A sermon preached at Kowloon Union
Church on Sunday 10 May 2020, the Fifth Sunday of Easter, by the Revd Judy Chan. The scripture readings that day were I Peter 2: 2-10, John
14:1-14.
Good morning. A few years ago, I got an
email from a friend in the U.S. He had a request. His friend is a
Chinese-American minister and he wanted to take his daughter to visit their
ancestral home in Guangdong province, what we call your “heung ha”, or your
native place where your family came from. His relatives in the US had given him
the address in the village and told him that there were still some distant
cousins living in the house that his great grandfather built. The only problem
was the minister couldn’t speak enough Chinese to get there by himself. He
checked with some travel agents in New York but they only did these grand tours
of major cities in China. So, he asked my friend if there was any travel agent
in Hong Kong that could help them.
Well, I didn’t know any travel agency
in Hong Kong that gave such personalized tours, and it might be expensive
anyway. And I knew I wasn’t capable of getting them to the village in Guangdong
either. But I had an idea. My husband Joe. I thought, now if he had time and
the schedules matched, Joe could get them there.
So I asked Joe and he said if he could
arrange his work schedule, sure, he’d do it. So I wrote back to the minister
and said, “My husband is from Hong Kong and he’d like to help. Please send more
information.”
Well, back and forth the emails went.
The minister was excited and very grateful but also somewhat anxious. How will
we get there? How much will it cost? Are you sure your husband can do this? I
wrote back, “Don’t worry. If anyone can get you get there, he can do it.
Finally, after a few months, the
minister and his daughter arrived in Hong Kong. And Joe took them on this
adventure back to the heung ha, where indeed, they found the village, the house
and the relatives. It was a wonderful homecoming. And most amazing of all, when
they went upstairs, they saw a picture that they recognized right away. It was
the great grandfather’s portrait, and they knew it, because they had the only
other copy at home in New York City.
I tell this story, because today’s
Gospel reading is also about going back to the heung ha or our ancestral home.
It’s a story about claiming our spiritual DNA as children of the living God.
But most of all, John 14 is a story about Jesus Christ – the Way, the Truth and
the Life - the one who makes our homecoming possible in the first place.
So, let’s begin the journey. Our Gospel
reading is part of the narrative of Jesus with his disciples in the Upper Room.
It began in Chapter 13. He has washed their feet and is eating his last
Passover meal. He predicts one of them will betray him. They are shocked. Then
later he tells Judas go quickly, do what you’re planning to do. Judas is the
treasurer of the group, so maybe he has to take care of some money
matters. After Judas leaves, Jesus
breaks the news to the other disciples. I’m not going to be around much longer.
I have to leave you and you can’t go with me.
This of course is all very upsetting.
The disciples have left everything to follow their Master for the past three
years. The idea of separation is unthinkable. They can’t believe he’s going to
leave them behind. What’s going to happen to them?
Jesus knows this is hard for them to
accept. And he’ll answer their desperate questions as honestly as he can. But
by the very things they ask, it’s obvious how far they are from grasping the
magnitude of what’s before them. The disciples really have no idea (1) what’s
going to happen to their Master; (2) why it needs to happen; and (3) what this
means for their lives. So Jesus tries to explain everything before he leaves
but they won’t really understand until later. In other words, this story is
told in a pre-Easter setting, but it’s meant to instruct the disciples and you
and me in a post-Easter world.
Let’s walk through those questions one
by one.
(1) First, what’s going to happen to
the Master?
Peter at the end of Chapter 13 asks,
“Lord, where are you going?” Jesus doesn’t answer him directly. He only says
he’s going away and Peter can’t follow him now. Peter protests. “Lord, why
can’t I follow you now? No matter how dangerous it is, you can count on me!” To
which Jesus replies, “Really, my friend? Alas, before this night’s over, you’ll
deny you even knew me three times.”
Peter obviously has no idea what
dangers lie ahead for the Master and for themselves. If he really knew where
Jesus was heading that night, he might have had second thoughts. And Jesus knew
that. But no matter what, in the end, none of them can’t follow him now because
his suffering and death on Good Friday was Christ’s alone to bear.
But even more, the disciples can’t
follow him now, because his ultimate destination is even farther away. He’s
heading back to his heavenly Father. And they aren’t ready to go there either,
until Jesus has prepared safe passage for them and all those who love him. The
disciples don’t yet comprehend how far Jesus will go for their sake. All they
know is he’s leaving.
(2) Which brings us to the second
question, why does all this need to happen?
At the beginning of Chapter 14, Jesus
tells his disciples: Don’t let your hearts be shaken! Even though I’m leaving
you, didn’t I say I’m coming back? That you’re all going to be with me, and
together we’ll all be with God. It’s going to be OK. After all, you know the
way.
Thomas responds, “Actually, Lord, we
don’t know anything about anything. How can you say we know the way?” To which
Jesus replies with the famous words in v.6, “I am the way, the truth and the
life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
What does that mean? Remember, these
are Jesus’ words of comfort to his frightened disciples. What he says then
should be good news, not bad news, for anyone. It’s amazing then that some
believers today quote John 14:6 as a condemnation of everyone who is outside
the circle called “Christian”. Certainly that was not Jesus’ intention!
What did Thomas ask? “Lord, how can we
know the way?” And Jesus says: “You’re looking at him right now, Thomas. I am
the way! You don’t need a secret map to get to where I’m going. All you have to do is trust me, believe in
me, because none of you can come to the Father on your own. That’s why
everything that’s going to happen has to happen.”
