The

‘I am’
sayings of Jesus

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Jesus said,
‘I am the bread of life.’
T
here are some things that we can't live without:
water, food (not for more than a few weeks),
certainly not air. There are some things that we
could live without, but life wouldn't be the same. Can you
imagine a world without fish suppers, or lightly baked whipped
egg whites with cream? Is that a necessity, or a meringue [am I
wrang?]. Sadly, the people of Jesus' time had probably never
come across meringues, but they knew how to bake. For
them, the thing that they couldn't imagine living without was
bread. Everybody ate it, and everyone knew what it felt like
not to have it. It was both commonplace and essential. What
things could you not imagine living without?
What about people, rather than things or food? One of our
children, when very young, was looking forward to having
friends round to celebrate some birthday. The phrase, which
stuck in my memory, was, 'I'm starving for a party!' Yes, maybe
starving for sausages on sticks and cake, but probably more so
'starving' for company, for games together, for shared fun.
What people are such a part of your life that you can almost
not imagine their being absent? What people are to your
whole life what bread is to your physical life?
Bible
That is, I think, the idea Jesus conveys in this conversation
with the crowds who may recently have been fed. They may
have been impressed, yet if the people think that Jesus is the
new Moses, ought he not to feed the people for a generation,
rather than a lunchtime?
Jesus wants the crowd to stop thinking literally about bread.
He wants them to think of whatever, better whoever, they
can't live without. It's the idea of being indispensable, not of
being made with dough, that matters most.
So the bread of God is what comes from heaven and gives
life to the world. Jesus spells it out. He is the bread of life. In
other words, he gives real life. But more than that, he gives
satisfying life so that there won't be a need to go off and get
more of whatever it is that you need in order to live.
After saying that, Jesus extends the image. It is not simply
about satisfying our needs, but is about some kind of
permanent satisfying relationship. God the Father gives his
people to Jesus, and Jesus keeps them for ever, even after
death and right on until the last day. In fact, everyone who
sees the Son and who trusts in the Son will have life both now
and for ever. How satisfying is that?
A sermon preached
at St Kentigern’s
on John 6:30-40
Application
Well, it has the potential to be truly satisfying. Doesn't it
change your thinking to be told that you have value and
importance in the eyes of the God of the whole universe?
There is a view today which cannot understand that, which
cannot ‘get it’ that God would have concern like that for each
person. I think that says more about a lack of human vision
than it does about God's lack of love. Jesus offering to be your
bread for life says something about the love which God bears
towards you.
Do you have some sense that the things Jesus does, that
what Jesus stands for and the words he speaks are truly right?
Does it not positively impress you that he speaks that life
ought to be full and abundant; does it not matter to you that
Jesus welcomes and includes, and teaches that even if it's
costly, it's much better to be together than apart?
Are you not touched in your heart when you think, for
example, of Peter the big fisherman? He was such a coward at
such an important time as Christ’s trial that told everyone he
didn't know Christ. Meeting the risen Lord on the beach and
sharing breakfast, how do you think Peter felt being told to
feed Jesus' lambs?
There is something about Jesus' vision of God; something
about Jesus' teaching about human relations; something about
Jesus' own life and reactions to those around him that makes
him hugely attractive.
And more than all this, there is the possibility that we may
really engage with him. We do that by opening our hearts to
him. We speak to him in ordinary and honest ways about what
we see in the world and what we think and feel about it. We
do it by opening our minds to him, honestly thinking about
what he said and taught and did in the light of the Old
Testament's teaching and influencing his early followers. We
do it as we open our lives to Jesus, making sometimes costly
decisions about serving him either right where we are, or
planning and preparing to serve in a very different way and
place. We never become too big, too smart or too good for
Jesus. Yet Jesus always comes to us where we are, at the stage
we're at in our faith journey, leading us forward on the next
steps.
If we are to go forward we need strength, confidence and
direction. We get strength from Jesus' promises, and from his
Spirit living within us which he also promised. We get
confidence from Jesus' character, for he welcomes more than
he condemns and encourages us forward rather than beating
us from behind with a stick of fear or violence. Jesus gives us
direction in the grandest vision of what it would be like to live
in a society focused on a God of grace, where love was placed
first on the agenda all the time.
In these ways Jesus is the bread of life.
But then there's the meringue problem. You know, you
look in the fridge on Monday morning and see three
meringues from the night before. Sure, there's also yogurt and
fresh veg and all sorts of really good things, but the meringues
will be stickier today than they were yesterday. So you open
the fridge at lunchtime and see only one meringue, and since
it's lonely you feel you'd better eat that one, too.
My life is a bit like that. I go for what instantly attracts me
rather than stopping to think about what is really good. My life
focuses so much on me that other people hardly get a look in.
It's about the money and the things and the bling as Jessie-J
sings; and about the price tag and earning enough to spend …
and on it goes. It should be about bread; and I get excited
about the icing on the cake. A-meringue? I think I am.
