5 Easter A

"Do not let your hearts be troubled." But there is so much to disturb our hearts and minds. How are we to find peace in such troubling times?

5 Easter A

May 2, 1999

The Rev. Valerie Ann Hart

John 14:1-14

            “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Do not let your hearts be troubled? That sounds easy. These are beautiful comforting words from Jesus, but sometimes in the context of life, it is not so easy. Do not let your hearts be troubled? As if we could stop our hearts from sometimes being troubled. As if we could listen to the news and not let our hearts be troubled. As if we think about my children and all they have to deal with and not let our hearts be troubled. As if we could deal with grief, and loss, and arguments, and random violence, and warfare, and running out of money and, and, and, and not let our hearts be troubled. Maybe a monk off in a cave could let his heart not be troubled, but in real life, in the context of real life, it’s not that easy.

            It wasn’t that easy for the disciples either, in the context of their lives. The placement of this passage, this call from Christ to not let their hearts be troubled, comes in an odd place in the Gospel of John. It is during the last supper, Jesus has washed their feet and then told that that one of the disciples will betray him. Judas has left and just before this line Peter is told that he will betray Jesus three times. After all that, after hearing of betrayal and death and losing their teacher, Jesus says to them “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” How could they possibly have not had troubled hearts, yet Jesus says to them, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”

            Is Jesus completely out of touch with reality here. How could they possibly not have troubled hearts? Of course Jesus knows how troubled their hearts are, what he is trying to do is give them a broader picture that can free them from the suffering they are experiencing. How are they to not have troubled hearts? By believing in God and believing in Christ. The way to an untroubled heart is to trust in Jesus. To trust that even though he is going away, he is going to prepare a place for for them. To trust that there is so much more that they don’t understand. He tells them that they know the way, yet they don’t think that they do. "How can we know the way when we don’t even know where you are going?" they respond. The disciples are caught in the physical realm, in their day to day reality. In that reality, things were looking pretty bleak. There were plenty of reasons for a troubled heart. But Jesus wanted them to look at another reality, the reality that is beyond physical limitations. The reality in which Jesus and the Father are one. The reality in which all that is happening around them is part of a larger plan for the salvation of the world. Rather than being something to be troubled by, it is something to be anticipated and to accept with peace in the heart. From the questions of the disciples it is clear that they were not yet ready to accept this other understanding of reality, and in fact they were extremely troubled of heart, hiding away in fear, until they experienced the resurrection.

            But after the resurrection, there was a transformation. Those living in fear with troubled hearts, lived a fearless life. Those whose hearts were troubled lived with hearts that were free and filled with joy. It is not as if the world suddenly became easy. The early Christians were persecuted. It was only after the resurrection they too were able to see the broader perspective.

            Take a look at the life that Paul was living as described in the reading from Acts. Paul would go into a city, preach, convert a few while disturbing a lot of other people. These people would then form a mob, attack the home Paul was staying at and quite literally drag Paul or his friends before the judges. At this point Paul would escape and run to the next city to do it all over again. During his teaching missions, Paul was threatened with stoning, arrested numerous times, ship wrecked, lowered over the city wall at night in a basket, jeered at, harassed, betrayed, abandoned and all the while he was suffering from an ongoing physical disorder. He heard that the communities he established were getting into all kinds of trouble, with in fighting, back biting, and questionable theologies. If you think your life is tough, look at what Paul went through. Yet, he would have been able to say that his heart was not troubled. He knew the secret of how to have an untroubled heart while living in real life. He had the broader perspective. He knew that Jesus and the Father were one, and that Jesus was there with him, supporting him, aiding him. He knew that there was a place prepared for him. From this larger perspective, what happened to him in his daily life was minor. For example in 2 Corinthians, after having detailed the sufferings of his ministry, including beatings and imprisonments, he describes Christ’s response to his prayers to be free of an continuing problem (12:9-10) “but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.”

            To be content with insults, hardship, persecutions, to be able to boast of one’s weaknesses, to know that true strength is found in weakness - these are the statements of an untroubled heart. To be able to live a life of difficulties, losses, pain, fear, and yet remain inwardly at peace, that is the life that Christ offers. To believe in Christ, to believe in the father, to be confident of Christ’s resurrection and that he is waiting for us, that is the source of true peace of mind - an untroubled heart. If we look for peace of mind in the outside world, we will never find it. If we trust in guns, or money, or walls, or a ‘safe’ suburban home for our security , we will never find it. Our hearts will remain troubled. But if we seek our security in Christ. If we learn to trust that he is the way, the way to God, the way to Love, the way to Peace, then we will discover that we can have an untroubled heart, even in the midst of pain and suffering. We will find that our security is no longer based on the things of the world, but on the one who created this world. We indeed will be able to follow, for we will know the way, the truth and the life.

