WEBVTT 00:00:05.929 --> 00:00:08.689 Kia ora, and welcome to the St. Francis Church 00:00:08.689 --> 00:00:11.490 Sermon Podcast. We're so glad that you've joined 00:00:11.490 --> 00:00:14.789 us. Our prayer is that as you listen, you would 00:00:14.789 --> 00:00:17.690 encounter God's presence, be refreshed in your 00:00:17.690 --> 00:00:20.429 faith, and equipped for everyday life with Jesus. 00:00:21.109 --> 00:00:24.129 As a church, we are learning to faithfully follow 00:00:24.129 --> 00:00:27.780 Jesus by practicing His way at His pace. For 00:00:27.780 --> 00:00:30.760 more info about who we are and what God is doing 00:00:30.760 --> 00:00:36.500 among us, head to stfrancis .co .nz. Grace and 00:00:36.500 --> 00:00:44.420 peace. Good morning, everyone. Is it working 00:00:44.420 --> 00:00:51.100 okay, Dave? It is now? Okay. I'll try and do 00:00:51.100 --> 00:00:57.799 the same. Saturday, I'm just trying to place 00:00:57.799 --> 00:01:02.799 it. That was only yesterday. Working in the op 00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:06.079 shop, a couple came in and they looked around 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:08.560 and then they came up to the counter and they 00:01:08.560 --> 00:01:10.400 were asking for directions because they were 00:01:10.400 --> 00:01:13.099 going down Moransville Road and found that they 00:01:13.099 --> 00:01:15.280 couldn't go any further and they wanted to get 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:20.739 to Moransville, but with the new donut being 00:01:20.739 --> 00:01:23.500 built down there or whatever it is down there, 00:01:23.640 --> 00:01:26.769 they couldn't get... get through. So they came 00:01:26.769 --> 00:01:30.129 up to the church and asked, how do we get there? 00:01:30.670 --> 00:01:32.049 So they said, can you show your phone? He said, 00:01:32.109 --> 00:01:35.109 battery's flat. So he went, had to do old school 00:01:35.109 --> 00:01:37.969 way, get out a bit of pen and a bit of paper 00:01:37.969 --> 00:01:42.750 and draw the directions for them to head them 00:01:42.750 --> 00:01:47.849 back in the same right direction. So that leads 00:01:47.849 --> 00:01:50.909 me into today. That little story that happened 00:01:50.909 --> 00:01:58.280 yesterday. So I want you to picture Your GPS, 00:01:58.480 --> 00:02:01.879 as you're travelling, as you put it into the 00:02:01.879 --> 00:02:04.900 map situation to head you somewhere, and you 00:02:04.900 --> 00:02:11.780 hear those words, recalculating route. What's 00:02:11.780 --> 00:02:18.960 the feeling that goes on inside you? Yeah. Most 00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:21.319 of us know that feeling, don't we? Not just on 00:02:21.319 --> 00:02:24.979 the road, but we also know it in life. Whether 00:02:24.979 --> 00:02:27.879 you're a young adult wondering which direction 00:02:27.879 --> 00:02:31.340 to take, or someone in the middle of life asking, 00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:34.979 is this where I thought I'd be? Or someone who's 00:02:34.979 --> 00:02:37.340 lived long enough to know the road can twist 00:02:37.340 --> 00:02:40.199 without warning. The question of direction is 00:02:40.199 --> 00:02:44.340 never far away. And it was on the night before 00:02:44.340 --> 00:02:46.620 his crucifixion, Jesus gathered with his friends 00:02:46.620 --> 00:02:50.759 in an upper room. In that room there was confusion, 00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:58.120 grief, fear. And into that atmosphere, one that 00:02:58.120 --> 00:03:01.199 feels very familiar, he spoke some of the most 00:03:01.199 --> 00:03:05.020 anchoring words in all of scripture. Do not let 00:03:05.020 --> 00:03:09.719 your hearts be troubled. He does not dismiss 00:03:09.719 --> 00:03:15.719 their anxiety. Rather, he meets them in it. Two 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:18.740 disciples asked the questions that often we ask 00:03:18.740 --> 00:03:23.659 going through life. First one from Thomas. How 00:03:23.659 --> 00:03:27.659 can we know the way? And Philip says, show us 00:03:27.659 --> 00:03:31.219 the Father and that will be enough. And Jesus 00:03:31.219 --> 00:03:35.699 answers