For Jesus doesn't offer bling and glitz and wealth and fame
and ask you to be a bright young thing like they all are on
90210. Some churches do try to sell you that, but I don't think
they're quite connecting with Jesus the bread of life.
Because bread's pretty ordinary: I'd rather have a cream
cake than a jam sandwich any day. Bread's everywhere; from
the discount store to a Masterchef pudding. Bread is
something almost everyone eats, and it’s the most popular
grocery product in the UK: if you want to stand out from the
crowd you'll need to buy caviar, not Kingsmill.
Jesus is the bread of life because he is there for all, not only
for a few. Jesus is the bread of life because he alone nourishes
us with truth from God. Jesus is the bread of life because he
offers us the life of God through his Spirit in our lives. Sure,
these days there are many other things which compete with
him for our attention. But none of them satisfies like Jesus
does. Not inwardly, in our souls. Not intellectually, in our
thinking. Not socially, informing how we live and make
progress together. Jesus said two thousand years ago that he
was the bread of life.
Jesus is the indispensable companion for real living. That's
true today, and even now as you hear his voice you can come
to know his friendship, his leading and filling your soul. He is
the bread of life.

Jesus said,
‘I am the door.’
C
alling yourself a door might sound a little strange to
us, but Jesus’ audience would have known what he
meant. Several herds of sheep were normally kept
together in one large pen with stone walls. There was only
one gate or doorway, looked after by one doorkeeper,. That
way the sheep were safe and you only had to pay one man to
guard several flocks overnight.
If anyone tried to get in to the sheep over the wall, he was
up to no good. The watchman would only allow the proper
shepherds in to get their sheep. Jesus begins by describing
sheep-herding as it really was.
He develops the image, though, to apply it to the people
who are there listening to him. Jesus says there have been, in
fact that there are robbers. These aren't the Old Testament
prophets. They are religious leaders who make a comfortable
living out of the faith of the people. The Jerusalem priests,
especially the Sadducees were very wealthy. They had smart
homes, indoor pools and good décor. Jesus criticises their self-
interest, being in the business of religion for the earthly profit
they can make. They are to people's faith what men who climb
over the wall are to sheep.
Although Jesus isn't part of the establishment, he wants
people to be clear that he does not see himself as an outsider,
somebody about whom you should harbour suspicions. The
priests might have put that criticism of Jesus about, and Jesus
refutes it. He does so by making a huge claim: that he himself
is the way God’s people are kept secure, just as sheep can go
in to the pen and be safe. He is also the way God’s people
find real freedom, just as sheep can come out from the pen
through the door and find good grazing.
Jesus says he alone is this door, probably contrasting himself
to the other religious leaders. If you want to be safe, and free,
Jesus says, look to me. Don’t look to the religious leaders of
the day. Jesus alone is the gate.
So there's the choice: follow the priests, or follow Jesus.
We do not have to make that sort of choice. Or do we?
So what?
Trust often flows through people. When we are young, we
naturally trust those who care for us. We carefully teach
children at school the limits of trust. I think we keep some
sense of trust which flows through people. You're much more
likely to believe something which you actually hear and see
A sermon preached
at St Kentigern’s
on John 10:1-10
from someone; and you're more likely to trust someone you
know.
There's a science about this, called the theory of diffusion of
innovation. It started with a company selling seeds in the
United States. It found that fancy adverts didn't persuade
farmers to buy new types of seed nearly as much as if your
neighbouring farmers used it and told you how good it was. A
similar thing happened in Africa. They sent clever scientists to
teach farmers to half-boil their rice because it helped keep it
good for longer. Few followed the advice, but when other
local farmers told their friends the same thing, and passed
round videos of local farmers explaining how this was better,
doing the different thing suddenly became normal practice.
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People are often the pipeline through which trust flows.
We might trust what we read or see, but there's something
quite human and personal about trusting that we find it easier
to trust people. We trust what people tell us, especially
people who were influential in our formative years. Can you
remember things you learned from parents and teachers and
older family members? Distrust also flows through people, so
our experiences of having been let down, or mis-led by people
we thought would have helped us more can stop us trusting
people again.
It seems as though the church encourages you, through
people who speak (like ministers) to trust. You might think
that is mainly trusting 'facts'. You're told to trust that God
made the world, that Jesus saves you from your sin, that there
is a heaven you go to when you die.
I don't think that's what it's about, really. The invitation to
trust comes through people, and those people should be
trustworthy and reliable in looking out for your good. But
they're not the ones you're asked to trust, and you're not
even asked to trust what they say. How do they know,
anyway?
The person you are to trust is Jesus. I really mean that. He
is the door. He is the One through whom you are kept safe in
the grace of God for ever. He is the One who comes to give
life in abundance. I think it's possible to trust Jesus, not as a
one-off event but as a way of life. Learn what he said and did
so you know it almost by heart, and then discover what others
said and still say about him. Open your life to him. Spend time
thinking about Jesus, and your life with Jesus in it. You can be
imaginative here: what would it be like to go for a coffee with
Jesus? Or your work? Or school? Talk to him about your
experiences and see how he might lead you.
