Easter 5 A - May 22, 2011

Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
Br. Julian Mizelle, OHC
Easter 5 A - May 22, 2011

The Way Forward

Acts 7:55-60
1 Peter 2:2-10
John 14:1-14

Well, in case you missed it, yesterday was May 21st -- the end of the world. Billboards have dotted the American landscape, along with t-shirts and leaflets stating the Bible guarantees it, buses painted with “The End of the World” messages from bumper to bumper, and of course all of those “believers” shouting over bullhorns in the public square that the rapture was to occur on May 21st. A visit to the website of “judgementday2011.com” earlier this week touted sale prices for t-shirts because there were only a “few days left”.

The May 21st movement within the far right evangelical community has at its center Harold Camping of FamilyRadio.com and his ability to decipher the hidden secrets of scripture about the end of time. However, this is not the first time Harold Camping has set a date for the return of Christ. He first predicted Christ return on September 6, 1994. How did he know Christ would return on this date? He equated the 2000 pigs mentioned in the 5th chapter of Mark’s gospel as 2000 years. Then following a complicated numbering scheme arrived at September 6, 1994. That of course didn’t happen so banking on the short memory of his followers he set a new date: May 21, 2011. Harold Camping is not alone in the field of prophecy pundits. Jack Van Empe has set a date in 2012. And there are other prophecy pundits who have set dates in 2014. And what is their motivation for such prophetic announcements? Could it be connected to the over $80 million in donations FamilyRadio.com received in the years 2005 to 2009?

Here’s the truth of the matter. There is absolutely no evidence in the Bible whatsoever, nary a clue, as to when Jesus Christ will return. There is no scripture in the Bible that can reveal the date of the Second Coming. Furthermore, all prophecy pundits have one characteristic in common. They are 100% wrong 100% of the time. Now if you are sensing that I have some energy on all of this you’re right. These charlatans (and that is what they are) who are dominant in some portions of American Christian culture are robbing thousands of the true message of Christ, His words, the true meaning of the Gospel. When the Evening News, NPR, CNN and host of other media outlets cover these stories as viable news it sidetracks the real dialogue that needs to be heard on Christ love, and on His works of mercy and justice, taking care of the poor, feeding the hungry, and ministering to the sick. As I have heard one commentator put it “the hucksterism of Left Behind/Rapture theology causes us to lose the meaning of consecrated life through the pursuit of justice and peace.”

There have been countless news stories of individuals and families giving up their jobs, liquidating their assets and savings and it is heartbreaking to hear. There are hundreds if not thousands of people who awoke to the reality of this Sunday morning who will now have to find a new way forward. That way forward lies right in today’s Gospel.

The 13th through the 19th chapters of John narrates the last 24 hours of Christ earthly life. Our reading today falls right in the middle of what is known as the Johannine Farewell Discourse. Jesus knows His passion is eminent and it is through these farewell discourses that Jesus does all He can to prepare his disciples for what lies ahead, for life after tomorrow. So He begins with reassurance, He begins by setting aside their fears, which is always the beginning place of any true work of God, by saying “Do not let your hearts be troubled”. John has his own ordering of the events of passion week. By the time we get to today’s reading Jesus has already washed his disciples feet, predicted Judas’ betrayal, and Peter’s denials, and He has called on His disciples to “love one another”. What he is really doing is preparing His disciples for what their lives will look like once he has departed from this world and returned to His Father.

As it is throughout much of the Gospel of John the dialogue is pushed forward through a series of questions. The first question actually comes in the preceding verses from Peter: “Lord, where are you going?” Then Thomas ask how they can know the way to where Christ is going if they do not even know the destination. What the disciples are failing to grasp is that Jesus is telling them that the Father IS the destination. The next question comes from Philip asking Jesus to show them the Father. Jesus’ response only confuses them further by saying you’ve already seen the Father by seeing me.

At the heart of this discourse Jesus makes one of the most profound statements of His entire 3 years of earthly ministry. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” This is not exactly an ecumenical/inter-faith statement, nor did Jesus intend it to be. On the surface it sounds like Jesus is being completely exclusive. This is a powerful statement, even for us in our time. But to a Jew, living in the fist century, living in the Jewish homeland it held a life altering revelation. Jesus took 3 of the great foundational conceptions of Judaism and made the tremendous claim that in Him all 3 found their full realization.

The Way

Jesus says “I am the way.” Following the way as a path to God goes all the way back to Moses. In fact we could probably trace it all the way back to Abraham. God said to Moses “...you shall not turn to the right or to the left. You must follow exactly the path that the Lord your God has commanded you.” Moses told the Israelites not to turn aside from the way that God had commanded them to follow. Much later in Jewish history Isaiah says “This is the way; walk in it”. The Psalmist writes: “Teach me your way O Lord”. And what is most telling is the name by which the very first Christians became known by in the Book of Acts: they were followers of The Way. So for Jesus to make the claim to His disciples of being the way was telling them that He was the embodiment of all that they sought. Even more literally He was saying I am the embodiment of life with God. He wasn’t giving them a set of directions on how to find God. He wasn’t handing them a road map or a set of formulas. He told them I AM God. And I assure you it wasn’t lost on Peter, Thomas and Philip that Jesus used the very name of God that God spoke to Moses...I AM. And it shouldn’t be lost on us.

The Truth

Jesus said “I am the way and the truth” and in doing so identifies Himself with the Psalmist who wrote: “Teach me your way O Lord, that I may walk in your truth”. Just as in our day, first century Palestine had its cache of prophecy pundits and those claiming to know the truth. What made Jesus different? He embodied truth. Jesus wasn’t the next empty johnny-come-lately truth claimer or moralist. There is an unlimited number of names that I could pull from recent headlines of would be moralist and truth-claimers who fell from their pedestals. And the common thread in all of their downfalls was greed and lust. But lets be honest. We don’t need the sensational stories from headline news. Most of us need look no further than our own circle of friends, or our own families, and yes, even our own lives to recognize the failings of truth. An adulterer who claims purity, a greedy person who claims generosity, a domineering person who claims humility, an irascible person who claims serenity, an embittered person who claims love--it all makes one completely skeptical of truth. Yet Jesus claims with unequivocal authority I am truth. And His disciples recognized that Jesus really lived the truth he taught. They saw in Him the reality of truth. Only Jesus could make such a statement. There has never been anyone before or since who could say I am truth.

The Life

Jesus said “I am life”. A first century Jew would know that in Proverbs, holding the wisdom of Solomon, such verses as: “whoever heeds instruction is on the path of life” or “You show me the path of life”. What Solomon discovered that made him so wise is that the end game in the Jewish faith of following the way and seeking truth was to find life. And what makes Solomon’s words so wise to us today is that in the final analyses what we are always seeking more than anything else is life.

Was Jesus discounting the great faiths of the world, some of them older than Christianity? Was He making an exclusive statement telling his disciples they had made it into the ultimate “in-group” and all others were left behind in the out group? NO! He simply met his questioners, Peter, Thomas and Philip, right where they were and spoke to them in a language they would understand. He told them I AM the embodiment of Torah. I AM the way to follow, I AM the truth you seek, I AM the life you desire.

Now I would like to set a date. It is the only date we need ever set. It is the date we proclaim each and every day with the Psalmist saying: “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” It is today that Jesus tells us He is the way because He is our access point to God’s promise of life. It is today that Jesus tells us that He is life because he has brought His gift of life to the world. Let us this day choose Jesus as our way, let us choose Jesus as our truth, let us choose Jesus as our life.

Amen