No one reaches God except through Jesus

Sermon for Easter V, 2026, delivered at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Louisville, KY
Text: John 14:1-14

If I tried really hard, I could mostly recite the first half of this morning’s gospel reading by heart, because it is an appointed reading for funerals, and because I read it two to three times a week on Thursdays at funerals I volunteer for. This passage is part of the Farewell Discourse in the Gospel of John, chapters 13-17, where Jesus says goodbye to his disciples and charges them with spreading his teachings to the world. He is wrapping up his time with them, reminding them of what he has taught them, forming them into a community that continues his work after he is gone. It starts with Jesus showing them selfless service by washing the feet of the disciples, and then moves on to acknowledging their distress when they find out he is leaving, and then ends with a long prayer for their guidance and protection. All of this takes place immediately before he is arrested in Gethsemane. So I have to ask, why are we reading this now, after Easter, after Jesus has risen from the dead in our liturgical calendar?

The short answer I have is that we as a church are in an in-between time, between Jesus’ resurrection and his ascension, where he is still among the disciples, appearing to them. The longer answer starts with something he says that has been badly misunderstood. Jesus says that he is “the way, the truth, and the light,” and that “no one comes to the Father except through me.” A lot of strife in the world has come from that last phrase when it is understood to mean that the entire world can only reach God and salvation through Jesus. However, Jesus was really saying that the disciples would reach God through the way, the truth, and the light that Jesus said he was. He said this in response to Thomas, who misunderstood the rooms in a house that Jesus mentioned, thinking that he was going to lead them to a physical location. Jesus goes on to make a second point, that he dwells in God the Father, and God the Father dwells in him. So, to be in a relationship with Jesus is also to be in a relationship with God, and it is through that relationship of the way, truth, and light that we reach God. Jesus, who we know through our scripture, does not speak for Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, or any other religion.

Even if Jesus is only presented to us in scripture, we can still reach God through the way of life and love that Jesus lived; we can reach God through the truth we find in what he taught; we can reach God through the light Jesus brought. This is what he wanted his disciples to understand, that their life and relationship with God would continue through him after he was gone. This is for us to understand too, that our life and relationship with God continues, especially in other in-between times that we experience. Those other times may be between someone’s death and their funeral, or settling their estate. It can be that time between the decision to leave and closing the door. It can be that time between the decision to move, and finding a new place to live. It was a strange, bewildering, and uncomfortable time for the disciples, and it is the same for us in our lives. It raises questions about where exactly God is, and are we alone, and where do we go from here. In our in-between times, we are faced with uncertainty at the end of something, and we feel an unrootedness because now life is in flux.

Jesus’ mention of the places he is preparing in God’s house addresses this feeling of being rootless and the fluidity of life. It touches on the relationship we have with God made up of the way, truth, and light. So the way home is not about going to a place, it is instead about building or entering into relationships that make a place a home. Jesus is going to prepare a place for the disciples, wherever and whenever they will be. It will follow the disciples because it is a relationship built on love, and love does not need a home to contain it. The way home for us is  where we build, or rebuild, or join existing relationships based on God’s love that Jesus showed the world. So, it is through the way, the truth, and the light that we reach God no matter where we are, or where we might be going. Being in flux or transition in an in-between time does not affect this relationship with God or between each of us.

In some undefined, but short time, Jesus will leave the disciples and return to his father. It will be traumatic for the disciples because for the first time, they will be guided by the Holy Spirit that Jesus will leave with them. They are already becoming anxious because they do not yet know how they will carry on his work, or if they are even capable. They only know of the life they had with Jesus as their shepherd, guiding them, protecting them, loving them. They are beginning to understand that life will be different, that it will be up to them to continue his work as he would have them do, not as they might decide on their own. This is when they enter their in-between time and learn how they will survive it. 

Life changes for many reasons beyond our control, throwing us into a time of anxious transition in an in-between time. The way we used to do things, the way we used to live our lives can and will change as we discern which way to go, and are being changed by the relationships we enter. We are left to continue our lives, but God is always with us as the Holy Spirit, becoming our shepherd. We are led to new relationships and communities where we discern together what to do next, where to do it, and how to do it. We already know the way to God because Jesus has told us how to reach God, and that can give us confidence in where we are called to next.