Sometimes this may be more about security, about being
safe, secure and protected. That's fine, for Jesus is the gate to
the sheep-fold. When we desperately need to know that
security. Jesus tells us that we truly have such security in God
through him. It's proper and possible to enjoy that safety. But
it comes from a person, not an idea that someone shared with
you. Other times it is about freedom. Jesus is the gate to the
wider world. He gives us the freedom to go out into this
world, free to serve the people who inhabit it, free to love
those who live in it and to cherish the world itself, free to find
the pasture of discovering God at work on earth, and freedom
even to work with God. This all comes from a person, not
simply an idea someone shared with you.
I invite you, then, to consider for yourself what it means for
you at this moment in your life, in your circumstances, in your
faith that Jesus is the gate. What possibilities for safety or for
service, for guarding or for growth, do you sense as you open
your life to Christ; not as a one-off event of coming to believe,
but as a continual process of living in faith in Christ? Christian
faith is not so much believing that (something is or isn't the
case) or even believing in (a way of doing things, an
organisation). Faith is believing Christ in a direct person-to-
person way with which we're all familiar.
So of course it is for you to do with this as you wish. My
hope is that you will find freedom to go in and go out, find
safety and nourishment, and live fully for the God whose Son
himself is the gate, the door, through whom we have life
abundantly.

Jesus said,
‘I am the good shepherd.’
I
remember, when I started working in a legal office, that I
didn't really understand the almost paternal concern the
partners had towards their clients. I came to realise that
when the partners talked about 'their clients' they really meant
it, much in the way they might speak about 'their children.'
They understood that they provided for their clients and
wanted to do well for them. I'm pretty sure that's similar if you
work in the health service. Your patients mean something to
you. Your customers, particularly those you've done business
with for many years, aren't just a source of income. They're
part of your business.
Bible
Hearing the phrase 'good shepherd' in Jesus' time might be
like hearing today the phrase 'generous banker' or 'hard-
working minister'. Stereotypes stick. The general view of
shepherds in Jesus' time was that they were not honest.
It's easy to understand why. Basically, they didn't have
mobile phones then. Shepherds were the men you hired by
the day or maybe by the season, and they looked after your
flock for you. So they would take away your whole flock, a
significant asset, and go away to find pasture maybe for quite
an extended time. There was no way of getting in touch with
them. You had to trust they would bring your sheep back!
However if the going got tough, they could just get going.
You would have no way of chasing them up if they simply left
the sheep and ran off. You might not see them again - these
men often moved from place to place picking up work where
they could. No wonder people were suspicious. The 'hired
hand' didn't have anything invested in your sheep except,
perhaps, their pay. And their life was always more valuable
than your sheep!
Jesus doesn't challenge that view. In fact he capitalises on it
and he calls himself a shepherd to shock his audience into
listening closely. They listened because they would have been
intrigued. Jesus seemed to say he was like one of the men in
that shady profession.
If you look closely, though, you'll see that's just a hook to
get you listening. What he says is that he's really nothing like
the shepherds most people would have thought about.
He is the good shepherd and he 'lays down his life for the
sheep' no less than five times in this tiny section. It's as though
Jesus repeats this idea: 'I lay down my life' so that the audience
gets it. And Jesus explains three reasons why he lays down his
life.
A sermon preached
at St Kentigern’s
on John 10:11-21
First, he is committed to God the Father, who loves him
because he lays down his life. I don't think that means God
wants Jesus the Son dead; but if death is the only way the
Father's purposes will be accomplished, Jesus the Son will do
that. God loves his Son for that loving commitment to his
purposes.
Second, Jesus is committed to his sheep,those around him,
those who 'flock' to hear him speak, those who come to him
for help, those who follow him, sometimes leaving career, or
wealth, or perhaps for a time family,
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behind. He has this extraordinary
vision of there being one flock
under one shepherd and he is so
committed to them being together
with one another – and being
together with him – that he will lay
down his life to achieve it.
Finally, he says that laying it down
will not be the end. If he lays down
his life he shall take it up again.
Here is Jesus, fairly early on in his teaching, already pointing
people to what will happen, and then what will really happen!
Application
Imagine you had been there. What might you have thought
when Jesus said he was the 'good shepherd'? That there
weren't any of those? Maybe you would be mildly shocked that
Jesus would align himself with such a dodgy job – though he
had done that before with tax-collectors.
If you imagined yourself as a sheep on the hillside at night,
vulnerable to attack,how would it feel in your imagination to
have Jesus the good shepherd there for you? If Jesus was your
shepherd he would give you what you need. You might
remember what you'd learned at home as a child, that 'The
Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need.' And you might
wonder, 'Is this man offering me that kind of safety, is he saying
he will give me what I need?'
