Pastoral Letter 164
Dear Members of St. Andrew’s Uniting Church, Friends and Adherents,
Grace and Peace to you all.
I hope you are all doing well.
We are already in the fifth Sunday after Easter and soon we will celebrate Ascension and Pentecost, when we will recall the story of Jesus ascending to heaven to be our Advocate with God and to send the Holy Spirit, as He had promised. Pentecost is the day when the Church was established by the coming of the Spirit and the power of God, to represent and to be the body of Christ and we, the members in this world until He comes back. So, as Lent was a time of self-examination and preparation for the Holy Week, Crucifixion and the glorious Resurrection, these seven weeks is a time of preparation to welcome the Holy Spirit to be the source of our strength and inspiration to do what it is expected from us, from the church, to do. Let’s look forward to that day with great hope and anticipation.
This Sunday,7 May 2023 at 12:00noon after church service and Morning Tea, we are having our Mother’s Day Fellowship Lunch, which has been our tradition for the last several years. We will sit at the tables, enjoy the lunch and spend some time together. As always, we will have something to give to the mothers to appreciate them saying thank you for all they do and find out who will be the Lucky Mother and the Special Mum of 2023. I am sure we will have a great time together. And then the following Sunday, on Mother’s Day, we will celebrate Mother’s Day with our families.
If you will not be able to be with us tomorrow morning Worship and Communion Service, please light a candle, have a small roll of bread and a small cup of wine or juice, and join us following the attached Order of Service.
Be safe and well, continue to pray, remembering those who need care, support and love. Please let me know if you or anyone else has prayer points.
Here are some prayer points for this week:
- Pray for the newly coronated monarch, King Charles seeking God’s blessing and wisdom.
- Pray for the people of Ukraine, Armenia and Artsakh.
- Pray for the poor, the sick, the vulnerable, the struggling and the stressed.
- Pray for those who are unwell and struggling with different kinds of medical issues.
- Pray for those who are facing natural disasters causing death, loss and pain.
- Pray for world peace and ask for God’s blessings.
- Pray for those who have lost dear ones, seeking the comfort of the Spirit.
Please let me know if you or anyone else has prayer points.
Best Regards,
Krikor
MESSAGE
The Way, the Truth and the Life
John 14:1-14 1 Peter 2:2-10
Jesus told the disciples many times where He was going, but they never understood Him.
He said earlier in John 7:33, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me”.
He clearly and in simple words said that He was going to the Father who sent Him and with whom He was One. Still, they did not understand Him. Even they did not understand the means or the way by which He was going back to the Father. He was going to the Father by His cross.
The disciples were confused, as we are confused about so many things that are happening in our lives today.
But one of them named Thomas was sincere enough to express his confusion. He never tried to pretend that he had understood everything that was going to happen and later happened during the final week of Jesus’ ministry when He was captured, crucified and later rose again. He was honest enough to express his thought and the doubts he had. He wanted to be sure about the events that were happening and were to happen. He openly proclaimed that he failed to understand. And this doubt and desire to fully understand gave the opportunity to Christ to say one of His greatest statements.
No one should be ashamed if he or she has doubts. It is a real blessing that whoever seeks will find.
Hence Jesus said to Thomas: “I am the way, the truth and the life”.
This is a profound statement for us. But it is even more profound for a Jew who heard this statement for the first time.
In this statement Jesus took three major ideas from the Jewish Religion and made a powerful declaration that these three things find their complete meaning in Him.
1. The Way
Jews talked about the way in which people are supposed to walk. This was the way of God which was heard truth for the Jewish people.
We read in Deuteronomy 5:32-33: “So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess”.
Moses said to the people: “For I know that after my death you are sure to become utterly corrupt and to turn from the way I have commanded you. In days to come, disaster will fall on you because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord and arouse his anger by what your hands have made”. (Deuteronomy 31:29)
In Isaiah we read: “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it”. (Isaiah 30:21)
And for the new land it is said: “And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.” (Isaiah 35:8)
The one who walks in the way will not be lost.
David prays saying teach me your ways: “Teach me your way, O Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.” (Psalm 27:11)
Therefore, the Jews knew much about the Way of the Lord, in which man was supposed to walk faithfully.
And here Jesus says: “I am the way”.
What did He mean?
Imagine that you are in foreign city and asked someone for direction and he says: “Take the first right, then take left, keep straight after the roundabout, pass by the church, take the second left and the street you are looking for will be the fourth on the left”. I am sure after few turns you will be lost. But imagine if the person says: “Come, I will take to the place you want to go”. In this case he becomes the way and we can reach our destination.
That’s what Jesus means and does for us. He holds our hands and leads us on the way. He strengthens us and personally leads us every day. He does not talk to us about the way. He is the Way.
2. The Truth
He said: “I am the truth”.
David says in the Psalms:
“Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” (Psalm 86:11)
“I have chosen the way of truth (faithfulness); I have set my heart on your laws”. (Psalm 119:30)
Many have told us the truth, but no one has been able to live it. Even the best teacher sometimes has failed to live out what he or she had taught. One could teach morality, but at the same time fail to live it and be a living example to his or her students.
Everyone can teach ethics. But to live it is totally different. It is easy to teach about principles but to live according to them is difficult. No one has ever done this beside Christ. Many could say that they have taught, but only Jesus can say: “I am the truth”.
It is not only that the teaching of moral perfection reaches its climax, but the application of the moral perfection finds it realisation in Him.
3. The life
Jesus said: “I am the Life”.
Solomon says: “For this command is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and correction and instruction are the way to life”. (Proverbs 6:23)
Again, Solomon says: “Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.” (Proverbs 10:17)
And David says: “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” (Psalm 16:11)
We all seek life. It is a wish to have a good life full of blessings and well-being.
A novel writer puts the following words of love in the mouth of the hero of his novel:
“I never knew what life was until I saw it in your eyes”. What an affectionate expression.
It is clear that love has brought life. That’s what Jesus does. Life is in Him; the real life.
There is only one way to put all this together. “No one can go to the Father without me”.
He is the Way to God. Only in Him we can see who God is.
Seeing God is seeing the truth. Jesus said, whoever saw me, saw God, for I am in my Father and my Father is in me. Those who saw Jesus saw God and when Jesus says I am the truth, He is referring to God as the true God.
Only He can lead us into God’s presence without fear or shame.
Whoever is with Him, has life and more abundant life. That was the promise given by God to us, life with and through Jesus. For God so loved the world that He gave his son, whoever believes in Him has eternal life.
He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Amen!