both of them. Augustine of Hippo in the 00:03:35.699 --> 00:03:38.800 letters of Confessions said this, and I've shared 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:40.819 this with you before, but it sits very well in 00:03:40.819 --> 00:03:43.419 this reading. You have made us for yourself, 00:03:43.620 --> 00:03:46.580 O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests 00:03:46.580 --> 00:03:52.009 in you. Think of it in our daily life when we're 00:03:52.009 --> 00:03:55.409 trying to work things out, we get restless, confusion 00:03:55.409 --> 00:03:58.729 and things like that, and then we, at some point, 00:03:58.810 --> 00:04:03.509 often later than earlier, we pause and we give 00:04:03.509 --> 00:04:07.289 this situation to Christ. And then we find ourselves 00:04:07.289 --> 00:04:10.550 rested. Our thoughts as well as in our heart. 00:04:11.050 --> 00:04:16.370 We know we're giving it to the one who can change 00:04:16.370 --> 00:04:20.579 things for us. Now, Augustine wrote that back 00:04:20.579 --> 00:04:22.560 in the 4th century, but he could have written 00:04:22.560 --> 00:04:25.579 it this morning for us. The destination Jesus 00:04:25.579 --> 00:04:28.920 announces is not a place, but a person, not a 00:04:28.920 --> 00:04:33.839 stranger, but a father. And through all of this, 00:04:33.899 --> 00:04:35.899 there's a central question, this message this 00:04:35.899 --> 00:04:39.540 morning, that when life feels uncertain and the 00:04:39.540 --> 00:04:41.920 road ahead is unclear, just like those couple 00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:44.759 yesterday, how do we know we are headed in the 00:04:44.759 --> 00:04:48.060 right direction? And who can we truly trust to 00:04:48.060 --> 00:04:55.620 show us the way? We hear Jesus say in this passage 00:04:55.620 --> 00:05:00.339 this morning, I am the way. And with him as the 00:05:00.339 --> 00:05:02.439 way, you don't need a map, you need a person. 00:05:03.939 --> 00:05:06.420 Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where 00:05:06.420 --> 00:05:09.680 you're going, sir. How can we know the way? And 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:13.879 Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and 00:05:13.879 --> 00:05:20.680 the life. We live in an age of huge information. 00:05:21.879 --> 00:05:24.660 More knowledge at our fingertips than any library 00:05:24.660 --> 00:05:29.839 in history. We can roam with this, can't you? 00:05:29.939 --> 00:05:33.939 And call anything up. And yet we have a generation 00:05:33.939 --> 00:05:36.379 more lost and more anxious than perhaps any before. 00:05:36.680 --> 00:05:41.800 Why? Because I believe that we have confused 00:05:41.800 --> 00:05:46.449 having information with knowing the way. Thomas 00:05:46.449 --> 00:05:48.829 put his finger on it. We don't know where you 00:05:48.829 --> 00:05:53.769 are going, so how can we know the way? Thomas 00:05:53.769 --> 00:05:57.290 is refreshingly honest with this question. And 00:05:57.290 --> 00:05:59.850 the question so many in this room could be silently 00:05:59.850 --> 00:06:05.290 carrying as well. Jesus does not say, well, here 00:06:05.290 --> 00:06:07.269 is a map, here is a bit of paper, and I'll draw 00:06:07.269 --> 00:06:09.149 it out for you like I did yesterday to that couple. 00:06:09.529 --> 00:06:14.769 He says, I am the way. Not a way, but the way. 00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:19.300 It's a claim that no philosopher or no self -help 00:06:19.300 --> 00:06:23.480 author, no religion has ever made, that a person 00:06:23.480 --> 00:06:29.939 and not a principle is a path to God. He is also 00:06:29.939 --> 00:06:33.699 the truth. Not just truthful, but the very embodiment 00:06:33.699 --> 00:06:38.379 of reality itself. And the life, the source and 00:06:38.379 --> 00:06:44.209 destination of everything alive. We should go 00:06:44.209 --> 00:06:45.790 back to Genesis when everything was created. 