FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER A

[cappie]

God gives us precisely what we need for this moment and for all time because God gives us a person and makes us into a people. All of our Readings today bear witness to this assurance, this place to get a foothold, this pledge of security no matter what.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life,” says Jesus. With Jesus, we have sure footing. With Jesus, there is a way forward. We may not see the next step, but he does, and if we stay close, follow him, and depend on him, we can move forward undergirded by the unmovable, unshakeable, unshifting ground that supports us, the guide that won’t leave us, the God who won’t lose us.

Jesus assures us that if we know him, we know the one he calls Father. What does this tell us about God? The God we know in Jesus Christ became flesh and dwelt among us, made a home among the poor, cared for the sick, lived humbly, fed the hungry, blessed children, washed the feet of his disciples, wept at the death of his friend, promised that death will not be victorious, met his disciples even when they had isolated themselves in an upper room, went ahead to prepare a place for us, and will come and take us to himself, that where he is, we may be also. God is with us, even in our vulnerability, our uncertainty, our flailing and failing and fear. Reach out, here is God. Take a step forward on the way. Our footing is sure. The path holds. The way leads to life.

 “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Keep going.  You cannot get lost. God won’t let you go. Jesus offers assurance that following him is the way to know God, the way to an abundant life, the way to peace and joy, no matter our circumstances. Following Jesus is not crazy, a waste of time, or a dead-end road. Jesus is the way. Stay on the path and keep going. God gives us a way that is steadfast when all feels like sinking sand, a truth that is certain when all feels slippery, a life that is assured when all is shifting because God gives us a person, Jesus, to be the Way for us.

 God gives us a person and makes us into a people. “Come to [Jesus],  the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him; set yourselves close to him so that you too, the holy priesthood that offers the spiritual sacrifices which Jesus Christ has made acceptable to God, may be living stones making a spiritual house.”

On Jesus as our foundation stone, chosen and precious in God’s sight, God makes us into a people, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, a dwelling place for God, a place from which and in which God works and is worshipped, made of living stones.

This spiritual house is both solid and dynamic. It’s tougher than concrete, yet life-giving. It’s more lasting than granite, yet nimble. It’s stronger than marble, yet supple, and more gorgeous than anything that can be carved from dead rock, even by the most talented human artist. This temple made of living stones—us, people of God, called and loved and gathered, and built up together by God, even when we are physically apart—is a wonder. In making us into a building God sustains through all time and space, spanning and including all generations of the faithful, God is not granting certainty at the price of stagnation. We are not just holding it all together—don’t move a muscle, if we all just stay still, encase it in concrete, we’ll be fine. No. This temple of living stones, built on Christ the sure foundation, is dependable but creative, just like the God in whose image we are made. Living and life-giving. Tough, tenacious, true, together.

 The reliability of Jesus, Jesus’ love, Jesus’ care for us forever is not provisional, temporary, unknowable. It cannot be cancelled, doesn’t need to be rescheduled. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Rock-solid. God is our rock, a strong castle to keep us safe, our crag and our stronghold. Jesus Christ is the unshakeable, firm foundation on which we are being built into a temple made of living stones.

 

[BarbTherese]

54 minutes ago, cappie said:

.................“Come to [Jesus],  the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him;....................made of living stones.

Thanks heaps!  Another metaphor that puzzled me, now interpreted for me.