{"id":22306,"date":"2026-05-03T10:00:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T10:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stjameschurchabinger.org\/?p=22306"},"modified":"2026-04-27T12:00:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T12:00:29","slug":"sermon-2026-05-03","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stjameschurchabinger.org\/?p=22306","title":{"rendered":"Sermon 2026-05-03"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Sermon 3rd May 2026 <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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John 14:1-14<\/strong><\/p>

\u201cI am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.\u201d (14:6-7)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

The passage, unique to John\u2019 Gospel, in which Jesus claims to be the \u2018way\u2019, \u2018truth\u2019 and the \u2019life\u2019 is familiar to us all I\u2019m sure. It\u2019s the sort of text that fits nicely on to a poster or one of those hot press tee shirts that were sold at evangelical Christian events in the 1990s.<\/p>

It is the sort of verse that you might expect to hear an under pressure celebrity quoting as he extols the vitues about his new found faith through which he now views his past misdemeanours. Ultimately it has been reduced to something so metaphysical and simplistic (if that\u2019s not a contradiction in terms) that it has lost any sense of being subversive or anti imperial.<\/p>

But this passage is not simplistic – and shouldn\u2019t be treated as such. It\u2019s a passage that reflects the anxiety of the early Christian community – it conveys the brutal realities of imperial violence as Jesus anticipates his execution and the disciples express their anxiety about what comes next. This is a passage suggestive of fear and desperation.<\/p>

My sermon this week will almost certainly centre upon the opening sentence: \u201cDon\u2019t let your hearts be troubled.\u201d This line, spoken to a group of people about to be made even more vulnerable and marginalised than ever is one that so many people need to reflect on that I can\u2019t really justify moving beyond it, but the passage obviously has a great deal more to it than that.<\/p>

It does set the scene though – it sets up the passage as immediately, and obviously, political. A threatened, damaged, community is being forced to reckon with their own position as their situation grows incrementally more serious.<\/p>

Jesus\u2019 consolation is to offer them the encouragement that: \u201cin my Father\u2019s house are many rooms\u2026\u201d I know how this is usually interpreted – that there are lots of \u2018mansions\u2019 in heaven, but this is not the description of some future paradise, it\u2019s a counter imperial proclamation – God\u2019s kingdom is one of hospitality, not exclusion.<\/p>

The \u201chouse\u201d and \u201crooms\u201d here are firstly relational, rather than physical. The \u2018father\u2019s house\u2019 is a relational space or household, not a metaphysical location.<\/p>

In practical terms this has an obvious follow on – there are literally many<\/em> rooms. Wherever the community extends there are rooms – this relational household extends far and wide.<\/p>

Remember that Jesus\u2019 mission is one of creating a community that loves and shares – a community of resistance in the heart of the occupation. This community offers a philosophical and practical rebuff to the scarcity logic of the empire, a logic we still live with today – there are no shortages when people are willing to share, to open their doors to one another.<\/p>

God\u2019s household<\/em> is a better synonym for God\u2019s kingdom. It is where God dwells, or reigns. That, as we know, is a relational idea – God lives in people\u2019s lives.<\/p>

Let me get to the big line in 14:5\u20137: \u201cThe way, the truth, and the life\u201d<\/p>

So this is kind of set up as a funny, a bit of misunderstanding, which is John\u2019s favourite comic device. First Thomas asks: \u201cWe don\u2019t know where you are going; how can we know the way?\u201d<\/p>

And Jesus patiently replies: \u201cI am the way, and the truth, and the life\u2026\u201d<\/p>

Perhaps not the most laugh out loud comedy moment in the book, but still, the straight man Thomas hears \u201cway\u201d as a literal route while Jesus answers in metaphor. So the whole thing hangs on a bit of irony – the disciples already \u2018know\u2019 the way, because they know Jesus. Duh.<\/p>

The way (hodos<\/em>) is a word that operates on a different level too – philosophical schools were \u201cways\u201d and by the time the book is written the early Christian community is already known as \u2018The Way\u2019.<\/p>

