“Do not let your hearts be troubled.” That sounds comforting but Jesus speaks those words when the disciples have every reason to be troubled. The disciples are anxious, confused, even afraid. Jesus told them he is going away – their world is about to fall apart.
So, Thomas asks the question we have all asked in one way or another. “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” We want clarity. We want directions. We want a plan. But Jesus does not hand over a roadmap – rather he says, “I am the way.”
The first year that I was here I did some hiking – the trail wasn’t exactly obvious. The markers were a bit spread out, the path got rocky, roots everywhere and some mud thrown in for character. And every now and then I had one of those moments where you stop and think, “Am I still on the trail…or am I about to become a story someone tells later?”
Now if you are hiking alone, that moment can make your heart beat a little faster. You start second guessing every step. But if you are with someone who knows the trail – someone who has hiked it a dozen times – it’s different. They walk ahead a bit, step over the roots, point out the markers you might have missed, and say, “You are doing well – stay with me.”
You may not know exactly where you are on the map, but you trust them. And somehow, that is enough. That is what Jesus is saying. “I am the way.” He does not say, “Here’s a perfectly marked path with no confusion.” But rather he says, “Stay close to me. I know where we are going.”
And let’s be honest – sometimes in life, we wander a bit off the trail. We get distracted. We make a wrong turn. We follow something that looks like a path – until it isn’t. And if life had a GPS voice, that would be the moment it says, “Recalculating.” No yelling. No shame. Just, “Let’s get back on track.”
And that is Jesus. Patient. Steady. Not panicking when we do. Then Philip says, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough.” And Jesus answers, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” In other words, if you want to know what God is like, look at the one walking beside you on the trail. The one who forgives. The one who does not rush you. The one who waits when you are tired. The one who notices when you are struggling. The one who never says, “You are on your own now.” That is God.
And that is why Jesus can say, even when life feels uncertain, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” The promise is not that the trail will always be easy. The promise is that we will not walk it alone.
Yesterday (Friday) this message of Jesus came into my office. Many of you know about Evan and Agnes who owned the Greek Restaurant on Main Street. Agnes is a Catholic from Indonesia who lived with fear of religious persecution. She came to the States as an asylum seeker and has regularly reported to the Immigration Center in Champlain NY and was daily monitored by her cell phone. On Dec. 8 she reported to Champlain as required and was unexplainably snatched up by ICE, sent to jail in Plattsburgh for four days and then to a detention center in Texas – where she still is. She was following the law. In recent months all of the letters and efforts to legally secure her release have been completely ignored by our government officials – she will be deported to Indonesia in the next few days. I met with her husband Evan on Friday – and in his great grief and frustration he echoed to me the words of our Lord Jesus from today’s gospel– the Lord is with us on the way – He is our life…. He is with us! Evan should be giving this homily! From his troubled and broken heart Evan spoke powerfully that the Lord was with them. But as for me, as I listened to this man of faith I could not help but think that as a taxpayer, I am supporting this unjust and cruel treatment of human beings.
Secure borders are necessary - the deportation of criminals is understandable. This is completely different. Evan and Agnes know deep in their hearts that God is with them in this troubled time…. I wish that I could be as certain that God is with us as a country.