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A friend of mine, we’ll call him “Arthur”, was working in finance when 9-11. Though he is British, the event shook him so much that he realized he needed a change. He needed to find meaning.
Arthur, in our conversations, was quick to point, with a good deal of humour, that he took the typical route. He went East. He looked for wisdom in all the places he believed it might be found.
The interesting thing is that Arthur eventually made his way back to the Faith of his youth, specifically in his native Church of England. That’s where he found a place to serve. That’s where I met him, in fact.
Arthur’s story is one that has always astounded me. Arthur’s desire to search the world for meaning, to search for the Divine, isn’t at all unusual. It’s a journey we can all resonate with. The power of his story is that, unlike so many, he found what he was looking for. Arthur found what he was looking for in the Way, specifically the Way of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Here’s the thing: we are all looking for God. As Phillip says to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” The Father here just being another name for God, another name for the Divine.
In response Jesus says, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me?” This is the power of the Gospel according to John at work. John shows us the face of God in this world. Jesus is our way to witness the Divine. Jesus is the One we have actually been looking for.
When we seek after God, the Divine, the Father even, we are really searching for Jesus. This is the truth my friend Arthur found. It is the truth that I hope, if you have not yet found, you will find here today.
Our search for Wisdom, Truth, Divinity, God even leads down one path, one road. There are not many ways, of which Jesus is just one. Jesus is very clear on that. In His own words, Jesus tells us, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Over the years I have heard many creative ways, some from people claiming to be part of our Faith, that have tried to soften these words. That is not possible. In dictating these words from Jesus’ Last Discourse with His Disciples before His Death in this Gospel, John is showing that these words of Jesus weren’t just meant for the Disciples’ ears, but they were meant for us to hear as well. If you believe Jesus, there is no other path. There is no other choice. If you believe Jesus, then you believe He is the way, the truth, and the life, just as He says.
Our other readings today show the possibilities of either believing or not believing. We see Stephen, one of the first deacons, who out of love for God and his fellow human beings was willing to die with words that mirror Jesus’ own on the Cross. His death, like that of Jesus, was horrific and painful. Yet in his death, Stephen still looks to the welfare of those around him, even towards his enemies. He found the way he was looking for. He looks up and sees Heaven, even in his darkest moment. He found love and peace in the Lord.
We see too those who stand against Stephen, such as Saul. In the extreme, these are the ones who violently oppose the will of the Lord. At best, these are the ones who never fully come to understand the Wisdom, Truth, Divinity they seek. These are the ones who are doomed to stumble and fall on their way, as 1 Peter tells us, instead of making their way to that which they seek.
Following the way of Jesus not only leads us to all that we have been looking for. As our Psalm reveals, the Lord is the one in which we ultimately have refuge, protection, safety. It is in our Lord Jesus Christ that we receive mercy, as 1 Peter shows us. It is through our Lord Jesus Christ that we will do great wonders in this world, the same works that Jesus did in fact, and, in Jesus’ own words, “greater works than these”, if only because Jesus is no longer doing such works for having ascended to the Father.
If you find yourself not ready to follow Stephen and turn to the Lord, that is okay for there is still hope. After all, Saul of Tarsus, the same Saul standing there approvingly as Stephen is stoned to death, that Saul who also went by the name of “Paul”, the name he is most known by, eventually saw that same light Stephen did. He too saw the Lord, and he was changed by it. This same Saul went from presiding over the killing of the Followers of the Way to becoming one of our members. This Saul eventually became one of the greatest evangelists our Faith has ever seen.
We are all looking for the Truth, for God, for Wisdom. The good news is you don’t have to look any more. The face of God is here in the form of our Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t keep stumbling to find what you need when the path to Him has already been paved for you. Follow the way of Deacon Stephen. Follow the way of Saul also known as Paul. Follow the way of my friend Arthur even. Follow the way of all those before you who have come to see and know that the way, the truth, and the life we are searching for is the face of God in our Lord Jesus Christ.