Posts Tagged ‘confusion’

Life not death

May 9, 2020

Easter 5 – 2020
John 14:1-14
Marian Free

In the name of God who empowers and directs our lives. Amen.

As is the case with much of John’s gospel, today’s passage is complex and is filled with a number of different ideas that cannot be adequately dealt with in one sermon. The passage is the beginning of Jesus’ farewell speech, spoken after Jesus had washed the feet of the disciples and after Judas had been exposed as the one who would hand Jesus over to the authorities and who had gone off into the night. In the previous verses Jesus had announced that he would be with the disciples only a little longer and he had told them that they would not be able to follow him. In response, Peter had brashly said that he would follow Jesus even if it meant laying down his life for him. In reply Jesus had said that not only was Peter’s an empty promise, but that before daybreak, he would deny Jesus three times.

In our passage then, Jesus was addressing disciples who were confused, anxious and perhaps even frightened. Nothing made sense to them. Jesus appeared to be speaking in riddles. He had said that they could not follow him, but now he was saying: “You know the way”. Jesus has not given them a road map but has suggested that their relationship with him was all the direction that they needed. In essence, Jesus was saying, that if the disciples had found him, then they had already found the Father, that is they had already reached their destination. This relationship – with Jesus and therefore with the Father – Jesus had gone on to explain, was not passive but active. If the disciples had grasped the unity of Jesus and the Father, not only would they know the way, but they would enter into that relationship. In turn, their relationship with the Father through the Son, would empower them not only to do the works that Jesus had done, but even greater works! It was no wonder that the disciples were overwhelmed.

The first 6 verses of this chapter are regularly chosen as the reading for a funeral. Those who are grieving find comfort and reassurance in the knowledge that Jesus has gone ahead to prepare a place for us. However, if we leave it there and don’t explore the wider context, we miss the point of this and the subsequent passages. That is to say Jesus might have announced his departure and reassured the disciples of his return, but he is not preparing his disciples for death. He is equipping them for life. Jesus’ death will not be the end of the disciples’ life together, it will herald a new chapter in the life of the community, a life, we will discover that is enlivened and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Chapter 14 begins what is known as Jesus’ ‘farewell speech’. A farewell speech was a well-known literary genre in the Old Testament and in the Graeco-Roman world. It “highlighted the speaker’s impending death, care of those remaining, the regulation of discipleship, thanks to the gods, an accounting for his life, consolation to an inner-circles of followers, didactic speeches and political and philosophical testaments” . There was a great deal of variation in content and expression. For example, Deuteronomy in its entirety is Moses’ farewell speech. He recounts the escape from Egypt; reminds the Israelites of their covenant relationship with Yahweh, the responsibilities that that entails and the consequences of failing to live up to Yahweh’s expectations. In Genesis the final chapters record Jacob’s farewell speech to his sons which takes the form of a blessing for each one of them.

In John’s gospel Jesus’ farewell speech prepares his disciples for the future. He tells them that he is going away, promises that he will send the Holy Spirit, encourages them to love one another (to the point of death) and to be strong in the face of opposition. Jesus’ words were not intended to provide comfort for the dying or the grieving but instruction for the living. It is Jesus who is dying, not those to whom he is speaking. He does not want the disciples to put their lives on hold waiting for his return or for their own deaths. Rather his expectation is that their relationship with him – and by extension with the Father – will ensure that even in his absence they will continue to do what he has done and to do much more besides.

Jesus begins his speech with the words: “Do not let your hearts be troubled”, words that he repeats towards the end of the chapter. “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Jesus’ words could not be any more pertinent in today’s climate. In recent weeks we, and the community around us have lived with uncertainty, anxiety and perhaps even with fear of death or the loss of a loved. Even now, as the restrictions are being lifted, we do not have a clear road map of the way ahead or of what the world will look like. Some things will never be the same and we will not know the true cost to the community for some years.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Faith in Jesus enables us to face the present with resilience, confidence and even, dare I say, a sense of wonder as to what this time of seclusion might have had to teach us and the church of which we are a part. As we begin to come out of isolation to a future that is as yet unknown, we do well to remember that Jesus is “the way, the truth and the life” and that in fellowship with him we can and will face whatever it is that life has to throw at us.