However we don't live then but now. Talk of shepherding is
a bit outdated. Is commitment past its sell-by date too? That's
what Jesus is really saying here. To everyone who will listen,
he is saying, 'I am committed to you.' And in doing that, he is
saying what God says, for God is committed to the people he
has made.
But we don't do commitment well in the modern world.
Back then, when the going got tough, the hired shepherds ran
off. Now in difficult times the chief executive gets fired, but
with a golden parachute worth millions. You climb the career
ladder quicker if you jump from job to job; if you stay in the
same place too long, they think you have no ambition. Has
commitment has been lost in the rush to greater efficiency,
quicker change, more profit? What do you make of people
who are there for you; and what value do you put on your
own commitment, perhaps working in the same place for the
same organisation (but probably serving a large number of
different people, clients, customers, patients or pupils) for
many years?
Finally, it's obvious there is one thing we haven't outgrown.
We still die, and those we love we sometimes need to let go.
In our modern world it seems the promise of a commitment
beyond death is just too much. So we may agree with the
crowd around Jesus and say, 'He's raving mad!' when we hear
him talk about having authority to lay down his life and take it
back up. Of course we'd be more polite, and more scientific.
We might think he was deluded, or too idealistic; but
whatever our reason, we'd know he was wrong.
Except that's what we can't know. There comes a point
where you have to take things on trust. If you wait until that
point before you think of trusting, you just might not be able
to do it, just like you can't run for a bus if you're not in the
habit of at least running a little.
So I want to encourage you, even to push you a bit, to
practise trusting. Take some time to think about the words
Jesus speaks here. Imagine he is saying them to you, for in
truth he is. If shepherds are too old-fashioned, imagine Jesus
uses a picture that makes sense for you. Remember, though,
that Jesus is telling you about his stronger-than-life
commitment to God the Father, and to you, and to many
others.
As you stop and think, and maybe pray about that, fell free
to tell your good shepherd, the One who is committed to you
at a depth you cannot know, what you need to say to him. His
love is deeper than the ocean and firmer than steel, yet gentle
too. And he means not for you to keep all your trusting in him
to your old age. He wants you to start trusting in his
commitment to you now, because there are things he wishes
you to know and experience; and there are things that only
committed people dare to do.
Allow the commitment of your good shepherd form your
living now; and to God be all glory for ever. Amen.
 Jesus said, A sermon preached
at St Kentigern’s
‘I am the light of the world.’ on Psalm 56:12-13, Job 29:2-3 ,
John 8:12-19, John 12:34-6 and 1John 1:6
Introduction 'Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes don't look nowhere. Instead, we look anywhere. So without
In a time long before electricity, the people of the Old you.' Jesus says there will come days of difficulty and darkness. Christ, your thoughts are as good as anyone else’s, and we
Testament - and Jesus, too - knew better than we do what Make the most of the light that you have now, so that when descend into a confusion of being unsure who is really showing
darkness was like. Not the orange glow from far away street things become dark, uncertain, even frightening, you will still us the way. It is into this darkness that the Light of the world
lamp darkness, but real pitch-blackness. No wonder darkness know which way to walk. shines. It is the whole of Jesus which shines: his teaching, his
and light were strong images to them their experience of God. And what you believe will affect how you live and will living, his loving, his dying and his rising. He demands of us is
influence what you become. Believe, Jesus says, in the One simply that we look and see.
Bible who is the Light of the world. If you do, you will live in the I think that's part of the problem today. People don't look
The Psalmist captures the difference in this poem of light of the Lord (much as the ancient Psalmist and Job did). and see. It's easy to assume we already know all about Jesus
thanksgiving to God. Darkness goes alongside death, while Living in that light will make you children of light; perhaps even and not to make the effort to find out more. That's true
light and life walk hand in hand. sisters and brothers of the Light of the world. outside church and inside, too. We've put on all sorts of
For Job, the picture is slightly different. Job had lost When John writes to Christians many years later, the idea courses and meetings and chances to learn more, and they're
everything: possessions, loved ones and his status in his town of light and dark is still strong. Fellowship with Christ, which is all poorly attended. Yet when people do take part they find
as an important man blessed by God. He lives in grief and loss what he's writing about, means living conscious of the often it is light and enlightening. People are energised to
and misery so he says his life is like 'walking through darkness'. presence of Jesus. That's what joins Christians to each other; discover more about the real Jesus, shown in the Bible. Will
He looks back and remembers better times which he and they are meant to be joined, not separate and individual. It you come and see more of the light for yourself?
describes as being like standing in God's spotlight. Yet God is, is possible to claim that we belong to Jesus but not to live as Sometimes we're put off because we need to be spiritually
as it were, his head-torch and spotlight. When everything has though we do. John says that's no use. If we live with Christ aware and we find it hard to talk about the things we hold
become dark to Job he remembers just how good it was to be now, we can be sure that all that separates us from God has dearly. Yet we need to work at seeing the light, and at living in
led by God's light. been dealt with. Then confident of God's promise that we the light,. We do this by hearing what Jesus says and doing
In John's Gospel, Jesus calls himself the 'Light of the world' shall, through grace, live in God's light for ever. what he commands. We remember we're not following a
while he is is debating with religious experts, and with other strict sergeant-major, but our loving Saviour, who supports

Jews. They are shocked at what Jesus says!
