Sermon from The Very Rev Chris Yaw, 5/3/2026, Easter 5
Lessons: John 14:1-14
Good Morning Saints!
We are gathered here on this fifth Sunday of Easter, under the watchful eye of Almighty God,
to consider a passage of Scripture that is as vast as the plains and as intimate as a fireside chat in the dark of night.
In reading it I find myself transported, in mind if not in body, to a rugged stretch of road-Route 2, cutting its way into the heart of Ohio-which I traversed in the vigor of my youth.
There, amidst the lonely sprawl, stood a sentinel of commerce, general store!
that bore a proclamation so audacious, so quintessentially human,
that it remains etched upon my memory: here’s what the signs said:
"Snow Cones, Cheese, Chain Saws, Shotguns".
What a staggering assembly!
A collection of the essential and the eccentric, the sweet and the sharp,
the domestic and the defensive, all huddled beneath a single roof.
It was a testament to the chaotic, marvelous variety of life.
And I tell you, my friends, the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John is much the same.
It is a Great Assembly of ideas - vital, varied, and waiting for us to take the measure of their steel – so let’s give it a start, shall we?
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Let’s begin with a phrase that has echoed through the vaulted ceilings of cathedrals and been whispered in the quiet desperation of the sickbed: you guys know it well:
"Do not let your hearts be troubled".
Now, there are those who treat this as a dry command,
a stern order from a commanding officer to "stiff up the upper lip".
But I say to you, look at the context!
Look at the man who spoke it.
Only moments before, Peter was fretting like a nervous sentry about the departure of his Leader.
Jesus speaks these words not as a General issuing a decree,
but as a shepherd offering pastoral care.
He comforts us because He knows—He knows in His very marrow—what it is to be worried.
Lest we forget, John tells us that Jesus Himself was "troubled in spirit" at the mere thought of the treachery afoot in Judas at the Last Supper, just 9 verses before this one.
He was so moved by the passing of a friend that He wept openly at Lazarus’s grave.
He was even then preparing to go to the Garden of Gethsemane, to fall upon His knees in an agony of soul and plead that the cup might pass from Him.
If the Son of Man knew a troubled heart, then your anxiety, my friends, is no sin.
Your worry is not a defect of faith; your heavy heart is not a mark of weakness.
It is the honorable scar of being human in a world that is, for the moment, broken.
When He says, "Do not let your hearts be troubled,"
it is not a military order; it is a hand upon your shoulder in the trenches.
It is a voice through the fog saying,
"The world is shaking, but I am standing right here. Lean into me.”
It is the voice of a mother after a fall, a father after a failure,
a comrade who stays when the shells are falling.
We are not alone, no matter what you are facing this morning – Jesus says: and all shall be well, all shall be well – in all manner of things, all shall be well.
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Then, we come to the matter of the "mansions".
Our friends who translated the King James Bible - perhaps some of Fr. Steve was there – or at least one of his ancestors - chose a grand word.
It has led us to believe that Heaven is a sort of gated community,
a collection of five-thousand-square-foot villas with a view of the Crystal Sea.
But I invite you to look closer at the map.
The word is "place".
"I go to prepare a place for you".
In our modern tongue, we speak of "place" not just as a coordinate on a map, but as a state of the soul.
We speak of being in a "dark place" or a "good place".
When the sun hits the mountains just right on a long journey, we feel we are in the "right place".
Perhaps the Great Carpenter is not concerned with drywall and gold leaf.
Perhaps He is preparing a state of being where we are finally, irrevocably at home.
A place where the masks of duty and the armor of reputation can be cast aside.
A place of Shalom.
Eternal life, as Jesus tells us in John’s 17th chapter, is not a pension that begins after we retire from this life; It is a gift held in the present because we know Him.
It is the courage to "accept our acceptance".
It is easier, I know, to try and earn our way, to rack up merits like medals on a chest.
But the invitation is to a place where the earning stops and the being begins.
How are you more about ‘being’ than ‘doing’ today?
How are you doing with accepting your acceptance?##
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And then, we encounter Thomas - brave, literal, questioning Thomas.
"Lord," he says, "we have no map, no address.
