I Am ...
October 27, 2013 | Anita Retzlaff

Grace and peace to you from God the Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus the Christ. Last Sunday you heard stories of food and fellowship from the Gospel of Luke.  Today we look into the Gospel of John, the last gospel to be written and one that is significantly different than Matthew, Mark and Luke.  One of the main differences is found in the long speeches made by Jesus.  Though there are stories and parables in John also you will discover much more of an attempt to “explain” the faith, to make connections between Jesus and the God of Israel and to show by means of signs and images that belief in Jesus is a logical continuation of faithfulness to the God of (what we have come to know as) the Old Testament.

And so this morning we will hear together seven snippets of John’s gospel that find Jesus explaining to the crowds and to his disciples who he is. “I am bread” says Jesus.  “I am light, the sheep gate: the good shepherd. I am the resurrection, the Way and the vine.”  Seven images that 1st century folk would know as positive and protective forces in their lives. Jesus compares himself to these, actually says that he IS these things.

Were I to stand in front of you this morning and introduce myself thus: “Hi, my name is Anita and I am an alcoholic” you would immediately place me in a particular context and you would know something about my life and my struggle.  I am not an alcoholic however but have other struggles to overcome.  I do introduce myself to people who attend a Sunday morning service here for the first time: “Hi, I am Anita and I am one of the pastors here.”  That tells you who I am for the purposes of further introduction into our congregation, as a point of connection for more information and hopefully immediate access to the spirit of this place and the work that we do here together throughout the week.  I am an ambassador of this community and God's love... and so are you. When you meet someone whom you don’t know and say, “I am… Kathy, Bob, Barb, Matt” you open yourself to the other so that they might know something about you, about who you are.

In the video that we just saw Mennonite Church Canada was introduced to us through the programs and resources that are managed in our head offices in Winnipeg.  This is also a part of who we are as Mennonites here in Saskatoon and throughout our nation.  We are... Mennonite Church Canada doing the work to which God calls us.  Jonah was called too. Like most of us, some of the time, he was a reluctant ambassador. Jonah keeps forgetting who God is and that seems to be a recurring problem throughout our history with God.  We keep forgetting who God is. 

And so to place ourselves back into the Gospel of John we pick up the story as Jesus is introducing himself to the crowds of Jewish people who are really curious about who he is and where he comes from.  They want to know more about him but his introduction takes them off guard. “Hi, I am Jesus, the God you already know.”  How does that make sense? Listen.

(Bread - John 6: 29-35)
Jesus answered [the crowds], ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’ So they said to him, ‘What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” ’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’

Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

“I am the one who nourishes love among you.” says Jesus. “I am the one who feeds your soul, satisfies your longing and meets your need.  I am the one come down from God my Father just as God once provided manna in the wilderness.  This is the work of God. This is my work too. And if you still don’t get it hear this.”

(Light - John 8:12)
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’

Darkness harbours and feeds sin.  Darkness itself is not bad but it can hide evil deeds. Most of us do not parade our selfish acts or unhealthy habits in broad daylight. Darkness is an image for concealment and deception. Jesus however is light: the antidote for our darker tendencies.  In his ministry of healing and forgiveness and acceptance Jesus is clear about the love of God for all people.  “I am light,” says Jesus.
Or how about this? Jesus is the gate to the sheep pen and God, the one who sent Jesus, is the gatekeeper.

(Gate - John 10: 1-10)
‘Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.’ Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

So again Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

We are all invited to enter into life with God.  We will enter into this life with God through the gate, through the work and ministry of Jesus. When we are not sure about how to do this we need only pay attention to what Jesus did in his lifetime. He healed the sick and cared for the weak, fed those who were hungry and chastised bullies.

Jesus is the gate through which we access God. Jesus knows us, protects us and challenges our behaviour. Jesus is also the shepherd of the sheepfold; he calls and cares for his sheep.

(Shepherd - John 10:11-16)
‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Jesus offers his life so that we might understand more clearly who he is; who God is. That is to say that Jesus values saving us from our own destructive ways more than he values his own life. And yet life is the key to understanding who God is. Life with God is an eternal promise; a promise made to all people who believe that it is possible.  What eternal life looks like exactly we do not know but we do know that God is, was and will be with us always even in the face of death.

(Resurrection - John 11:17-27)
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.’

And so everything that we are looking for, safety, love and life with God; all these things Jesus embodies in his encounter with the people he meets.  This is who Jesus is: comfort, wholeness and challenge.

(Way - John 14:1-7)
‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’

When seek to know the heart of Jesus we will also know the heart of God. God and Jesus are one, claims the author of John's Gospel. Jesus' way is the way of God; the way to God. It is the way of the cross and the way of sacrificial love for all people. It is the way of life that seeks to be faithful and self-giving.  

(Vine - John 15:1-11)
‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

"I am one with God," says Jesus.  "I am love."  These images of bread and light and other things offer a glimpse of God's desire for us as people of faith.  Through the ministry of Jesus the Christ, God calls us to be disciples of abiding love.  May your joy be complete.  That is Jesus prayer for you, for me, for all of us.  Thanks be to the God who would have it so.  AMEN