In this debate, the rule is that you’ve got to back up what
you say. Jesus says it is no-one less than God the Father who
backs up what he says, because it is the Father who sent him.
This is a huge claim for Jesus to make. He is saying he is more
important a prophet like the great Isaiah or Jeremiah. Jesus is
bold enough to say he is the light of the world who comes
directly from God. This is either an unbelievable arrogance or
a supreme confidence. Jesus leaves no middle ground, no
wriggle room, no ifs or buts or maybes. He is, he says, the
Light of the world.
Later, the crowd is confused and perhaps a little worried.
They are intrigued, even excited about what Jesus is doing.
Perhaps they are looking for him to do even greater things!
The last thing they want to do is to lose this new act in town. bloke’ or a ‘new prophet.’ Jesus is properly at home in the
They're encouraged that the Law suggests the Messiah will
remain for ever. So maybe they don't need to do too much. If the Light of the world.’
Jesus is the Messiah, then he will always be around, won't he?
Jesus says no. The people have to seize the moment, make
everything they can of the opportunity they have been given.
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So what?
Jesus claims to be the Light of the world. That is a claim
you need to think about. You cannot simply think that Jesus
was a ‘good man,’ a ‘fine example’, a ‘moral teacher’. Jesus
himself demands that you think more highly of him than that.
He is God. You cannot simply think that Jesus is a ‘spiritual
presence of the Almighty, and it is this Jesus who says, ‘I am
This demands radical, life-changing response. Without Jesus the Light of the Lord. For the Light of the world is the One
we in the dark about God, and about how we are to live. To
paraphrase GK Chesterton, if we stop looking at Jesus we
and enables us to make progress. He expects, too, that we will
make every effort to grow to know him better.
That is what the Psalmist, and Job, both wanted to do.
They wanted above all else to live in God's light. That is
exactly what Jesus the Light of the world allows us to do.
So I want to say on this Mothering Sunday that it's all about
nurture. As mothers are key people who help children learn
by showing them things, talking to them, listening and
correcting in a environment of love and care, so is Jesus as the
world's light. He shows, he teaches, he corrects us while all
the time holding us in perfect love. Nurture your souls on
Jesus, for he wants to your understanding, your faith, your
love for him and for others to grow.
One thing about mothers and children is that it's all quite
natural. We naturally explore, question, discover and learn. It's
not so different with Jesus. Do all that you can, then, to learn
of this Light. I encourage you to make every effort to live in
who shines that you may bathe in his light, and follow his light,
now and forever.

Jesus said,
‘I am the way, the truth and the life.’
Introduction
It's evening, a short time before the Passover. Jerusalem is
teeming with people, those who have come for the feast. The
authorities are on edge, fearing a riot because nationalist
feelings are running high.
In a private room upstairs in an inn somewhere in Jerusalem
or nearby, Jesus eats the evening meal with his followers. As
Jesus and his disciples relax together one of them leaves, and
the others think he's probably gone to buy food or something.
Then the mood changes. Jesus speaks about leaving his
disciples and tells them above all they should love each other.
He suggests that Peter won't last even the night without
disowning the one he follows.
The darkness of the evening reflects the mood in the room.
In the flickering light of a few oil lamps Jesus tells his followers
that he must go on ahead of them, and that in time they will
come to join him. It is in a setting filled with threat and fear
that Jesus speaks words of comfort and faith which have
echoed down the centuries: 'I am the way, the truth and the
life.'
Difficult times may be the ones in which we learn most. We
do not go looking for trouble, but we can face up to it, and
learn and grow through it. It is in response to uncertainty that
Jesus makes this, perhaps the most famous, of all his 'I am'
sayings. After having encouraged his followers not to worry,
Jesus promises his disciples they will be safe with him once the
immediate troubles have passed.
This doesn't make sense to Thomas. He knows neither the
place Jesus is talking about, nor the way they will get there. So
he speaks up. There is a place for airing our lack of
understanding. In church - in fact in many things concerning
faith - we may prefer to remain silent, or not to turn up. By
failing to speak or take part we may be short-changing not
only ourselves but those we could help by our contribution.
Sometimes seeking clarity can be helpful both for yourself and
for others.
In response to Thomas's question, the disciples are pointed
again to to Christ himself; Jesus points all his followers to his
own character.