That’s why everything that’s going to
happen has to happen. Because we’re all in the same boat, friends. We’re all
separated from God because of sin. That’s the spiritual reality of this evil
world. And there would be no hope indeed for humanity unless someone can tell
us that’s not the last word. And that’s exactly what Jesus is saying here.
New Testament scholar Craig Koester
explains it beautifully. As he puts it:
John's Gospel doesn’t identify Jesus
as the way, the truth, and the life in order to close off relationships with
God, but to open up relationships with God where sin has created separation.
The word "except" in the phrase "except by me" means that
the categorical judgment that "no one comes to the Father" is not the
last word... "Except" is like a window that lets light into a closed
room. [It confirms] what the Gospel says about Christ coming as light into a
world of darkness. . . as the door or
gate that enables people to enter God's sheepfold.
In short, “no one comes to the Father
except by me” means we have a way to be reconciled with God that was never
possible before. In Christ, through Christ, and with Christ, we are going home.
(3) Which brings us to the third
question. What does this all mean for the disciples? Simply this, they, you and
I have the absolutely best guide possible to take us back to our heung ha, our
native place right to the heart of God. His name is Jesus and he speaks the
language, he’s travelled the road, and he won’t charge you even a penny.
And when you get there you too will
make the most amazing discovery upstairs. The picture of God you see through
Jesus Christ is exactly the same in heaven as it is on earth. That’s right. You
and I have the clearest picture of what God the Father is like through our
Crucified Lord and Risen Savior. Like Father, like Son. That’s what Jesus was
trying to tell Philip when the disciple asked for a special preview: “Lord, show
us the Father and we’ll be satisfied.” “Philip, Philip, do you know what you’re
asking? No one can see God face-to-face and live. But everything you need to
know about the Father, you can find out by looking at me.” Like Father, like Son.
Now some of you may be uncomfortable
with so much emphasis on “Father” in talking about God, especially on Mother’s
Day! And I did struggle some with the language. Because we know that God is not
male, and God is not female for that matter. But the point here I think is that
the God of Jesus Christ is not an impersonal deity but a God of relationship.
That the God of Jesus Christ is not a God whose ways and will are hidden from
our sight. No, absolutely the opposite. In Jesus Christ, God has made it as
clear as day how much we are loved, how much we have been forgiven, and how
much more we need to do in His name to heal this broken world.
Because at the end of the day, for me,
that’s what John 14 is really about. Not just giving us assurance that we’ve
got a room reserved in heaven, as comforting as that may be on our deathbed.
Through Jesus Christ, there’s a place prepared for us in the Kingdom of God
right now, right here on this side of eternity. But to get there, we have to do
it his way, what the great late Eugene Peterson called the “Jesus way”.
Because it’s only when the Jesus way is
wedded to the Jesus truth do we get the Jesus life. That means we can’t claim
to preach the Jesus truth and then live any old way we want. We can’t brag
we’re living the Jesus life and do it any other way than what he showed us.
And what way was that?
I like how writer and pastor Brian
McLaren puts it. He says one of the questions he gets asked most often is “Is
Jesus the only way?” He knows it may be a test from some Christians who want to
see if he gives the “right” answer, or a test from non-Christians who hope he
says the opposite. In either case, McLaren has the same response. He says
Is Jesus the only way? It depends on
where we’re trying to go. If we want to abandon the earth as a lost cause and
evacuate upward to heaven as soon as possible, I suspect we’re going in a
different direction than Jesus…Jesus’ movement is downward. Heaven to earth,
earth to humanity, humanity to servanthood, servanthood to suffering and death.
He doesn’t teach us to pray, “May we go to heaven where your will is done,
unlike earth,” … rather, … your kingdom come, …your will be done on earth as in
heaven. If that’s where we want to go, to get earthy and
manifest the kingdom of heaven on earth, then you won’t find anyone [better to
lead] you there. Only Jesus…. move down with him, in the direction of
incarnation not abandonment . . . of involvement and identification not elitism
and escape . . . go where he went for the reason he went, in love and service
to … sinners like you and me.
Jesus Christ: His Way, His Truth, Our
Life.
In closing, let me share something from
my life, from my last 20 years’ experience in ministry. Many of you know that I work at the Hong Kong
Christian Council. I’m in charge of the English religious broadcasting for RTHK
radio. Some of you have been in our studio recording your programs. Most of you
have contributed through live Sunday services from Kowloon Union Church. Let me
thank you. RTHK is the government’s public broadcasting station. So of course,
they have their rules about what’s acceptable or not acceptable to say on air.
Usually it has to do with political matters. But for religious broadcasting,
over the years, we’ve developed our own rules. And I try to apply them to my
Christian life as well. What are they?
First: no disparaging or tearing down
other religions. Not just because we’re a multi-religious society. It’s a form
of the Golden Rule: Don’t do to others what you don’t want done to yourself.
Next: Say something normal people can understand, not just Christians. You want
the audience to keep listening, not turn you off. Lastly, be yourself, be
authentic. Sure, some people are more eloquent speakers than others. Some run
rings around the rest of us with their vast knowledge and wide experience. But
you have things to say that no one else can say because they haven’t lived your
life. And the world needs to hear from you, not only on RTHK, but wherever
Jesus opens the door for you to share his message of faith, hope and love. As
one wise veteran missionary once wrote:
We know only in part, but we do know.
And we believe that the faith we profess is both true and just, and should be
proclaimed. We do this, however, not as judges or lawyers, but as witnesses;
not as soldiers, but as envoys of peace; not as high-pressure salespersons, but
as ambassadors of [our] Servant Lord [Jesus Christ].
Amen.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, May 10, 2020
