Easter 5 Sermon

By Reverend David Paton Williams

Imagine for a moment you are climbing a mountain, enjoying the spectacular views. But then suddenly the cloud descends and you can barely see a few feet in front of you. Its cold, damp and a little bit scary. Will you find your way safely to the top, and back down again?
 
But then out of the mist emerges a great pile of stones 
- a cairn - and you heave a sigh of relief.
 
In an instant you know that you are not lost, you know that others have been this way before you and that you are
on the right path. You press on and before long you find another cairn marking the path. It is like a giant signpost that says "This is the way. Don't worry, keep going."
 
Well, sometimes walking the way of faith can be like that. 
"I am the Way" says Jesus. And before it was known 
as the Church, one of the earliest names for the people 
who followed Jesus was "The Way".
We see it called that later on in the book of Acts.
 
It was a movement of people who were on a journey
- living life the way they had seen it lived by Jesus 
in faith and hope and love.
 
But, as the community got larger, the needs of the more vulnerable members, like the widows, were in danger of being neglected. So the apostles chose seven others to make sure that no one missed out. I suppose you could liken them to 1st century food bank volunteers, hough they were also involved in preaching and teaching.
They were servant leaders just like Jesus.
But although many of their Jewish brothers and sisters were joining them "on the Way", the religious leaders were not happy. 
and tensions were growing. And those tensions turned to outright hostility when one of the seven, called, Stephen was accused of attacking the Law of Moses and the Temple and hewas hauled in front of the Sanhedrin, the council of leaders.
 
The early Christians were a close knit community, supporting and encouraging each other. But now Stephen was alone. 
And no one had ever walked this way before. 
There had been Jewish martyrs certainly 
- but no one had been on trial for their faith in Jesus before. 
 
Since then it has happened countless times, but those people 
have at least had the example of others to help them 
- the cairn of faithful Christians to follow. 
But not Stephen - he was alone on the mountain, 
which must have taken enormous courage and faith.
 
And so Stephen looks to Jesus - indeed he has a vision of him. And as he is being stoned to death he prays what Jesus prayed when he was dying - asking for forgiveness for his executioners and finally handing over his spirit. 
He follows the way of Jesus right to the end.
Although note that while Jesus prayed those prayers to his heavenly Father, Stephen prays them to Jesus.
 
So already - long before any doctrine of Christ's divinity has been thrashed out by the Church - Jesus and the Father are seen as almost inseparable. Just as in John's gospel, Jesus says that whoever has seen him has seen the Father.
 
In a modern phrase, he was the human face of God. 
Or drawing on John's prologue - where it says that Jesus was in the bosom of the Father - we could say that Jesus was the human heart of God. He made the unseen but 
ever-present love of God visible in a new, truer, living way. Embodying it in all that he was and did.
 
So Jesus could say that he was "the Way" to the Father.
Last week we heard of the Good Shepherd who not only led his flock out of the sheepfold, but was also the Gate they passed through. Similarly, Jesus says that he leads them 
by example on the path, but he is also the Way itself. 
 
But we need to be careful here - especially with the words that follow - "no one comes to the Father except by me", which sound so exclusive.
 
Firstly, the context is that Jesus is about to leave his followers, and they are feeling lost and scared. 
So Jesus isn't thinking about people following other faiths - he is speaking words of reassurance, that although 
his followers may not be able to see him any longer 
he will still be with them on the journey - indeed he will be the way itself. They won't get lost. All will be well.
 
And John's prologue tells us that the one who speaks these words is none other than the Eternal Word, the Cosmic Christ, who gives life to all things and light to all people. 
 
So how could he exclude anyone who seeks and responds to the light of God in loving and sincere ways, 
whatever their culture or tradition?
And yet, if Jesus is showing us the loving heart of God, 
then this is something very special, even unique. 
Jesus opens the way to a deeper, personal relationship 
with the Father, founded on total love and trust
- just like the one that was the bedrock of his own life.
 
So where does that leave us? Well, we are people on the way. 
We are still on the journey, we haven't got there yet. 
We are still exploring, finding our way, trying things out, 
making mistakes. 
 
But being on the way means we find so many helpful markers and pointers - among our fellow travellers in the church, 
and in the goodness of God that we find
in so many other people and the natural world. 
 
We find these pointers in the riches of our tradition- in art, music, hymnody, poetry and writings. We find them of course throughout our scriptures. We find them in all the things of wisdom, beauty and goodness - because they are infused with the Cosmic Christ who gives life and light - from whom we can never be separated if we travel in love and sincerity.
 
He is Truth, he is Life - again in a generous and inclusive way. So wherever we find these we find Christ. So don't be afraid he says. I am the way - follow me in my way of living,my way of loving and trusting God, even my way of dying
and you won't go too far wrong.
 
And while you are at it, you will be laying another stone on the cairns along the path;helping those around you and maybe those who come after you, to walk the Way of Christ as well.