'I am the way'
Many Jews knew that 'the way' was a shorthand way of
living properly God's way, behaving as God wants and enjoying
the sense of God's blessing because God is near. In victory
king David says: “As for God, his way is perfect.” (2Sam
A sermon preached
at St Kentigern’s
on John 14:1-10
22:31). The prophet Isaiah said: “Yes, LORD, walking in the
way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are
the desire of our hearts.” (Is 26:8). To live in God's way is to
live both according to God's commands and also to enjoy
God's company.
When Jesus says that he is the Way, he means that God's
intention for people is to be obedient to Jesus. Loving him
entails doing as he instructs. People follow Jesus by living
according to his teachings. More than that, though, Jesus'
followers have some sense of his presence. They speak to him
in prayer. They trust his promise that he shall, by his Spirit, be
with them; and that where two or three gather in his name he
shall be in their midst.
So the early followers of Jesus are called people who
'belong to the Way' (Acts 9:2). The Way is not simply a route.
It is a Redeemer. The Way is not simply a path. It is a person.
The Way is not a location. It is a life: the life of Jesus.
Christian faith always has Jesus right at the centre. Not
simply because we accept his teaching, nor that we admire his
example. Christ is at the centre because he is the Way, the
only Son of God the Father fully human and with us, leading us
to God and in truth God present with us now.
'I am … the truth'
Sometimes, clever people tell you that something is the
truth, or witnesses in court swear they will tell the truth, and
all of it. We need truth, at least of some sort, in order to live
well. Yet truth isn't as true or as certain as we might hope.
The scientific method rests on testing possibilities. It's always
provisional; always up for being challenged and changed, even
though much in it can be relied upon.
Juries in court cases have to weigh the evidence because
not all the evidence that's given in courts is always the whole
truth and nothing else. Lives are changed depending on what a
jury believes is nearer the truth, when clearly not all they've
heard can all be true. Our living is always in the context of
greater uncertainty than we might really like.
What, then, is true about the things that really matter to
us? What is true about our place in the world; how can we be
'true' in our relationships; what should we truly set our hearts
on and give our lives to fulfil? Is it true that success can be
measured in money; or that family is the most important thing,
or that love conquers all?
We yearn for some sense of what is right; what is, if you
like, true. Jesus does not say that he merely teaches us true
things (though he tells us that he speaks the truth). Jesus says
he is himself the truth. He does not simply teach us morals.
He lives them out. His life is made up of being truthful to God
and about God, being true to his friends, true even to those
with whom he disagrees. Light has come into the world. Jesus
doesn't simply tell the truth. Jesus is the truth; truth you can
trust your life to.
'I am … the life'
Earlier in this Gospel, Jesus told Martha he was the
resurrection and the life. In that sense he means that in him
you may find life beyond the life of this world. Speaking here
to his disciples, though, Jesus says that in him you may find life
even within the life you are now living. Jesus is the life to
come; but he is also the Life now. What does that mean?
At the well in Samaria Jesus spoke about living water,
welling up to refresh, to cleanse, to give something which was
alive and active and bubbling? He spoke to Nicodemus about
the activity of the Spirit, like the wind uncontrolled but
powerful, moving in people's lives to give them a new God-
oriented way of seeing and living.
Jesus taught and encouraged people to forgive one another,
hugely extending ideas of neighbourliness. He gathered people
from different cultures and races together and saw his death
would accomplish this to a greater extent. Jesus makes people
new in themselves, and new in their connections with one
another, and new in their relationship with God. He does not
simply give life. He is life, the true life of God not only coming
to show us but enabling us to live as he shows and promises.
This life he shares with those who trust in him.
Conclusion
It is a phrase of comfort in disturbing times to followers
who aren't sure. Jesus doesn't try to persuade or convince
them. He points them to himself and in doing that he confirms
that he gives himself to them. He is himself the way, the truth
and the life. He is the way we see the Father. He is the way
we serve the Father. He is the way we engage in the very life
of God. And his promise is that this life begins now, and
continues for ever.
Is that how you see Jesus; and how you put your trust in
him, and what you expect from him throughout life and
beyond? You may indeed commit your ways safely to him. For
Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.

Jesus said,
‘I am the true vine.’
P
alm Sunday gets its name from the palm branches
people which used to welcome Jesus to Jerusalem
near the start of the Passover festival. People used
what lay readily to hand to give a particular welcome to Jesus.
That's because of what they had seen him do, and what they
had heard from others. John tells us that the Jewish people
who had seen Jesus raise Lazarus from death were among
those who had gone to Jerusalem for the Passover festival.
When they heard that Jesus was coming, they went out to
meet him. These witnesses of Lazarus being raised were key in
welcoming Jesus. But they did yet more. They told those who
were round about them what Jesus had done. So, some of
those who had only heard about Jesus' tremendous act in
raising Lazarus also went out to meet him. All these people,
then, seeing Jesus approach Jerusalem, used branches cut from
the trees to wave them while they chanted old verses rich
with meaning.
