Sermon for May 3rd

Sermon for May 3rd

Thomas is ever the practical one. He normally gets his moment in the spotlight when he chooses not to take his friends at their word and instead waits to encounter the risen Christ for himself. Of course, Jesus obliges and Thomas professes his faith with the statement “My Lord and My God.” He might be practical, but he is also faithful.

Thomas shows up here, in today’s reading, although we don’t tend to take much notice of it. In a brief statement that doesn’t usually feature heavily when we read this text, Thomas asks another practical, pragmatic question.

“Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

The question makes sense. How can we know where to go if we don’t know where we are going? If a person asks us to follow them, but doesn’t tell us where they are going, then there is a panic that sets in. Sure, I can follow you, as long as I can always see you. But if I lose sight of you, how can I possibly know where to go if you don’t tell me where we are going?

I remember once, when I was travelling in India with Prema, where I had a moment like this. I don’t know if my brother or a friend was with us on that occasion. I do remember that we were in a part of Chennai I had never been to and we were hanging out with one of my wife’s cousins. When it came time to go home, she decided it would be fun to ride home with him on his motorcycle. Our company and I would come home on an autorickshaw. The only problem was that the autorickshaw driver was not given directions home. They were just told to follow the motorcycle. That made me nervous, as I didn’t speak Tamil and had no way of telling the driver where we needed to go if we lost sight of my wife and her cousin. I only hoped that they would drive home sensibly. They did not. They started weaving in and out of traffic like they were stunt drivers in an action movie. The poor autorickshaw driver did his absolute best to keep up, but there were a couple of moments where I thought we had been left behind. It was an ugly feeling to think we were lost somewhere in Chennai. I started planning how I would make a living if I could never find my way back to my in-law’s house. In the end, we were ok, but it was a rather stressful drive home.

Thomas, as practical and pragmatic as he seems to be, likely understood that he and the other disciples would be lost without Jesus. Sure, they could follow him if he was leading the way, but what could they do without him. They would be lost. They didn’t know the way. They didn’t know where he was leading them.

Jesus’ answer to this question was not likely one they expected. “I am the way and the truth and the life.” Ok. But where are we supposed to go?

Thomas, as practical and pragmatic as he was, understood what Jesus was saying in a very literal fashion. How do we know where we need to go if we don’t know where we are going? Thomas saw this as a literal journey. But for Jesus, it was far more. It wasn’t a journey; it was a way of life. It was how the disciples were meant to live and in Jesus’ life, the disciples had been shown the way. It was less of a journey and more of a way of being.

I am the way, the truth and the life. It flies in the face of what we think we know about life. Our lives, we think, are a journey towards self-improvement and success. Our lives are about becoming a better version of ourselves, through our own efforts, thus proving that we are worthy of love and all the good things life has to offer.

But Jesus, as the way, the truth and the life centers us not on the journey, or on our ability to make ourselves better people, but on Christ himself. Christ is the way, the way of love, the way of mercy, the way of hope, the way of grace. Christ is the truth. Christ, who points us to the realities of the Father. Christ, who gave us the Spirit and who opens our eyes to the beautiful and love filled reality of the Divine. Christ is the life and there simply isn’t any version of life as abundant as life found in Jesus.

Thomas thought Jesus referred to a journey. We may look at it as an add on for a self-help program. The reality is, Jesus wants us to follow him not to a particular destination but into the life only Christ can give and into the service only God can inspire.

I look back on the moment on the autorickshaw and many other times throughout my life. I was so worried about getting lost or not going the right way. I was worried, like Thomas, that I would be left behind or forgotten or that I wouldn’t measure up. I couldn’t see the experience for what it was. I couldn’t see the excitement of the chase or the reality that my wife would likely have come and found us. I was too afraid. I couldn’t see the moment for what it was.

So it is with Jesus, when we fail to see that it is not a journey, or a self-help program that we are frightened we may not live up to, but rather a new way to live. We could be like Thomas and try and understand everything that is required of us. Or we could just let go and put our trust in God. We could accept that the person God wants us to be is the one who has put their ego aside and simply follows Jesus and who seeks to live as Jesus would have us live, as God’s beloved children and as servants of all.

I am the way and the truth and the life. Follow me if you want to know life and life abundantly. Follow me that you may know me better. Follow me to know love.

Amen