00:06:47.490 --> 00:06:50.329 So he is the source of the destination of everything 00:06:50.329 --> 00:06:54.750 alive. C .S. Lewis of mere Christianity wrote 00:06:54.750 --> 00:06:58.170 this, I am trying here to prevent anyone saying 00:06:58.170 --> 00:07:00.529 the really foolish thing that people often say 00:07:00.529 --> 00:07:03.529 about him. I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great 00:07:03.529 --> 00:07:06.629 moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to 00:07:06.629 --> 00:07:11.209 be God. That is the one thing we must not say. 00:07:14.379 --> 00:07:19.560 Many debates go on with that one. Here's also 00:07:19.560 --> 00:07:22.300 the truth, not just the truthful teacher, but 00:07:22.300 --> 00:07:26.019 the very embodiment of ultimate reality. And 00:07:26.019 --> 00:07:27.920 I say that because in a world where truth has 00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:30.920 become subjective and, well, it's my truth, so 00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:34.100 you cannot question it, and your truth are accepted 00:07:34.100 --> 00:07:39.100 as currency. Jesus stands as an objective anchor. 00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:43.920 He stands here because he is the life. the source, 00:07:43.980 --> 00:07:46.459 the sustainer, and the destination of all that 00:07:46.459 --> 00:07:51.420 is alive. We hear this in 1 Timothy 2, verse 00:07:51.420 --> 00:07:55.139 5. For there is one God and one mediator between 00:07:55.139 --> 00:08:05.839 God and humankind, the man, Christ Jesus. For 00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:10.139 the young ones, the adults in this room today, 00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:13.399 You do not need, I believe, a five -year plan 00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:17.639 first. You need to walk with the one who is the 00:08:17.639 --> 00:08:21.500 way. And the path becomes clearer as you go. 00:08:22.459 --> 00:08:25.860 And for those who have tried other routes, ambition, 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:30.399 approval, accumulation, and found yourself recalculating, 00:08:30.420 --> 00:08:35.440 Jesus does not say to you, I told you so. He 00:08:35.440 --> 00:08:39.379 says, come to me. And for those who have walked 00:08:39.379 --> 00:08:41.539 with him for decades, your faithfulness is a 00:08:41.539 --> 00:08:45.679 sermon the rest of us need to see. So together, 00:08:45.779 --> 00:08:50.080 we have a fuller story of who Jesus is in our 00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:53.399 lives right now. And for older members who have 00:08:53.399 --> 00:08:55.860 walked with Jesus, you are the living testimony 00:08:55.860 --> 00:09:01.960 that this way holds. It is not just for a time, 00:09:02.059 --> 00:09:09.070 but it holds forever. In Galatians 3, Chapter 00:09:09.070 --> 00:09:14.190 3, verse 26 and 28. So in Christ Jesus you are 00:09:14.190 --> 00:09:16.769 all children of God through faith. There is neither 00:09:16.769 --> 00:09:21.110 Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor 00:09:21.110 --> 00:09:24.389 is there male and female, for you are all one 00:09:24.389 --> 00:09:32.429 in Christ Jesus. The way is not a direction. 00:09:33.789 --> 00:09:41.120 The way has a name. It's Jesus. And then we hear 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:43.480 Jesus say to them, you know where I am going. 00:09:44.980 --> 00:09:48.159 And when we know where he is going, the destination 00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:52.720 changes everything for us. In our reading today, 00:09:52.820 --> 00:09:55.120 you heard Jesus say, do not let your hearts be 00:09:55.120 --> 00:09:58.919 troubled. My Father's house has many rooms. I'm 00:09:58.919 --> 00:10:06.600 going there to prepare a place for you. When 00:10:06.600 --> 00:10:09.139 you know where you're heading somewhere good, 00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:12.820 somewhere you were loved and expected, do you 00:10:12.820 --> 00:10:14.620 find that the journey feels completely different? 