something more exciting. I love to drive—I always have. The power is exhilarating to me, and the freedom of it brings me joy. When I drive, it means I'm independent—I don't have to answer to another authority, unless I get caught driving a bit too exuberantly. Driving is freeing.

Compare this with taking the bus. No one hits their midlife crisis and turns in their sports car for the chance to take the bus more often. Taking the bus is, to me, pretty boring. It means that you are depending on the skills of another, and you don't have control—you give up your power when you get onto the bus. On the bus, it's about the destination, whereas with a car, it's more about the journey.

Now, does anyone here remember using TripTiks? They're a relic of a day before there was a GPS in every car, before Google had turn-by-turn directions. Back in the day, you'd go to the AAA office and have them print out a TripTik, which would serve as your guide for the journey. You couldn't make it anywhere without one—because it wasn't enough to just know your destination. In a car, that doesn't do much good—you need to know the steps to get there. The destination is a small part of the journey.

On a bus, however, it's a different story. When you buy a bus ticket, all that matters is the destination. You don't have to know how to get there. You're trusting that the driver does. All you need is the ticket to step onto the right bus, and then you can relax, trusting that the one driving the bus will shepherd you to the destination. Taking the bus means you're released from the concern of step-by-step directions. Taking the bus means that you can focus on the destination without knowing exactly how to get there. You're trusting the driver.

There's a huge difference in the experiences. One focuses on freedom and independence. The other is about dependence. One is a relaxing journey, while the other requires constant attention and vigilence to arrive safely.

And these are the different journeys Jesus is lifting up in today's text.

Jesus starts out by telling the disciples that he is going to his Father's house to prepare a place for the disciples, and then he tells them that they know the way where he is going. Surely, he thinks, they've got it by now.

Thomas, however, says that they don't know the destination, so they can't possibly know the way. Thomas gets wrapped up in wanting to know the turn-by-turn directions. He wants to know exactly the route they'll have to travel to get there. He has an independent mindset—just like we do. We worry that if we don't know exactly what to do at every junction of life, we will stray from the way.

Jesus, however, directs Thomas' attention away from the steps of the journey. He doesn't want Thomas to get too wrapped up in the journey. He wants Thomas to trust in him. He wants all the disciples to trust in him. He wants you and I to trust completely in him. He says that he is the way, the truth and the life. He says that he is the way to God, and he is teaching the disciples to trust completely in him. He's like the driver of the bus—there's no need for constant anxiety on the journey—just trust that the driver knows the way, and board this bus—let faith lead you to abandon your desire for an independent journey, filled with freedom, and let Christ be your guide and your Lord of all.

Now, what this means is that we're not going to get turn-by-turn directions for every step of discipleship. We're going to know the destination, and we're going to trust in Jesus to lead us, but we may not know the complete details for every decision and every option in life. This is a big picture kind of thing—Jesus is Lord of the big and small decisions in your life, but you may not have complete and clear guidance over every decision. Trust in the Lord, and keep your eyes focused on the destination, on his Lordship. Don't get too caught up in the little details.

So, once we're on the bus, what is life like? The temptation is to sit back and enjoy the ride, right? Many of us like to travel with headphones and a good book—or even a bad book, if it means we don't have to talk to the person next to us. We like to be in our own little world, fully concentrated on reaching our destination with as little interaction as possible. As long as we make it, that's what matters, right?

Well, wrong. That's not what God has intended for our Christian life. It's not just me-and-Jesus -and-nothing-else-matters. Your personal relationship with Christ is deeply important, but it isn't just for your own benefit. The reason that Christ has blessed you and filled you with grace and love is to send you out into the world, to be a blessing to others.

So what does like look like on the bus? Well, the biggest thing is that we're freed from anxiety. Do not let your hearts be troubled, Jesus days. Believe in God, believe also in me.

Let's go back to driving. Driving is freedom and independence, right? Well, it's also a lot of responsibility. You're guiding a several-thousand pound vehicle down the road at high speeds. And guess what? There's stuff in the road. Couches, ladders and who knows what else is going to wind up in the middle of the road, and you have to be constantly on guard against it. You have to pay attention, and it's exhausting. If you take your eyes off the road for one minute, you could wind up in big, big trouble.

And this is what life is like for a lot of people—constantly in fear of one crisis or the next. Very, very afraid of what is around the next corner. Terrified of what might occur next.

But when you're on the bus and you trust your life completely to Jesus, you are freed from those anxieties. You don't have to worry about what's in the middle of the road. When you're on a bus, you don't spend your whole time leaning over the shoulder of the driver helping him navigate the freeway. You sit back and enjoy the ride, knowing that someone else is watching out for you. In the same way, Jesus has promised to bring us through every storm that life might throw at us. Do not fear, he says, over and over again. Do not fear, believe in God. Trust in him to navigate the road. He is the way, the truth and the life—you need not fear. All is well.

So you're freed from worry, right? You can then put on your headphones and pay no attention, right?

Again, that's not the point. Now that you don't have to worry about the trip and the perils of life, you can look around, pay attention. You can notice all the wonderful people who surround you. And you can talk to them.

When we let go of our demand for independence, we recognize that we aren't called to live as isolated beings. When we drive everywhere, it's all about us—and we're separated from our fellow travelers. When we lose that separation, we crash into one another.

But on the bus, when we let go of that independence, we can take time to invest in one another, to hear one another's stories, to let ourselves be affected and build relationships with those around us. We take responsibility for one another and learn about each other. It's not always going to be pleasant or easy—but that's what we're called to do. We're free from worry and anxiety, but we're also free to serve one another, to share the love that transforms us.

So Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Let us give up our stubborn demand for independence and our distorted view of discipleship that comes with that. Let's allow him to lead us, and may we be fully present to one another along this journey of faith.

Let us pray