Fifth Sunday of Easter (Cycle A)

The tie in between today’s readings: The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Psalm 33:1-5;18-19, Acts 6:1-7, 1 Peter 2:4-9, John 14:1-12

One of the chief objections that I find people have to Christianity is its insistence on Jesus being the sole access to God the Father. In a world of clichés like: “There are many paths to God.”, “All religions are the same.”, and “You have your truth, I have mine.” Jesus’ declaration in John 12:6 that He is The Way, The Truth, and The Life, grates on them like fingernails on a blackboard. After all, who does He think He is? Out of respect for the historical Christ, they usually will not refute Him head on, but soften His statements with slanting interpretations and work arounds, so that in the end, the Master seems to have agreed with their relativism all along. Whatever helps them sleep at night. What helps the true believer sleep at night is the bedrock assurance that Jesus is all that He says He is.

Because Jesus is Truth, He cannot tell a lie…ever! So, when today’s gospel John 14:1-12 opens with, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled,” we can have peace. The disciples also needed to hear this at the Last Supper. Jesus had just dropped a bombshell on them. He told them that someone would betray Him, Peter would deny Him, and that He was leaving them. Reassurance was paramount! He tells them that He is going to His Father’s house to prepare a place and that He’ll return for them (vs 2-3). Truth! While He is gone, His believers will do even greater works than He did (vs12). Truth! This will all be possible because of the way where He is going (vs 4). Truth! Because…He is the Way.

The way of the Son is the way of the Father (vs 10-11). The way of the Father was for His Son to go to the cross. The Son obeyed because, as we see in the Garden of Gethsemane and in the Lord’s prayer, it was always “Thy will be done” for Him. Jesus fulfilled His mission as the Lamb of God and took away the sins of the world. Faith in the Lord Jesus places us in Christ for this salvation (1 Corinthians 1:21). We aren’t shown a way. We don’t follow a way. Jesus, Himself, is the Way to God…there is no other. Being in Christ gives us the ability to show the Father to the world just as Jesus did (John 14:7-11), because we now have the life of Christ in us (Galatians 2:20).

He is THE Life. He is our life. We are raised to new spiritual life through His sacrifice. The Almighty places His Holy Spirit in us through Christ and makes each of us a temple that God abides in. So, in summary, Jesus gives us eternal life and goes to prepare a place for us to live in His Father’s house. By the same token, He also prepares a place for God’s life in us. Our reading in 1 Peter 2:4-9 tells us that Jesus is the living foundation cornerstone for God’s temple, His Body, the Church. We are living stones in that temple that we may be set apart as God’s own people. How does that look?

Our reading in Acts 6:1-7, opens with trouble in paradise. The church is growing, but favoritism is showing up in the distribution of food between the native Jewish widows over the others. To solve this problem, the Apostles set up the first deacon board. They were to be wise men of good reputation and full of the Holy Spirit.  Seven men were selected out of the congregation. They were prayed over and the Apostles laid hands on them in preparation. What was their groundbreaking task? They served tables. A first principle shows up here. All jobs, everything in life is spiritual. What ever we do we do unto the Lord because in serving others we serve our God. If Jesus can wash feet, nothing is beneath us. As it turns out, one of these men, Stephen, gives a great testimony of faith in Christ and becomes the first martyr. This incident sets off a chain reaction in the life of a man named Saul, who takes upon himself to persecute the people of the Way (Christians) and later meets Jesus in a vision on the road to Damascus. He becomes the great Apostle Paul. The second principle is that we represent God by what we say and do. We never know who’s listening or watching. Let that sink in!

Considering all this, now is the time to see where we stand concerning Jesus. God the Father has laid Him as a solid and immovable cornerstone. We must submit to His blueprint if we want to build on Him. Many in the world reject the absolute claims Christ imposes. They use their own truth to go their own way to build their own lives. You may be one of these people. STOP! The Bible says that Jesus is the only foundation and all other constructions will collapse. Come to Christ! Bow before Him as your Lord and Savior. If you do belong to Jesus, take seriously your role as a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, as it says in 1 Peter 2:9. Experience that life of joy, praise, and thanksgiving in the midst of adversities that it says in today’s reading in Psalm 33:1-5;18-19.

So, after all this, the only question left is…can you handle the Truth?