00:10:17.179 --> 00:10:21.159 Think of heading home after a long trip. The 00:10:21.159 --> 00:10:24.919 fatigue of that does not vanish, but something 00:10:24.919 --> 00:10:27.120 inside you is settled because you know you're 00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:31.600 returning home. Now imagine suspecting the door 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:33.519 will be locked when you arrive. What does that 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:40.279 make you feel like? Welcome? No. That is a spiritual 00:10:40.279 --> 00:10:43.720 condition of many people today. They are on the 00:10:43.720 --> 00:10:46.580 road with no settled sense of where it ends. 00:10:47.820 --> 00:10:50.600 It's like you just drop off the edge of a flat 00:10:50.600 --> 00:10:55.120 earth for many people. Jesus says something that 00:10:55.120 --> 00:10:59.320 we can easily repast in this passage. You know 00:10:59.320 --> 00:11:03.460 the way to the place where I am going. Now the 00:11:03.460 --> 00:11:07.970 disciples protest that they do not know. But 00:11:07.970 --> 00:11:11.889 Jesus says they do because they know him. The 00:11:11.889 --> 00:11:16.450 destination is the Father's house. That's the 00:11:16.450 --> 00:11:21.070 journey that we're going to. The Greek word mania 00:11:21.070 --> 00:11:25.269 means permanent dwelling places. It's not a transit 00:11:25.269 --> 00:11:27.990 lounge like when you're transferring from airport 00:11:27.990 --> 00:11:33.950 to airport. It's home. And that makes the journey 00:11:33.950 --> 00:11:39.620 back all the better. But here is where the impossibly 00:11:39.620 --> 00:11:44.299 good news breaks open. What is the house of the 00:11:44.299 --> 00:11:49.919 Father? God does not live in a building. The 00:11:49.919 --> 00:11:53.899 Father's house is his own life. The infinite, 00:11:54.059 --> 00:11:56.379 overflowing life that Father, Son and Holy Spirit 00:11:56.379 --> 00:12:00.259 actually share together. The early theologians 00:12:00.259 --> 00:12:05.159 called it Heraklesis or the divine dance. Three 00:12:05.159 --> 00:12:07.799 persons that were so completely given over to 00:12:07.799 --> 00:12:10.279 one another in love that they share one life, 00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:16.179 one being, and one joy. And it was the love between 00:12:16.179 --> 00:12:19.840 the Father and the Son, that bond, that gift, 00:12:19.879 --> 00:12:23.899 they make of themselves to each other, is what 00:12:23.899 --> 00:12:27.340 we call the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the very 00:12:27.340 --> 00:12:30.360 love of God in person, flowing between Father 00:12:30.360 --> 00:12:35.320 and Son from all eternity. That's what's here 00:12:35.320 --> 00:12:41.779 now. Athanasius of Alexandria on the Incarnation 00:12:41.779 --> 00:12:44.440 wrote this. The Son of God became the Son of 00:12:44.440 --> 00:12:48.139 Man so that the sons of men might become the 00:12:48.139 --> 00:12:54.320 sons of God. They're wanting us to dwell together. 00:12:56.919 --> 00:13:01.039 There is room. There is infinite room with the 00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:05.299 expanse of God's own life. You are not being 00:13:05.299 --> 00:13:09.639 allowed to visit a divine property. You are being 00:13:09.639 --> 00:13:14.100 invited into the very life God has always lived. 00:13:15.299 --> 00:13:18.200 The preparation was a cross and the resurrection. 00:13:18.860 --> 00:13:21.759 The tearing of the veil, the opening of the way 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:24.500 into the holiest place, which is God himself. 00:13:29.460 --> 00:13:34.769 In 2 Peter chapter 1. It says, through these, 00:13:34.870 --> 00:13:38.450 that he has given us his very great and precious 00:13:38.450 --> 00:13:42.090 promises, so that through them you may participate 00:13:42.090 --> 00:13:45.929 in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption 00:13:45.929 --> 00:13:54.370 in the world caused by evil desires. For those 00:13:54.370 --> 00:13:58.149 who grieve, some of you haven't been there yet 00:13:58.149 --> 00:14:01.740 with a close family member or partner. But for 00:14:01.740 --> 00:14:03.600 those who grieve, the Father's house has many 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:08.639 rooms. The life your loved one has entered in 00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:11.240 Christ is not a diminished existence. It is the 00:14:11.240 --> 00:14:16.480 fullest life there is. For those who have never 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:18.700 felt truly at home, whose belonging has always 00:14:18.700 --> 00:14:23.419 felt provisional, I want you to hear this. There 00:14:23.419 --> 00:14:26.320 is a place within the very life of God where 00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:28.600 the same love the Father has always had for the 00:14:28.600 --> 00:14:34.289 Son. is now turned towards you. Think of that. 00:14:35.970 --> 00:14:39.490 That love for his son is now turned towards you. 00:14:39.590 --> 00:14:43.929 Always has been. And for those of you who are, 00:14:44.049 --> 00:14:46.950 if we're honest, closer to that destination than 00:14:46.950 --> 00:14:52.210 the rest of us, just purely because of age, this 00:14:52.210 --> 00:14:55.690 is not a consolation prize. It is the main event. 00:14:58.320 --> 00:15:02.120 And here's the staggering thing. This is not 00:15:02.120 --> 00:15:06.019 only future, even though we read it in that way. 00:15:06.679 --> 00:15:10.179 Jesus says just a few verses later that the Father 00:15:10.179 --> 00:15:12.620 and He will make their home, their mani, their 00:15:12.620 --> 00:15:20.039 presence, the same word, with us now. Now, right 00:15:20.039 --> 00:15:25.419 now. The Holy Spirit is given today. as a first 00:15:25.419 --> 00:15:29.960 installment of that divine life. You do not have 00:15:29.960 --> 00:15:32.360 to wait until you die to begin living within 00:15:32.360 --> 00:15:37.519 the life of God. Because if you did, you wouldn't 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:40.100 be here. You'd be out doing something else. You 00:15:40.100 --> 00:15:46.940 can have it now. In Romans 8, verse 15, we hear 00:15:46.940 --> 00:15:49.500 this, that the spirit you receive does not make 00:15:49.500 --> 00:15:52.320 you slaves so that you live in fear again. Rather, 00:15:52.419 --> 00:15:55.129 the spirit... you received, brought about your 00:15:55.129 --> 00:15:59.049 adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, Abba, 00:15:59.049 --> 00:16:10.009 Father. N .T. Wright, from Simply Christian book 00:16:10.009 --> 00:16:14.730 he had, put this down. That you are not a human 00:16:14.730 --> 00:16:17.769 being having a spiritual existence. You are a 00:16:17.769 --> 00:16:21.629 spiritual being having a human experience. But 00:16:21.629 --> 00:16:23.629 more than that, you are a child of God made to 00:16:23.629 --> 00:16:28.669 share in the very life of the Trinity. You're 00:16:28.669 --> 00:16:32.070 not wandering. You are actually heading somewhere. 00:16:33.230 --> 00:16:36.149 And the someone who prepared it is the same someone 00:16:36.149 --> 00:16:39.710 who walked out of a tomb to prove that he has 00:16:39.710 --> 00:16:50.009 the keys. That's your proof. And Jesus says this. 00:16:50.600 --> 00:16:52.659 If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. 00:16:54.519 --> 00:16:56.700 In a kind of way, the God you see is the God 00:16:56.700 --> 00:17:01.940 there is. We hear from Philip as he says, Lord, 00:17:02.059 --> 00:17:04.420 show us the Father and there will be enough for 00:17:04.420 --> 00:17:08.759 us. Jesus answered, don't you know me, Philip? 00:17:09.539 --> 00:17:11.640 Even after I have been among you such a long 00:17:11.640 --> 00:17:16.319 time, anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. 00:17:21.120 --> 00:17:24.900 Philip's request is deeply human. And there's 00:17:24.900 --> 00:17:29.859 a Philip inside most of us. Give us proof. Even 00:17:29.859 --> 00:17:32.119 if we believe we're still asking, give us proof. 