John 14:1-14
Pr. Kurt A. Van Fossan – In Nomine Christi Iesu
One of the things I usually point out to youth and adults as we consider the fundamentals of Christianity in Catechism Instruction is Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:18 “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” In other words it’s all important from the smallest preposition and article to every vowel and consonant—every letter. I like the simple billboard message I say which said: “What part of thou shalt not did you not understand?” In other words, God’s Law does not change with the times.
This same truth applies also to the Gospel. And this morning I would like to highlight an important article or word in our Gospel reading which much of our society and even some within the Christian church are becoming more and more comfortable in changing or leaving out of the Bible, and that’s the little article or word “the”. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” What many people today want to hear or want to believe is that Jesus is a way, a truth and a life. A popular phrase in America is “Get a life” (which is often used in response to someone doing something meaningless or harmful to others). Most people don’t really care what kind of life you get, just “Get a life.” However, God’s main concern (and the main concern of His Church), is that people “Get the life”— Jesus Christ.
Let me give you an example of our society’s “Get a life” attitude. From what I read in the news, Prince Charles, if he ever becomes King, would like to be known not as a “Defender of the Faith” (which has been a title of British Monarchs since the days of Henry the VIII and refers, of course, to the Christian Faith); instead, he would like to be known as a “Defender of Faith”. Evidently Prince Charles’ thinking is that the existing title, “Defender of the Faith” implies that the sovereign would protect only Christians (which I think confuses the Church/State role of the English Monarch).
While I am certainly not an expert on the history and present working of the English Monarch, I do know from God’s Word that His will is that earthly rulers or governments are meant to protect or defend the lives of all people under their authority. That does not meant that God defends the beliefs of all people.
This morning, therefore, I would like to touch on a couple reasons why it is important that people not just “get a life,” but that they “get the life”—Jesus Christ.
Let’s compare, for example, one of the other faiths popular in this world and this country today, the Muslim faith (Islam). Suppose Muhammad would have said, “Let not your hearts be trouble. Believe in God; believe also in me.” What peace or comfort would such words from Muhammad provide? Muhammad died in the year 632, and did not come back to life in this world. But then, of course, Muhammad did not point to himself as the one who could save people. Instead He pointed to His teachings as the message of salvation. During his life, Muhammad told people that if they submit to Allah, which includes submitting or following the 5 pillars of Islam, Allah will be merciful to them on Judgement Day. Therefore, salvation in the Muslim or Islamic faith, like all other non-Christian faiths, is achieved for man not by God but by man. If you submit or follow a certain list of moral teachings then you will be saved. How can my heart not be troubled if I have to trust in myself and my prefect submission for salvation? Allah or Muhammad do not offer salvation as a free gift. The only “gift” is the Qur’an which includes a number of things a person needs to do to save himself. That’s offering a drowning person a large bolder to hang on to. No thank you!
Now consider the same words as they were originally spoken by Jesus. “Let not your hearts be trouble. Believe in God; believe also in me.” Jesus died too, but He demonstrated His power as God by coming back to life again. As God, Jesus didn’t say that following the 10 Commandments is the way, the truth and the life—He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” The gift which Jesus offers to all people is Himself as our substitute. In the Bible God reveals that we can’t obey or submit to His laws perfectly, but Jesus did. In the Bible God reveals that we can’t pay the penalty for our sins and live, but Jesus did. In the Bible God also reveals that we can’t even believe in Him apart from the Holy Spirit (“No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit” 1 Co12:3). Even repentance and faith are not our work but God’s. It’s all gift!
The salvation Jesus gives is, therefore, not a “wait and see” salvation, it’s a salvation which He can assure us of “here and now.” A “wait and see” salvation means that you have to wait until your death to see if you’ve done enough and good enough for God to let you into heaven. Through Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection our Lord assures us that our salvation is already complete in Him. His resurrection from the dead assures us there’s no “wait and see” with Jesus Christ. Paul writes in Romans (6:3-4), “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” The assurance of our salvation is here and now. That’s why we have a peace which the world and all the world’s religions cannot give.
How can we share the peace of Jesus Christ with others, like the Muslims? Certainly not by suggesting that we are all worshiping the same God, or that all religions lead to heaven. But then neither can we share the love of Christ with Muslims by wanting to have nothing to do with them. Instead, through our faith in Christ, and our confidence in His love and forgiveness, our Lord enables us to reach out in love to our neighbour, whatever their faith or lifestyle, not compromising God’s Word of truth, but sharing the good news of God’s love and forgiveness in Jesus Christ through our words and actions. By doing so, Christ works through us to give them saving faith in Him—to enable them to repent of their sins and believe in His as “the way, and the truth, and the life.” For, no matter what they (or we) have done or worshiped in the past, Jesus Christ is the way who makes it possible to leave it all behind and to be certain of eternal salvation here and now—the way to “Get not a life, but The life” today.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen.
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