“How can we know the way?".
And Jesus delivers the ultimate proclamation:
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life".
For too long, small-minded men have used this verse as a weapon, a "Keep Out" sign for the rest of humanity. They use it to condemn millions who have never heard the Name.
But we must ask: Who is this Jesus?.
If God is Love - and the Scriptures are quite clear on that point - and if Jesus is the perfect image of God, then Jesus is Love in a body.
He is Love walking the dusty roads, Love dining with the outcast,
Love washing the feet of the very man who would sell Him for silver.
If you substitute "Love" for "Jesus," the sentence becomes a clarion call:
"Love is the way. Love is the truth. Love is the life".
This does not diminish our Lord; it defines Him.
It means that whenever a soul moves toward Love, they are moving toward the Nazarene,
whether they recognize His face or not.
The "Way" is not a theological checklist or a secret password whispered at a gate.
It is a Person whose entire existence was defined by radical, boundary-crossing, self-giving love.
If our faith is to survive the tempests of the next hundred years,
it will not be because we won a debate or captured a legislature.
It will be because we chose to follow "The Way".
We must make Love our default setting - not merely for those who agree with us, but as our fundamental posture toward all mankind.
A clever nun went through her life by just one axiom: “I’m not here to judge, I’m here to love.”
How does this wisdom speak to you this morning?
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Next, we hear the startling promise that we shall do "greater works" than Jesus.
Now, let us not be led astray by the charlatans who promise private jets and magical cures.
Let us use our common sense.
In the Greek, "greater" speaks of scale - the multiplication of the mission.
In His earthly ministry, Jesus was one man, limited by the physics of a human frame in first-century Palestine.
He could be in but one village at a time.
He fed five thousand;
He healed hundreds.
But look at the world today!
Because of the "Way," there are thousands of hospitals.
Millions are fed through global relief and humble food pantries.
Social workers, nurses, and teachers labor in every corner of this earth to liberate the oppressed.
These are the "greater works".
It is the Church acting as the Body of Christ across the span of the globe.
When you volunteer,
when you advocate for a neighbor,
when you comfort the bereaved,
you are a ripple from the stone Jesus threw into the pond.
The cornerstone upon which the entire edifice is built!
Our task is not to be the stone,
but to keep the ripples moving until they reach the furthest shore.
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Finally, we address the matter of asking "in my name".
This is perhaps the most misapplied verse in the entire New Testament.
It is not a magic spell to secure a parking spot or a winning lottery ticket.
To act "in the name" of another is to conduct their business,
to represent their character and their interests.
If I enter a room in the name of the King,
I am there to do the King’s business, not to satisfy my own appetites.
To pray "in Jesus' name" is a filter for the soul.
If we pray for revenge, for vanity, or for power to look down upon others,
we are merely using His signature on our own selfish drafts.
True prayer is the alignment of our hearts with the Heart of Love.
It is asking for what God already desires:
healing for the sick, justice for the poor, and peace for the troubled.
When we pray thus, we are ambassadors of the Kingdom,
asking for the King’s business to be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Now I realize that many of us pray for an end to wars, the cessation of poverty,
and the downfall of despots – And we hang our heads in frustration as these calls go unanswered.
But we keep at it because we know that God’s delay is not God’s denial – and that the fervent prayers of the righteous – for the right things – has a mystical effect –
As those petitions arise to the One who taught us, ‘thy will be done.’
So we trust that amidst our unknowing, there is One who does know –
and who urges desperate and unanswered prayer
even after experiencing the very same in that Garden atop Mount Olivet:
So whatever you are facing today – don’t quit.
Don’t give up.
Be steadfast.
Persevere.
Moving closer to God is always the favored alternative.##
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So, where does this leave us, Saints of St. David’s?
It leaves us with a choice and an aspiration.
Dear Saints –
Becoming better friends with God must be our goal - and our goal for the world.
It’s a world that’s being served all sorts of strange and poisonous brew about who Jesus is and what he stands for –
Which is why you and I must go! Must go with ambition and intensity - to engage with a world that awaits a version of Christianity that looks like Jesus.
Let us charge forth and show it to them.
Amen.