Easter 3 “Garden Walk: The Path”
May 1st, 2022 – John 14:6
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” John 14:6
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Risen Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
He is Risen!
God has made a decision. God has made a decision about you. He has decided to be your God and has decided to call you to follow Him on His path.
Today, in the middle of Easter, is a special Saint’s day. Today, we look to the work of God in the lives of two apostles.
We look to St. Philip and St. James.
Jesus called St. Philip and St. James to follow Him, in His path, as they were going about their business. Who were these two? Not much is known about them really, other than what we know about all the apostles together.
They were called by Jesus, and they brought others to follow Him too. They witnessed miraculous things and enjoyed being in the presence of Jesus learning from Him and witnessing to His resurrection.
Something I want us to focus on today is the idea of a “path.”
“Path”, as we look at the Hebrew concept of it, is something that is regularly walked on. For us, perhaps road or highway is more fitting for us to connect with.
Either way you think of it in your everyday life, Jesus is telling us something profound in His statement in the Gospel this morning. He says “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
What does this mean to you? How do you understand it?
There is a massive metaphor, or a theme, that runs through all Scripture. Almost like the chorus of a song that keeps coming back up.
That chorus is the constant demand from God, through prophets or directly, to “walk” in the right paths. Take just the book of Psalms for example. Whether it is the paths of the righteous, as in Psalm 1, or paths of righteousness, as in Psalm 23, or a path of his commands as in Psalm 119, God is calling His people to walk in paths.
What is He asking?
Here’s the imagery for you to consider. A path that is travelled, walked, or driven, takes action to get on. God is asking you to get on a certain course.
It also takes actions to stay on and keep travelling down. God’s asking you to journey down a certain course of action from its start to finish.
As many of you know, many paths, whether your drive to church or work, or your walk from the bedroom to the kitchen can often become automatic. In our mind, we would say neural ‘path’ways have developed from regular use so the journey becomes almost automatic.
Unfortunately, bad habits are pathways we have journeyed so often they are like ruts we get stuck in and barrel down a bad path that hurt ourselves or others in big or small ways.
Like St. Philip and St. James who were minding their business and were called by Jesus God has also called you from your life. He has called you to walk in His path of righteousness that leads to eternal life. He is calling you to walk in a path that leads to eternal life instead of the pathways you are currently travelling on that lead to judgement and death. He’s calling you to repent – to turn around – and walk in His path.
His pathway is starting righteous and good actions, as defined by the 10 Commandments, and see them through to their end. Have no other gods but Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, don’t misuse His reputation, don’t neglect the Sabbath by missing church and leaving reading His Word unread. And that is just the start. Love your neighbour too as He asks. Obey your parents and other authorities at every age, do not hate, hurt, or murder, do not commit adultery or live a sexually indecent life in what you say and do, do not steal or make anyone’s gifts from God less, do not do damage to someone’s reputation, do not desire other’s people or possessions more than the ones God has given in your life.
Follow these. Walk in this path.
The slightest angle changes off the path and you’ll end in the ditch and slam into Hell instead of Heaven.
This is God’s path. It is the only truth. The only way to eternal life. It is the only way.
Which for you and me ought to be crushing. It ought to be a burden. It ought to make us give up and look out for number one instead of even trying to be righteous… because we’ve already hit the ditch a long time ago and have no way of getting back on to the path.
Even practicing one of the commandments to try to be saved would be like trying to stay dry in the middle of the ocean by wearing a pair of rubber boots. You’re going to be wet.
God’s Command to walk in His path with these Ten Commands just tell us we’re already dead in the water.
Then, we go back to Jesus. God-come-to-earth. In the context of this need to walk in God’s path, of this crushingly perfect demand, Jesus says “I AM the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” When Jesus says “no one comes to the Father except through me” it’s less of a command and more of a stating of the obvious. In case we were still stuck thinking some could come to the Father by walking in the paths of righteousness, Jesus puts that one to bed like an over-tired screaming toddler. “NO ONE comes to the Father except through me.”
The good news in Jesus’ words here lie in what He is claiming to be. He is claiming to not just be able to walk the path, but He literally IS the path. He IS the only path that leads to God. He is the only path that leads to heaven, real truth, and eternal life.
How do we walk in Him? If he is the path of righteousness, how do we, get on, walk, do, attain…?
Jesus simply calls. He calls in His grace, in His Word. Like He called St. Philip and St. James. He attaches us to Himself in His baptism and ours in Him. He grafts us on to Himself. The Pathway itself.
Jesus is like an escalator that, as soon as you heard of His rescue mission for you, He plopped you on the bottom of and those steps have carried you the whole way.
You have already been rescued. Christ-in-You has already taken you with Him up to the Father in Heaven.
The path you now walk, is Christ. You walk in salvation. Through Christ, you already are as good as in that Garden with Him.
So, brothers and sisters in Him, be glad! Rejoice! Sing to Him! Walk in the New Life you have been given! Walk in the paths of righteousness He leads you in. Walk in Christ’s Path, which for you, is resting in the fruits of His forgiveness in the Church. Eating and Drinking with Him and all the saints in Heaven and on earth. Being daily washed in the water of your baptism. Confessing and receiving forgiveness in His name.
The true garden path of righteousness.
In Jesus name.