Soul

Scripture: John 14:1-7

Structure:

• Introduction
• Jesus connects the physical with the spiritual
• Jesus is the way, the truth and the life
• Jesus is the soul of creation
• Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Blood vessels are extremely important. Blood vessels include things like arteries, veins and capillaries. They transport blood cells, nutrients and oxygen throughout the human body. They also remove waste and carbon dioxide. Blood vessels connect the different parts of the body. We need blood vessels to sustain life.

Blood vessels look a bit like tree roots and they are the source of healing. For example, if you have an infection in your leg, then you need blood vessels to bring anti-bodies to the wound site to fight the infection. Without blood vessels there is no blood flow and therefore no healing and no life. Jesus is a bit like the blood vessel system for humanity.

Today we conclude our sermon series on the I am sayings of Jesus in the gospel of John. Jesus uses a number of I am statements to describe himself. These sayings tell us about Jesus’ being, his identity.

Please turn with me to John chapter 14, page 137 toward the back of your pew Bibles. Last week we heard how Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. This morning we hear how Jesus says to his disciples: I am the way, the truth and the life. The main point here is that Jesus connects us with God, the source of life. From John 14, verses 1-7 we read…

“Do not be worried and upset,” Jesus told them. “Believein God and believe also in me. ² There are many rooms in my Father’s house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would not tell you this if it were not so. ³ And after I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to myself, so that you will be where I am. ⁴ You know the way that leads to the place where I am going.”

⁵ Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going; so how can we know the way to get there?”

⁶ Jesus answered him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me. ⁷ Now that you have known me,” he said to them, “you will knowmy Father also, and from now on you do know him and you have seen him.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Jesus connects the physical with the spiritual:

A yacht moves by harnessing the power of the wind. Which means, for a yacht to truly be called a yacht, it must have a mast and sails. The mast and sails are really the soul of the yacht because they create the harness of a meaningful connection with the wind.  Without the mast and sails the boat is just a raft, floating lifeless on the water.

In this morning’s reading from John 14, Jesus is talking with his disciples on the eve of his crucifixion and death. He has told the disciples he must die and they are distraught. They have formed a close bond with Jesus after following him all this time. They love him and now he is talking about leaving.

What will this mean for them? They have given up everything to be with Jesus. I suppose they must have felt a bit like sailors on the open sea being told they were about to lose their mast and sails. Or they may have felt like a patient in a hospital being told the blood vessels in their leg were so damaged that the blood flow had ceased and the leg would have to be amputated.

Jesus senses their distress and reassures them that his death does not spell the end. His going away will not sever the bond between them. Jesus is going to prepare a place for his disciples. Not just any old place but a room in God’s house. That means Jesus’ departure from this world is actually a good thing for his disciples because he is creating a permanent and secure connection for them with God the Father.

Jesus is talking here about the connection he creates between the physical world and the spiritual realm, through his death, resurrection and ascension to heaven.

Thomas, one of the disciples, doesn’t understand Jesus’ meaning and he is too honest to pretend otherwise. He says, “Lord, we do not know where you are going; so how can we know the way to get there?” 

The blood in our body does not need to know where to go. As long as the blood remains inside the blood vessel (inside the vein or the artery) it will end up where it needs to be. It is the same with us. As long as we remain in Christ, we will end up where we need to be; with God in the heavenly realm.

And so Jesus says to Thomas (and to us), “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me.

Trying to go to God the Father without Jesus is like trying to cross the ocean in a yacht without a sail and a mast. Or it’s like a single blood cell trying to reach the heart without being in a vein. 

The way, the truth and the life:

Now those three terms, the way, the truth and the life, need a little bit of explanation.

When we hear the word way, we might think method. This is the way (or the method by which) you cook a steak. This is the way you fold a fitted sheet. Or this is the way you parent a child. Jesus does give us a method for living. Jesus does show us the way to be human. Christ shows us how to face the difficulties of this world and the limitations of our humanity, with faith.

But Jesus has more in mind than a mere method for living when he talks about being the way. Jesus is saying he is the pathway to God the Father. He is the pilot boat who guides the ship of humanity to the harbour of heaven. He is the blood vessel who carries us to the heart of the Father. He is the mast and sails who harnesses us to the wind of God’s Spirit.

Jesus is the way in the sense that he connects the physical world with the spiritual realm. Jesus connects us to God. This is what Jesus is getting at in verse 7 when he says: Now that you have known me, you will knowmy Father also, and from now on you do know him and you have seen him.”

When we hear the word truth, we tend think facts and figures and abstract philosophical statements. The sun always rises in the east. There are 1000 millilitres in a litre. A square has four sides. The Nile is the longest river in the world. Jesus is the Son of God. All these statements are true but I think Jesus meant something more when he said, ‘I am the truth’.

