Easter 5, 2023

 Once again today we come to another of Jesus’ “I am” statements, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  Like any scripture we can read it in a way that makes us right and the way to Jesus narrow and exclusive, or we can read it in a way that the circles of Christ’s inclusion increase in a wide embrace.  I guess you can guess where I fall in this spectrum.  We all use scripture to interpret scripture, and every time I encounter Jesus I find myself surprised by who all is included and most surprised to find myself drawn into the circle by Jesus’ love and grace. 

Beginning with Jesus’ first words in this Gospel reading, “Let not your hearts be troubled,” is one of abandoning anxiety and fear.  It draws me to a calm and plentiful view of God’s love and grace in which God has us.  We don’t have to worry about whether there is room for us and we can let go of judging who is in and who is out of God’s love and care and be curious about where God is working love and grace in this world. Furthermore the hearts not being troubled, is a collective heart, not an individual one.  It isn’t about any individual accepting Jesus, or knowing the right way, but it is about the community attitude and response, about finding our way together to the teachings and love of Jesus.

Jesus talks about himself as the way.  What is this way he speaks of?  There is a more faithful way of being in the world, an orientation, a direction.

Jesus’ way is merciful.  Jesus on the cross said, “Father forgive them.”  In the same way, Stephen as he is being stoned, calls out for mercy for his attackers. He said, “Do not hold this sin against them.” Jesus’ way is to have mercy, compassion, and forgiveness.

Jesus’ way is through prayer.  Prayer takes on many forms.  For Stephen he offers a prayer for himself, for God to receive his Spirit—another one of Jesus’ prayers from the cross.  Stephen also offers a prayer for himself and a prayer for others in praying for his attackers.  Prayer can take the form of words, songs, thoughts, images, activities.  It is an open line of communication in which we listen and pay attention to where God is showing up and where God seems quiet, and it is communication in which we share and express.  Prayer takes place between us and God, the Divine, the eternal, Love.  And prayer takes place between people as we seek to live our faith in response and communication with our neighbor.

Jesus’ way is through love.  God is love.  Love is a deep caring,  Agape love is a self-sacrificing orientation toward the good of another person.  Love is patient, kind, and sometimes challenging.  We especially see this way of love in that Jesus came to earth to know our daily lives and to look us in the eye.  Jesus gave up everything he had (made sacrifices) to be a person with a human body with all our vulnerabilities.  We also especially see this way of love in Jesus’ interactions with people.  He did not discriminate and give attention to those who could give him something in return.  His love was not transactional or self-serving.  He was genuinely interested in his flock, his creation, so he spent time with people rejected and shunned—lepers, immigrants, people with epilepsy, people of different religions.  It was really shocking to his disciples and the religious authorities that he wouldn’t follow human ways of dividing ourselves up in order to get something for himself.  Finally, his agape love was shown in his sacrifice on the cross.  How many chances did he have to spare himself, but he did not?  Instead he suffers with all who suffer and knows depth of pain that people can inflict on one another so he can show us a better way.

The way of Jesus is curiosity and openness.  In our first reading today, the religious authorities did not want to hear another word from Stephen.  They were anything but curious about what he would say next.  They were afraid he would take their power away, stir people up so they would see what was really going on.  So they murdered Stephen.  Jesus’ way is curiosity.  He was curious about the children and their thoughts, so he gathered them around him.  His disciples were not curious—they had already made up their minds they were a waste of time.  Jesus was curious about the Samaritan woman at the well.  He kept talking to her and even stayed a few days in her village because she was equally curious about him and invited him to connect with her community.  Jesus was curious all the time in his ministry, willing to learn from others, wanting to communicate, wanting to connect. 

We get to be curious, too.  We get to be curious about what will happen next, just like the disciples are in this Gospel reading.  We get to be curious about what happens in the next life and what eternal, abundant life looks like.  We get to be curious about all the people and situations we encounter and where God might be at work.  We get to be curious about what gifts God is developing in us for God’s glory.  We get to be curious and open, making lots of space for God’s beloveds to communicate and connect with us.

The way of Jesus is to love his enemies.  On the cross, he prays for his enemies.  Stephen too does not stop loving his enemies as he prays for them even as they kill him.  This truly sets Christians apart, because we have genuine concern for our enemies.  We are not allowed to decide someone is a lost cause.  We are not to wish them ill.  The thief on the cross is an example of someone who, because of Christ’s invitation and openness, found new life through him.

The way of Jesus is one of inclusion and spaciousness.  He says today, “In my house are many dwelling places.”  There is lots of room where Jesus is going.  There is lots of room in the way of Jesus for lots of different styles.  Because Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, he makes room for all these people no one expected.  Remember the story Jesus tells his disciples that a rich person entering the Kingdom of God is like a camel passing through the eye of a needle?  It sounds impossible.  His disciples ask, “Who then can be saved?”  Jesus answers, that it is possible through the gift and grace of God.

Maybe we still wonder if there is space for us in Jesus’ way, maybe we wonder if we’re good enough.  I don’t do greater works than Jesus.  This may be referring to a particular set of disciples.  Maybe it means collectively all his followers will do greater works.  The works that we do are not so that we can be loved by Jesus.  That is already in place.  Whatever works we do, God is in charge of them, to bring them about and to give God glory and for the healing of the world.  This is not something to cause us worry but to help us let go of whether we are enough or do enough.

Finally, we get to wonder and be curious about Jesus’ assertion that he will do whatever we ask in his name.  Clearly we don’t get everything we want.  However, Jesus wants us to ask and wants us to come to him with our requests.  God is the one who provides all good things, helps us decide what is good for us, and opens our eyes to the needs of others.  And God is with us when we are disappointed and learn and grow from our perceived deficiencies.  Perhaps going to God with our requests helps us realize what is really important.  Sometimes we go to him with a prayer for healing for a loved one.  Although the outcome may not be what we wanted, we find we are not alone.  God knows what it is like to grieve and will bring us together again so that where he is there we may be also.

Let us walk the way of Jesus, forgiving, communicating, sacrificing, loving, curious, and open.  Let us follow Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life.