They shouted words you would shout when you welcome
the Messiah to God's city. For a deal of his ministry Jesus
down-played his role as a king, as Messiah. Now, though, as he
approaches Jerusalem for the last time, Jesus does not stop the
crowd. He fulfils Messianic expectations as he rides into
Jerusalem on a colt and fulfils the prophecy about the Messiah.
Even here, however, the picture is what everyone would
have expected. Surely someone who has power even over
death can command a nobler beast than a colt? A conquering
general might enter on a large horse, but Jesus comes instead
on a donkey. That is to emphasise that he comes not in
power, but to bring peace. Peace not only among people, but
peace and reconciliation between humankind and God. No
wonder the crowd cries that the one who comes in the name
of the Lord is blessed.
-- 0 --
Later, Jesus speaks to his followers not about the show of
all the waving palm branches but about growing grapes.
Viticulture was widespread and popular, and the people of
Israel were often described in the word-picture of being God's
vine. Usually, though, they were said to be like a vine that
doesn't produce many grapes.
So Jesus says he is the true vine. Again, we see him directly
drawing spiritual attention to himself. You ought not to think
that being involved in an organisation, even the church, is
enough. You need to remain in Jesus himself, be immersed in
A sermon preached
at St Kentigern’s
on Palm Sunday 2011
on John 12:12-19 and John 15:1-8
him and let his life fill you. Christian faith is centred, rooted,
firmly in Christ.
One of the signs that should be seen clearly in Christians is
that they grow. We should be growing more deeply in our
understanding of God. We should be increasing our love for
Christ and our desire to make a Christian difference in the
world. In order to do that, we need to be pruned (or better
'cleaned'). The rubbish needs to be removed so that we can
live and grow more strongly in Christ.
This is only a picture, but the image is that branches which
don't produce fruit are cut off and thrown away because
they're worthless. Jesus doesn't want us to understand this
picture in a way that makes us afraid, worried that we do not
belong. But he does expect that Christians will make every
effort to live and remain in him. All that is irrelevant to living
for him needs to be cut back in order that we might produce
lasting fruit.
JESSTHERESE @ FLICKR
If you couple vines and palms together, then one way of
producing fruit is to tell other people about your experience
so that they will want to go and hear about Jesus for
themselves. That's what some folk in the crowd did at Palm
Sunday, and in doing so they they encouraged other people to
be interested enough to go and find out more.
Is that what you do? Do you allow your interest in Jesus to
intrigue others? Do you let your love for Christ leak out, not
so that you come across as weird but so that your friends
might wonder what a living faith in Christ is about? Part of our
fruitfulness is that we share enough of our own, honest
experience of Christ that others become interested enough to
come and discover for themselves.
The other side of this coin is that run the risk of
downplaying our experience of Jesus so much that we cease to
encourage anyone to come to find out more about him! When
we join the bandwagon of criticism of the church, or when we
keep silent in the face of all the fun that's made of real faith,
we can become part of a system which denies people the
chance of discovering that Jesus might be worth finding out
more about, of discovering that Jesus may be worth trusting,
of finding our that he is in truth the Lord of life and a
wonderful Saviour.
f you are disinterested in discovering more about Jesus you
are saying to others that, in your opinion, he's not that great.
That is not what the crowd in Jerusalem did. If you criticise
people's imperfect but honest efforts to worship and serve,
you discourage others from seeing what really matters most. If
you don't come along and take part in worship regularly, you
encourage other people to follow your lead and to stay away.
Except that Jesus is our Saviour, and he is still capturing
people's minds and thrilling hearts today!
Don't be fooled by those who have become disinterested.
Jesus is the true vine. He is the way our lives are connected to
the source of life, to God the Father. There is so much still to
learn, to discover, to explore in Christ and to do to follow and
serve him and the people for whom he gave his life. In your
doing of that, others may see and find out for themselves.
So this Palm Sunday, are you planning to make the march of
witness bigger and more noticeable; or by failing to take part
are you content to say to Kilmarnock that in truth Jesus isn't
really all that important? And this Holy Week, are you going
to take time to find out more about Jesus, maybe spending
time reading a Gospel or the accounts in all four of Jesus' final
hours before his death, or how the early church was energised
as it trusted in a risen Saviour? How are you planning to
remain in Christ the true vine?
Finally, will your actions and your attitude produce fruit?
You're not asked to make people believe, and you ought not
to drag people to church. You could, however, by your
intrigue and excitement, encourage them to find out more.
That would be fruitful.
I encourage you to take steps this week to remain in Christ.
Continue to open yourself to him in prayer. Continue to think
about him and let him influence your thinking and living.
Remain in him, for he is the true vine, and you will bear much
fruit. Let that be all to the glory of God.

Jesus said,
‘I am the resurrection and the life.’
T
he day of Christ's death had been dark, in many
senses. When they nailed him to the cross the sky
had turned black. Mary's hopes had been switched off
like a light, too. All the promise of God's kingdom which Jesus
had taught, all the healings and signs and wonders, evaporated
as she watched her Lord crucified, the life draining from him.