Jesus\u2019 second claim here is that he is the \u201ctruth\u201d (al\u0113theia<\/em>), along with the third claim to be the \u201clife\u201d (z\u014d\u0113<\/em>) these are ideas that speak to a multiple of audiences – John\u2019s Greek speaking readers recognise both of them immediately. Zoe is such an important term that it has become personified in the myth of Zeus, the father of the gods. Alethia is not personified in the same way, but remains a crucial philosophical category.<\/p>

So the triple threat claim to be \u201cthe way, the truth, and the life\u201d is a sweeping, subversive, assertion of authority in a world governed by imperial logic. In the first century it was Caesar who claimed to provide the way to peace, to define truth through imperial decree, and to secure life under the Pax Romana. John\u2019s Jesus contradicts this directly, calling people to walk a different way, trust a different truth, and seek a different life.<\/p>

That makes the following line: \u201cNo one comes to the Father except through me\u201d something other than the statement of religious exclusivity to which it is often reduced, now it is a political and relational claim. It asserts that access to God\u2019s life\u2011giving reality does not run through gatekeepers in charge of temple systems or imperial power structures but through the liberating way Jesus embodies.<\/p>

This is not a proof\u2011text for Christian superiority but a declaration that in a world where empire claims total control, God\u2019s life is found in a different order altogether.<\/p>

There\u2019s another ironic interlude when Philip asks: \u201cLord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.\u201d<\/p>

It feels like an echo of Israel\u2019s desire for visible guarantees (e.g. Moses asking to see God\u2019s glory) and gets a somewhat exasperated response from Jesus: \u201cHave I been with you all this time\u2026 and you still do not know me?\u201d<\/p>

The thing is that this also relates to the world they exist in – a world where power is demonstrated through audacious shows of military strength, now Philip, as the comic foil, wants a comparable display.<\/p>

This is a handy opportunity for Jesus to remind all concerned that the true \u201cshow\u201d of God is found in justice, healing, and the breaking down of boundaries. All the things, in other words, that Jesus has been doing.<\/p>

God is not separable from these relational realities, God is found in them. (\u201cI am in the Father and the Father is in me.\u201d) Unity here is not just about some sort of divine dream – it\u2019s about the concrete actions of love, mercy, and justice.<\/p>

Want to see God? Look for love, mercy, and justice.<\/p>

Jesus says that this divine presence can be found everywhere \u201cthe one who believes in me (is committed to my ways<\/em>) will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these.\u201d<\/p>

In other words, everyone has agency – even while under empire. Marginal communities, like these under threat disciples, are supposed to be passive and grateful of their overlords. John\u2019s Jesus calls his followers to be active and says that if they do, then they will be agents of \u201cgreater works.\u201d<\/p>

Finally, I\u2019m going to end with a brief word about that last line: \u201cIf in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.\u201d This is something I hear a lot – people thinking that effectively the use of \u2018Jesus\u2019 name\u2019 is the equivalent to a magic spell. Use the right words and you get the result you want.<\/p>

I don\u2019t believe in magic and I don\u2019t think it has any place in Christian thinking – prayer \u201cin my name\u201d is nothing like a magic formula – it is simply about alignment with Jesus\u2019 character. In other words, to ask in Jesus name is to do something in harmony with his way of life and truth. If you do this – then \u201cI will do it\u201d – I will remain active in the world through you. <\/em><\/p>

So this is the central idea of the whole thing. John\u2019s Jesus is saying: \u201cWhen I\u2019m dead, I will still be alive – through you and all who believe (follow God\u2019s ways).\u201d<\/p>

So often this passage is read as a kind of \u2018escape from this world\u2019 passage – it\u2019s not. That\u2019s crucial to understand.<\/p>

It\u2019s a passage about how a vulnerable community can hope to continue the work after the execution of its leader. It has nothing to do with heaven or magic, it\u2019s about the practical reality of continuing the mission of Jesus \u2013 in and despite our cultural reality. So let us follow the Way \u2013 be subversive and counter-cultural, and in the words of Micah – love mercy do justly and walk humbly with our God. Amen<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Revd. Kia Pakenham \/ 26th May 2026<\/h6>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sermon 3rd May 2026 John 14:1-14 \u201cI am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.\u201d (14:6-7) The passage, unique to John\u2019 Gospel, in which … <\/p>\n

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