John 14:6:

“Jesus said… ‘I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

 

Narnia.  As a child (and as an adult) I always wanted to visit Narnia.  You know that magical place depicted in the C. S. Lewis’s book “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe”?  I so wanted to be like Lucy and find my way through the wardrobe to Narnia.  There I could set out on a great adventure that was a little scary or even a bit dangerous but held a greater purpose.  Lucy didn’t know what the greater purpose was or why she was brought to Narnia but somehow trusted her instinct and was able to navigate her time or her “life” in Narnia.  She met Aslan who was able to validate and explain the purpose.  Together with her siblings, they saved Narnia from a reign of cold heartedness.  They sat on the throne.  They ruled a great age of peace in the land.  Wow.

 

Jesus said… “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”

 

The more I thought about this “I Am” statement the more I thought about Narnia and how Lucy arrived there and what she experienced there.  Is Jesus the Wardrobe?  Is Jesus the secret (not so secret) door?  Is Jesus the way to connect to the holy trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?  I would say… Yes, he is!

 

I am the Way…

 

Jesus is the connector to God and the Holy Spirit.  By believing that Jesus is the Son of God and believing the Jesus died for our sins we automatically tap into the great trifecta, the holy trinity.  Our prayers are heard.  The Holy Spirit can gift us with what we need in any situation.  We can praise and worship God.  We can do all of this in the name of Jesus, God’s Son and one of three in the holy trinity.  Jesus is the doorway.  Jesus is the path.  Jesus is the way.

 

The Truth…

 

Jesus is who he claims to be.  Jesus is the Savior of the World.  The truth is as simple as this.  In John 14:8-10, Phillip was looking for an easier way and asked Jesus to show everyone the Father… that is good enough for us.  But Jesus said this to him “Have I been with you so long and you still do not know me, Phillip?  Whoever has seen me has seen the Father… Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?  The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority but the Father who dwells in me does his works.”  Because God, the Father, is communicating through Jesus he only speaks the truth.  He has no choice.  Jesus represents the truth that God shares.

 

The Life…

 

Jesus shares an amazing bit of information in John 14:12-13 “… whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the father.  Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”  As we navigate our lives as Christians, we have a lifeline.  Our belief and acceptance that Jesus is our Lord and Savior creates a life line to the holy trinity that feeds our life forever.  The lessons and truth of Jesus’ teachings, which are the words and thoughts of God in and through him, is another source to help shape and live our lives and keep us on track.

 

“I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.

 

The road we travel as Christians is not promised to be easy.  Sometimes sad, scary, or even devastating things happen as we navigate our lives.  But as family in Christ, we can hold each other up, help each other out, and even pray for each other.  By doing this we are tapping into what Jesus has outlined.  We do not always understand why we are in a particular place (like Lucy in Narnia) or in a particular situation but God does.  And by connecting to God through the Son (Jesus) we can gain strength, knowledge, and understanding.

 

Let me share this experience with you and see if it all starts to make sense.

 

Years ago, when I was working for Interboro School District, I found myself sliding into a new position of Registrar.  I had the opportunity to become full time in a technology position, but my co-worker desperately needed a full-time job in order to get insurance.  He needed insurance to afford an operation to relieve his chronic back pain.  Like Lucy, I followed my instinct and told him to apply instead of me.  A short time later I was given the opportunity to apply for the fulltime position of Registrar which started my data technology career.  So why do I share this story?

 

Well, one day I was sitting at my desk after re-registering a student who had just been released from prison.  I am not talking about the juvenile detention center; I am talking about the county prison.  While he was incarcerated his grandmother and advocate, died.  His mother was not in the picture but his father was trying the best he could to support his son and had come with him to re-register.  I had to give this young man credit; he was still trying to get his high school diploma.  I said to him when we were finished, “I am so glad you are back!  We missed you!  Let me know if I can help you in any way.”  He smiled just a little and left with his dad.

 

By the way… he did graduate a year later.

 

But back to me at my desk.  I was feeling a bit sad about his story and yet glad he was back.  I found that I was feeling at a loss of how to help him and students just like him.  I was discouraged.  I picked up his file and went to place it in the filing cabinet when I suddenly realized why God had placed me in this position, in this place, at this time.  Prayer in Jesus’ name.  Before I put the file away, I prayed over the file.  It only took a few seconds.  But I felt better.  For years after that, every time I put a file away or opened a filing cabinet door I prayed over the folders.  In my own way I tried to create a safe and holy space for people to register.  I connected to God through Jesus and called upon the Holy Spirit and silently spoke the names of the students and their families over many years.

 

“I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”

 

I built a house!  Not everyone can say that.  For some, it is their job.  For others, a cool project.  But for Lima and Covenant United Methodist Churches it was a God thing.  We found a way to help others with affordable housing so they could live good lives through the Help Build Hope organization.   This organization feeds the walls we built to Habitat for Humanity.  On September 23, 24, and 25, 2022, we followed a collective calling, in the name of Jesus, to build the downstairs walls of 5 townhouses that are going to be built in West Grove, Pennsylvania in southern Chester County.  100+ volunteers came to help.  For some this project was their church, their God moment.  For others, it was a Christian fellowship time.  But for all that participated it held a greater purpose in the name of Jesus.  We built a house!

 

I am going to play a video that shows how the project went and how powerful it is to work collectively in the name of Jesus.  (video).

 

What amazing strength we gain from doing all things through Jesus.

 

“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,

At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,

When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,

And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”

(C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)

 

Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”

 

We can aspire to do greater works just because Jesus is the path to all we need.  Jesus is the wardrobe, the only door, the only way to the Father and the Holy Trinity of which He is a part of.  When you go through him you will experience the world of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit.  Jesus is the Way to God, shares the Truth of God, and helps us live our Life for God.  I pray you experience your Narnia with the wonder and faith of Lucy in the name of Jesus…  Amen.

 

 

Benediction:

I hope when you hear the name of Jesus you feel something just like Lucy and her siblings did at the mention of Aslan.  From C.S. Lewis’s “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”

 

“None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don’t understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning–either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in it’s inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of Summer.”

 

Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  Venture into the Wardrobe, in the name of Jesus.  Amen.