She could hardly bear to stand there as he took his last gasps
of breath, as the soldiers plunged a spear into his side. She was
compelled to remain, though. She was part of a small and
largely unnoticed group of mourners who removed his body
and laid it in a new tomb. The darkness did not lift. Evening
came and turned to night.
Now in the early light of early morning on the first working
day of the week, Mary half-walked and half -tumbled to the
tomb. There was little left to do, though what remained still
mattered. Jesus' body ought to be prepared properly for
burial. Whatever the disappointments of the past few days,
some rituals were important and preparation for death
mattered. What's more, she would have the chance, in the
stillness before the day really began, to take her leave of her
Master.
Dawn broke. The light, watery at first but which grew
stronger as the sun rose, showed Mary things which left her
speechless and millions of Christians hopeful through two
millennia. The crucified Christ was risen. Death was defeated.
Sin was conquered. Reconciliation was achieved. Life had won,
God had triumphed and Mary knew it as she heard the man
she had mistaken for the gardener call her by name.
The Lord is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! You're alive!
-- 0 --
You might have thought that the best place to tell your
followers about resurrection was once they had seen you
raised from death. I imagine in the garden at dawn Jesus knew
that he had Mary's full attention. If he had said to her then, 'I
am the resurrection and the life,' who would have been
surprised? We have a glimpse of the genius of Jesus who does
not do that.
Instead, he speaks of resurrection and life, pointing directly
to himself, elsewhere. He does so as he stands with Martha
near the tomb where the dead body of her brother Lazarus
had been put a few days earlier. Jesus had delayed coming to
see them even though he knew that Lazarus was sick, that he
was terminally ill.
A sermon preached
at St Kentigern’s
on Easter Day 2011
on John 11:17-44 and John 20:1-17
There's some anger in Martha's statement to Jesus, for she
says to him ,'If you had been here my brother would not have
died.' Anger not only at what happened, but at Jesus' failure to
come, at his inability to stop it happening. He healed many
others; he did not come quickly to help his friend who was
now dead. That was in part how she saw
Jesus shared with Martha the understanding common
among some Jews at that time. People believed the dead were
raised by God after death to some kind of shadowy existence.
Martha believes this part of her faith. It's what Jesus says next
that is harder to get your head round.
He said: 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes
in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and
believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?' She may
have seen him as the one who
Then Jesus called Lazarus from the tomb and reunited him
with his sisters.
KODI TANNER @ FLICKR
Here in the half-light of morning, another Mary, not
Martha's sister, stands face to face with the risen Lord. Risen
from death, he does not explain it all to her. Standing before
her he does not preach. He speaks her name. That's all. Once
she understands who it is who stands before her he simply
asks that she go and tell her friends what she has seen. She
isn't asked to explain it. But Jesus asks her to go to tell what
she has seen.
Everything depends on how you see things. Perspective is
hugely powerful. You can look at the part of the hill you have
still to climb and feel faint; or you can see how far you've
come and be encouraged to go on. What you see, though, can
often depend on what you want to see.
I don't know exactly what you might want to see this Easter
morning. You might want to see the enduring power of a story
that still engages millions generations later. That in itself is very
impressive for such a modest account of a meeting in a garden
at dawn. You might come unsure whether the story, almost
unbelievable as it is, can be trusted. I mean, was Jesus raised? Is
Jesus alive? Or you might come, perhaps hoping against hope
that there is the real possibility of new life in Christ. If that is
what you seek, perhaps you don't need a sermon on
resurrection so much as you need to be encouraged to listen
out for the living Lord who calls your name.
One thing we will celebrate in our worship are people who
have, over the past little while, been thinking seriously about
taking a step towards commitment to Jesus. Today they stand
here among God's people and say that they believe in Christ,
that they want to serve him along with his people here, and to
walk in his ways for the rest of their lives. A bit like Mary, they
may not have all the answers. Like her, they speak from what
they know, and from their hearts they declare their faith in
Christ.
In them I invite you to see that you can, in truth, believe
today in the real possibility of new life in Christ. Not only
because he was raised, but because he makes us alive to him
even in the middle of this life which we are now living.
I asked you to bring sunglasses to church today, and at
different times in our service we have worn them to help us
gain a sense of darkness, because they filter out some of the
light. Sunglasses make you see things differently, though they
make you look different, too.
So this Easter I wonder if there's not also an opportunity to
put your s-o-n glasses on. They work differently. They do not
filter out the light but help us to see things in a greater light.
Easter allows us to see things, here and now, in the light of the
truth that Christ is both risen and still living, that he is raised
and present with us now. That will change how you see things,
and it will change how you're seen by others.
This Resurrection Day, see Jesus as the resurrection and
the life. Live in the light of the Son of God now, and never fear
any darkness of death or defeat. For Christ is risen. He is truly
risen!