00:17:33.059 --> 00:17:37.180 Let the clouds part. But there's something else 00:17:37.180 --> 00:17:40.839 in his question. It's a worry that the Father 00:17:40.839 --> 00:17:44.880 might be different from Jesus. One that's less 00:17:44.880 --> 00:17:49.609 approachable. More severe. That Jesus is the 00:17:49.609 --> 00:17:53.130 kind side of God, but the Father is actually 00:17:53.130 --> 00:17:57.869 keeping score in a book. That worry has not gone 00:17:57.869 --> 00:18:03.690 away in 2 ,000 years. And Jesus' answer to that 00:18:03.690 --> 00:18:06.750 is one of the most theologically explosive statements 00:18:06.750 --> 00:18:11.490 in Scripture. Anyone who has seen me has seen 00:18:11.490 --> 00:18:19.490 the Father. Not a picture of. Not a selfie. Not 00:18:19.490 --> 00:18:25.849 a representative of. You've seen. The same. Jesus, 00:18:25.849 --> 00:18:29.069 he is making an absolute claim about the character 00:18:29.069 --> 00:18:32.089 of God. What you see in me is what the Father 00:18:32.089 --> 00:18:37.250 is like. He's re -centering, re -calibrating 00:18:37.250 --> 00:18:39.650 all the thoughts that have gone before what God 00:18:39.650 --> 00:18:44.150 is like into who he is. And that's what the Father 00:18:44.150 --> 00:18:52.680 is like. The sun is the radiance of God's glory 00:18:52.680 --> 00:18:56.319 and the exact representation of his being, sustaining 00:18:56.319 --> 00:19:03.519 all things by his powerful word. Another quote 00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:07.660 from Brennan Manning. He says, too many Christians 00:19:07.660 --> 00:19:10.819 live as if God is chronically disappointed in 00:19:10.819 --> 00:19:14.400 them. That is not the God of the Bible. That 00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:22.720 is a God that they have constructed. Maybe some 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:27.359 of these things are touching nerves in us this 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:34.259 morning. But Manon was right. So look at Jesus 00:19:34.259 --> 00:19:39.519 carefully. When he wept at Lazarus' tomb, that 00:19:39.519 --> 00:19:43.559 is what God looks like when he sees grief. When 00:19:43.559 --> 00:19:46.000 he stopped for the blind beggar that everyone 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:49.059 else ignored, that is what God looks like when 00:19:49.059 --> 00:19:57.000 the world walks past the overlooked. Someone 00:19:57.000 --> 00:20:02.119 was sleeping in our porch way this morning. He 00:20:02.119 --> 00:20:05.900 must know my voice now. But I said, time to get 00:20:05.900 --> 00:20:10.160 up. Church is starting soon. And he said, I'll 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:11.740 pray to Jesus. And I'm thinking, is he making 00:20:11.740 --> 00:20:16.839 fun or is he saying it outright? But just went 00:20:16.839 --> 00:20:19.380 over and say hello to him as well. See, we can 00:20:19.380 --> 00:20:23.859 just walk past and be overlooked and carry on. 00:20:25.579 --> 00:20:28.920 So when Jesus sat at table with sinners while 00:20:28.920 --> 00:20:31.519 the religious establishment was horrified, that 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:34.819 is what God looks like in the presence of people's 00:20:34.819 --> 00:20:39.839 shame. When he said from the cross, Father, forgive 00:20:39.839 --> 00:20:43.579 them, that is what God looks like in the face 00:20:43.579 --> 00:20:49.519 of our worst. You see, the Father sent Jesus 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:53.539 precisely so we would know exactly what he is 00:20:53.539 --> 00:20:58.460 like. The incarnation is God's answer to Philip's 00:20:58.460 --> 00:21:03.920 question. So if you've carried a distorted image 00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:08.759 of God, built on a, say, a harsh authority figure 00:21:08.759 --> 00:21:12.140 or a painful religious experience, I want you 00:21:12.140 --> 00:21:17.920 now to look at Jesus. That is your corrective. 00:21:20.259 --> 00:21:23.359 Do not imagine a God behind Jesus who is less 00:21:23.359 --> 00:21:26.319 compassionate. or less welcoming than the one 00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:33.019 you met in the Gospels. Quote from Brennan Manning, 00:21:33.099 --> 00:21:37.519 from his boy Abba's Child. Define yourself radically 00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:42.779 as one beloved by God. This is a true self. Every 00:21:42.779 --> 00:21:48.920 other identity is illusion. As a beloved by God. 00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:52.619 If you have something else, that's an illusion. 