If you have to jump out of an aeroplane then you need a parachute and you want to know the parachute is true; that it will work and save you. Likewise, if you have to abandon ship in the middle of the ocean then you need a life boat or at least a life jacket. And you want to know the life boat is true; that it won’t sink and the life jacket will support you.

Or if you are sick and the doctor makes a diagnosis and prescribes some medicine, you want to know the qualifications hanging on the wall are true and that the doctor knows what he or she is doing.   

When Jesus said, ‘I am the truth’, he meant, ‘I am the real deal.’ Jesus is completely trustworthy and reliable. He is who he says he is and he will accomplish what he promises to do. He will return for us and bring us home to God our Father.

Remember, in this context, the disciples are upset. They are worried and anxious about the future. They don’t need cold facts or heavy doctrinal statements at this point. They need a warm commitment from Jesus, something they can hold on to. Something that will support them, like a properly functioning parachute or life jacket. They need to know that Jesus, the good doctor, is prescribing the right treatment.   

In thinking of the truth we are reminded of Pontius Pilate. When Jesus said to Pilate at his trial, “Whoever belongs to the truth listens to me”,  Pilate responded, perhaps a bit cynically, ‘And what is truth?’ Little did Pilate know that truth is not just an idea or a body of information. Truth is a living person. Jesus is the truth.    

When we hear the word life, we might think in terms of physical life only. Eating and sleeping. Working and breathing. Making a crust and getting by. But, as we have heard throughout this sermon series, when Jesus talks about life he is thinking in more comprehensive terms.

Life, in a Christian understanding, isn’t just physical. It is mental and emotional and social and spiritual as well. Life has to do with how we relate with our inner self, how we relate to others and how we relate to God. Love God, love your neighbour, love yourself. Following this way of thinking, eternal life isn’t just existing forever. Eternal life means union with God, intimacy with Him, enjoying the Father’s presence always.

Jesus is the soul of creation:

Okay, so having dissected verse 6 into three parts, what happens when we hold the way, the truth and the life together? Well, we get soul.

The word soul can mean different things in different contexts. Sometimes it refers to an individual person, their whole self, body and soul. Like when you hear people say, there were 232 souls on board.

Other times though people use the word soul to mean the life force of a person. The soul, in this sense, is what animates the body, giving it energy and vitality. In fact, the Latin word for soul is anima, from which we get animate (as in movement).

If you have ever seen a corpse it is quite clear that the soul has departed. While a dead body is physically recognizable, there is no one home so to speak. A dead body is inanimate; without a soul in other words.  

This implies that it is the soul that enables connection and relationship. It is the soul which connects the body and the spirit.  

Then there is the sense in which soul refers to a person’s true essence. Who they are at their core. Their inner self. We might say for example that someone is a kind soul or they have a gentle soul. Or, she sang with real soul. Meaning she sang from a place deep within herself that was real and authentic. She wasn’t faking it or putting on an act.  

When we hold the way, the truth and the life together, we see that Jesus is the soul of humanity. But not just humanity. Jesus is the soul of all of God’s creation.

Jesus is the life force – he animates our lives with energy and vitality. As John says at the beginning of his gospel: Through him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without him. The Word was the source of life and this life brought light to humankind.     

Jesus is the truth – he is the real deal, 100% reliable. Jesus embodies the true essence of what it means to be human. We discover who we are at our core (we discover our true essence) through Jesus. Jesus is light to our soul.    

And Jesus is the way – more than just showing us the way, Jesus is the soul of creation, holding together the physical with the spiritual. He connects us to God in other words. Jesus makes right relationship possible.

Conclusion:

The life force (or soul) of Jesus is more powerful than death. Jesus is resurrected from the dead. So even if we feel like our energy and vitality is waning as we get older, we know Jesus has the ability to restore our soul once we have passed through the gate of death.   

Let us pray…

Lord Jesus Christ, we pray for those who have lost their way. Restore them to yourself.

Lord Jesus Christ, we pray for those who are seeking the truth. Reveal yourself to them.

Lord Jesus Christ, we pray for those who are tired of this life. Renew their connection with yourself.

Lord Jesus Christ, we pray for our own soul. Help us to remain in you.

Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

• Why does Jesus tell his disciples he is going to prepare a place for them? Can you imagine Jesus saying the same thing to you? How would you like to respond to Jesus?

• What did Jesus mean when he said, ‘I am the way’?

• What did Jesus mean when he said, ‘I am the truth’?

• What did Jesus mean when he said, ‘I am the life’?

• Discuss/reflect on the meaning and function of the soul.

• What does your soul need at this time? How might you take care of your soul this week?