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Together on the road

April 25, 2020

Easter 3 – 2020

Luke 24:13-35

Marian Free

In the name of God who walks beside us on the road. Amen.

The story of the road to Emmaus is one of my favourite Easter stories. Luke’s retelling captures my imagination and I feel as if I am walking with Cleopas and his companion (his wife?) trying to work out what had happened over the past few days. Even though I know the end of the story, I am caught up in their grief and confusion, their intrigue as to who the stranger might be and finally in their recognition of Jesus. As Luke tells the story, I am there on the road and at the table. I don’t immediately recognise who it is beside me but on reflection realise that I had known it was Jesus all along.

Cleopas and his companion were not Galileans (as were the twelve) so they had probably not accompanied Jesus to Jerusalem. Their hopes and expectations about Jesus were almost certainly based on their experiences during his week in the city. Along with many others, they would have been caught up in the excitement surrounding Jesus, impressed by his teaching and filled with the hope that he was the one who was to come. Jesus’ crucifixion and death had thrown all this into question, yet it seems that they had not completely lost hope but had waited in Jerusalem to see if he would be raised as he had predicted. (“It has been three days,” Cleopas says.)

Otherwise, why would they have lingered? Emmaus was only a couple of hours walk away and there was no need to remain in the city once the Passover festivities were over. Indeed, it might have been dangerous to stay if they could have been identified as followers of Jesus. Yet, they had remained.

It is clear that they had heard reports that morning, that the tomb had been found empty by the women (something that had been verified by Peter). They may have been reminded, as the women were, that Jesus would rise on the third day. This would explain why they delayed going home, leaving Jerusalem mid-afternoon instead of in the cool of the morning. If Jesus was alive (as the angels had said), surely they would hear of it and be able to see him for themselves. Finally, they can wait no longer and with heavy hearts they begin the journey home.

Even so, they cannot stop thinking about the events of the past few days. As they walk, they are absorbed in conversation, analysing what has happened, trying to make sense of it all and wondering how they could have been so mistaken as to think that this man who was crucified was the one sent by God to save them. It is no wonder that they do not recognise Jesus when he comes alongside them. Presumably they imagine that he is just another pilgrim returning home from the festival and they don’t pay him much attention. They were certainly not expecting to see Jesus. Three days had passed, and he hadn’t been seen alive and, if he was alive, there would have been no reason for them to have expected him to leave Jerusalem at least not without his disciples. What is more, Cleopas and friend may never have seen Jesus without the crowds and may never have had a close enough look to recognise him in the absence of his friends.

Never-the-less, they expect this stranger to be a mind-reader and they jump to the conclusion that if he had been in Jerusalem he must certainly be as concerned about the recent events as they were. Interestingly, though they are surprised at Jesus’ apparent ignorance, they are not at all surprised that he should have such a good grasp of scriptures and that he should be able to explain and to interpret Jesus’ death.

We are not told whether or not Jesus’ words convinced them that the Christ had to die, or whether his explanation provided them any comfort. After all, the stranger had not told them that Jesus was alive only that the Christ had to suffer and then enter his glory. The stranger’s interpretation might have gone some way in explaining the events of the past few days, but it will have told them nothing about the present or the future or the impact that Jesus would have on their lives or on the lives of others who had believed in him. They might have wondered what use was a Christ who died and entered his glory and how was it possible that  such a Christ could change anything and would that Christ make any difference in the long term or would he be, as he seemed, just a moment in history.

Cleopas and friend are still confused when they reach their home, but their sense of hospitality will not allow the stranger to continue his journey in the dark. They invite him to stay with them. At the meal table the stranger “took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them”. In so doing he was repeating the actions of Jesus at the Last Supper when he took bread, blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples. Only then do the two really see the stranger, and seeing him, recognise him and, recognising him, realise that they knew who he was all along.

In difficult and uncertain times, we too get caught up and become self-absorbed in our own troubles. We try to figure things out for ourselves, wonder what has happened and worry about the future. We can forget that Jesus is always with us, and often, it is only with hindsight that we understand that he has been walking beside us all the way.

It is now a full month since our last service together in the church and we have no idea when the lock-down will end or what the future will look like. As we travel our own paths in these strange times, let us pray that we will be attentive to the presence of Jesus, open to all that this experience has to teach us and eager to share with each other what we have learned when we are together again.

 

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