00:21:57.549 --> 00:22:02.130 And that's supported by the gospel passage from 00:22:02.130 --> 00:22:06.130 1 John. See what great love the Father has lavished 00:22:06.130 --> 00:22:08.190 on us, that we should be called children of God, 00:22:08.329 --> 00:22:16.670 and that is what we are. Now for those here that 00:22:16.670 --> 00:22:21.009 struggle to pray, remember the Jesus who made 00:22:21.009 --> 00:22:22.950 time for the woman at the well, who called the 00:22:22.950 --> 00:22:25.420 children to come. who cooked breakfast on the 00:22:25.420 --> 00:22:30.079 beach for his discouraged disciples. That is 00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:33.960 a God that you're talking to. And if there's 00:22:33.960 --> 00:22:36.960 sceptics in the room, or you know of sceptics, 00:22:37.039 --> 00:22:42.619 you say, I welcome you. If you want to know what 00:22:42.619 --> 00:22:45.700 God is like, the most honest thing that we can 00:22:45.700 --> 00:22:49.019 actually do is look carefully at Jesus of Nazareth. 00:22:50.039 --> 00:22:53.819 Start with the gospel, start with him. If you're 00:22:53.819 --> 00:22:56.599 ever in a debate or a discussion about God being 00:22:56.599 --> 00:23:01.279 so angry and that, point them to the Gospels. 00:23:01.279 --> 00:23:05.900 Point them to Jesus. Let that be their corrective. 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:09.740 Let that enable you to share the love of the 00:23:09.740 --> 00:23:18.160 Father through the Son. Now we began with a GPS 00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:24.319 recalculating. Life does that to us. Plans fall 00:23:24.319 --> 00:23:27.380 through, certainties dissolve, and the road twists. 00:23:28.859 --> 00:23:33.640 But look at what Jesus has given us. Spoken on 00:23:33.640 --> 00:23:37.339 the worst night of his earthly life. To a room 00:23:37.339 --> 00:23:39.539 that was full of frightened people just like 00:23:39.539 --> 00:23:43.359 us, a way that is a person and not a program. 00:23:44.480 --> 00:23:47.640 A destination that is not a location but an invitation 00:23:47.640 --> 00:23:52.539 into the very life of God. The infinite and love 00:23:52.539 --> 00:23:56.220 -filled triune life of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 00:23:57.339 --> 00:24:02.039 And that's with infinite room for you. And a 00:24:02.039 --> 00:24:08.279 face. The face of the Father himself. So we never 00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:14.839 need to be afraid of who God really is. And Thomas 00:24:14.839 --> 00:24:19.480 asks us, how can we know the way? And Jesus answered, 00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:23.259 you already do. You know me. And Philip asked, 00:24:23.519 --> 00:24:29.480 Show us the Father. And Jesus answered, You've 00:24:29.480 --> 00:24:31.980 already seen him. You've been looking at him 00:24:31.980 --> 00:24:38.119 all along. And to all who have wondered where 00:24:38.119 --> 00:24:43.759 they truly belong, the destination is not a room 00:24:43.759 --> 00:24:47.559 in a divine hotel. It is the love of the Father 00:24:47.559 --> 00:24:51.359 has always had for the Son. And that love, carried 00:24:51.359 --> 00:24:53.779 in the person of the Holy Spirit has already 00:24:53.779 --> 00:24:59.960 been poured into your heart. Because the Spirit 00:24:59.960 --> 00:25:07.559 dwells in us. From John 17, where Jesus is talking, 00:25:07.940 --> 00:25:11.920 that all of them may be one. Father, just as 00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:15.599 you are in me and I am in you, may they also 00:25:15.599 --> 00:25:19.380 be in us. I have given them the glory that you 00:25:19.380 --> 00:25:22.640 gave me. that they may be one as we are one, 00:25:22.740 --> 00:25:29.619 I in them and you in me. Hear the thread that's 00:25:29.619 --> 00:25:32.779 made, that we're part of, that's been woven into 00:25:32.779 --> 00:25:41.359 the life of the Trinity. C .S. Lewis wrote in 00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:44.200 his book, The Weight of Glory, that it's a serious 00:25:44.200 --> 00:25:46.759 thing to live in a society of possible gods and 00:25:46.759 --> 00:25:49.859 goddesses, to remember that the dullest, most... 00:25:50.160 --> 00:25:53.740 uninteresting person you