Sermon 5 Easter - Do not let your hearts be troubled

Jesus tells us to not let our hearts be troubled. That is easier said then done. Here is a sermon I gave back in 1996 on the topic. Hope you find it helpful.

Sermon

5 Easter - A

May 5, 1996

Given at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church

By Rev. Valerie Hart

         Imagine when you were a child, oh 5 or 6 years old. You have gone on walk in the woods with an older brother or cousin or friend whom you really trust. The woods aren’t so scary when your with this person. You feel safe with him or her, you have faith that they know the way home, so even though you may not know your own way, you are not afraid. Then this person says to you that they have to hurry on ahead. They will be leaving you, in the middle of the woods, alone. You feel terrified, abandoned, unsure of yourself. Don’t leave me you protest. No matter how much your friend reassures you that he won’t be far away, that he will leave a trail for you to follow, that you will be OK and have nothing to fear, you are in a panic. Like any good 5 year old you start to cry, to scream in protest. In fact you are so caught up in your own protest that you don’t notice that your friend has left.

         Finally your crying is exhausted. It is clear that you must do something. You begin to call for your friend, and sure enough you hear his voice, far away, but clear, saying; It is OK. Just follow the trail of stones I left for you.” Just hearing his voice reassures you. You get up and wipe your eyes with your grubby sleeve and look around. Sure enough, there are the stones he promised. Pretty little stones that show the way. With some fear at first you begin to follow them, but as you get more confidence that they are indeed leading you home your footsteps become firmer. But just when things seem to be going so well, you reach an obstacle, a tree trunk across the path. You begin to panic, once again feeling lost, abandoned, hopeless. You call out your friend’s name and sure enough you hear his voice; “It’s OK, you can climb over it. It is not too much for you.”

         Once again you have the courage to go on. And after climbing over that tree your confidence begins to soar. You know you can make it, if you just keep following the stones. What a journey it has been, filled with terror, excitement, success, and then you see home. And not only are your home, but your friend had gone ahead to set up a surprise party for you. All your friends are there, cheering that you made your way home. And then you know that your friend had never really abandoned you. He had been close at hand but out of sight, all along.

         When Jesus speaks with his disciples before his crucifixion, trying to explain to them what is about to happen, they just don’t get it. They have so enjoyed having him close at hand. He has helped them to feel safe, confident, loved, they can’t imagine him leaving them. Jesus does his best to reassure them. “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”  But they were troubled. He told them that they know the way, but Thomas said; “How can we know they way. We don’t even know where you are going.” “I am the way, and the truth and the life.” he responds, but they are still not satisfied. They want proof. They want to “see the father”. They are like scared children who are being left. They are feeling abandoned. They feel that they will be lost without him. And they want proof that everything is going to be all right.

         Doesn’t that sound a lot like us.

         We read the scripture “Do not let hearts be troubled” but we are troubled. We are troubled at our losses, at the death of loved ones, at our own illnesses, at our aging, at our impending death. We are troubled by our concern for others, by the suffering we see around us, by the senseless violence, by the concern for our own children and grandchildren. Often our hearts are troubled.

         And we read “You know the way” yet we often feel lost. Unsure of what is next in our lives, unsure of what to do or where to go. We lose our confidence to make decisions, we get lost in a sense of hopelessness and despair, depression and anxiety.

         So like Philip, we want proof. “Show us the Father and we will be satisfied.” Just prove to me that God exists, just prove to me that there is a meaning in life. Just prove to me that I really am loved by Christ as much as I have heard, as much as I long to be. Prove to me that I have not been abandoned.

         Jesus’ response to the disciples was one of loving compassion. He answered, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” The Greek word translated a seen involves more than just physical sight, but also a sense of fully knowing, of a spiritual seeing, like a vision, a depth of comprehension. If we have seen, understood, spiritually sensed Christ, we have seen the Father, we have known God.

         So we find ourselves troubled, or we feel lost and abandoned. What are we to do? If we focus on Christ, if we attempt to “see” him, if we call out to him, if we ask him for peace, for reassurance, for direction we will discover that he is here with us. We will fidvobrt hat he has never left us, and that he is longing to welcome us home. “If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.” Jesus tells us. If we ask for peace, for his support, for awareness of his presence of reassurance of his love, we will find it. We will find that peace of mind, we will have an untroubled heart, we will know the way and the truth and the life and we will know that we have not been abandoned and never will be. For Christ is risen, he has conquered death, he has shown us that his love is forever and that we are never alone.