can talk to may one 00:25:53.740 --> 00:25:57.339 day be a creature which if you saw it now you 00:25:57.339 --> 00:26:01.799 would be strongly tempted to worship. What is 00:26:01.799 --> 00:26:05.700 Lewis saying here? That next to the sacraments 00:26:05.700 --> 00:26:10.380 Lewis asserts that your neighbour is the holiest 00:26:10.380 --> 00:26:14.920 object presented to your senses. Therefore how 00:26:15.549 --> 00:26:18.390 you and I treat others as a matter of profound 00:26:18.390 --> 00:26:23.470 spiritual importance. If we truly believe that 00:26:23.470 --> 00:26:30.450 God dwells in us, in all humanity, that's how 00:26:30.450 --> 00:26:33.750 we should be looking at other people. With these 00:26:33.750 --> 00:26:40.190 sorts of eyes. Now, on this journey, you are 00:26:40.190 --> 00:26:44.990 not merely heading toward God. In Christ, You 00:26:44.990 --> 00:26:47.730 have already been drawn into the life God has 00:26:47.730 --> 00:26:51.650 always lived. The Father's house is open. The 00:26:51.650 --> 00:26:54.130 dance has already begun. And if you're a bit 00:26:54.130 --> 00:26:57.130 like me, I'm out of rhythm, but I'm still going. 00:26:59.170 --> 00:27:01.670 The Spirit in you is the first movement of a 00:27:01.670 --> 00:27:06.109 song that will never end. The question this morning 00:27:06.109 --> 00:27:08.529 for us is not whether you are good enough for 00:27:08.529 --> 00:27:11.450 such an invitation to be sent to you. None of 00:27:11.450 --> 00:27:15.150 us are. The question is simply this, will you 00:27:15.150 --> 00:27:18.670 receive it when it comes? Oh, it's with you already. 00:27:19.049 --> 00:27:22.390 Not as a matter of religion, but as a matter 00:27:22.390 --> 00:27:26.069 of relationship. Are you walking with the one 00:27:26.069 --> 00:27:30.430 who is the way? Are you living as someone who 00:27:30.430 --> 00:27:33.369 belongs to the Father's house, not one day, but 00:27:33.369 --> 00:27:37.009 today? Are you listening to the Father's voice? 00:27:38.269 --> 00:27:42.869 Are you letting the Spirit who lives in you, 00:27:42.950 --> 00:27:45.970 teach you what it means to be loved the way the 00:27:45.970 --> 00:27:52.230 Father loves the Son. And if you're feeling that 00:27:52.230 --> 00:27:55.329 that relationship is not yours, the door is open. 00:27:56.509 --> 00:28:00.990 The way has been made. And the same Jesus who 00:28:00.990 --> 00:28:04.009 said, do not let your hearts be troubled, is 00:28:04.009 --> 00:28:09.009 saying it still to you right now. Come, be with 00:28:09.009 --> 00:28:16.819 us. As I dwell in you. So with all of that said, 00:28:16.960 --> 00:28:22.400 I want to bring us to a place where we just pause. 00:28:24.220 --> 00:28:27.880 To sit with a posture that is open to receive. 00:28:29.660 --> 00:28:31.920 Now that can be physically moving yourself or 00:28:31.920 --> 00:28:34.480 just internally, but maybe you could just lay 00:28:34.480 --> 00:28:37.319 your hands open on your lap or hold them up to 00:28:37.319 --> 00:28:40.759 receive. Slow your breathing. Be aware of it. 00:28:42.400 --> 00:28:46.799 Let's do that for a short time. Let us receive 00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:50.279 from the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 00:29:53.450 --> 00:29:55.549 Father, we thank you that you did not remain 00:29:55.549 --> 00:30:00.410 hidden and that you opened your life to us and 00:30:00.410 --> 00:30:03.130 when you called it home, we thank you that the 00:30:03.130 --> 00:30:06.650 way is a person and it's not performance, that 00:30:06.650 --> 00:30:09.589 the destination is not merely a place but it 00:30:09.589 --> 00:30:12.490 is actually participation in the love you and 00:30:12.490 --> 00:30:16.509 the Son have shared from all eternity. Our Holy 00:30:16.509 --> 00:30:22.069 Spirit, make that real to us, not one day but 00:30:22.069 --> 00:30:27.769 today. And wherever we are on the road, sure 00:30:27.769 --> 00:30:32.230 -footed or a little bit lost, draw us deeper 00:30:32.230 --> 00:30:35.329 into the life you have always lived and now invite 00:30:35.329 --> 00:30:39.769 us to share with you. For we trust the way, your 00:30:39.769 --> 00:30:42.210 son Jesus. Amen.