This last Friday, May 5th, was the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. We raise awareness, recognizing that this is a crisis that often doesn’t make news headlines, but is a problem that deeply impacts Indigenous communities, and thus has an impact on our whole human family. So we remember them, as our siblings who are also loved by the Creator, and call for an end to violence against all people, but especially Indigenous Women.
As I was reading the Scripture lessons for this week, this day of awareness kept coming to mind when I was reading our story from Acts. The Acts reading today is often called the “Stoning of Stephen,” who was a deacon in the early church. He would have gone out to provide food and care to people who were left on the margins, while also proclaiming the Word of God. There is a lot of similarity between early deacons like Stephen and deacons of today; the people who are ordained to the Word and Service roster. So, Stephen was sent out to serve the needs of the community around him, following in the footsteps of Christ.
Now, perhaps you recognize the man, Saul, who is leading his persecution, but it is an act of violence by Roman officials against a man they saw as a threat to them. Perhaps this is ringing some other bells as well. So as I was reading this lesson, I kept thinking about how the perspective we take in our reading changes the way we view the story.
Stephen’s death has many echoes of Jesus’, with persecution for proclaiming his beliefs about the kindom of God, to committing his spirit to God, and crying for forgiveness for those who do these things to him (Acts 7: 59-60). Yet, I find it interesting that when we hear the story of Jesus’ death, we are reminded over and over again that we are a part of the crowd that crucifies him. Whereas, in reading the Stephen story, it seems like it has been common in the church to read ourselves into Stephen’s role. But, I think it is important to acknowledge that so often the larger church has been in the role of Saul, watching and encouraging the literal and metaphorical death of others in the name of rightness and power. This mentality was used to harm Native people throughout our country’s history, from boarding schools to reservations and all the trauma and death that was caused in between, so much of it was done in the name of God. This isn’t even the only example from our history, and it barely scratches the surface of the relationship with our Indigenous neighbors, but I think it is important to acknowledge as we remember today all of the violence inflicted upon indigenous women.
John today continues the “I am” speeches of Jesus, with one of the more popular ones: “I myself am the Way — I am the Truth, and I am the Life. No one comes to Abba God except through me” (John 14: 6). Throughout church history, this was taken to mean that we needed to go out and convert everyone to a specific type of Christianity for the sake of “saving” them. But Jesus doesn’t say that he wants us to all be the same. In fact, I think we really miss what Jesus is trying to do here if this is the only line that we pull out of today’s Gospel reading.
Our reading begins by following the Last Supper, and it begins with a promise: “In God’s house there are many dwelling places; otherwise, how could I have told you that I was going to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:2) Taken in context with the Last Supper, Jesus is trying to bring comfort to his disciples because he knows what is coming ahead, but they still do not understand. And, even with all of his teachings, they still cannot seem to grasp that he is the Son of God. This identity as the Son of God is incredibly important to John, which is why we have so many “I am” speeches. I’ve talked about before how in Greek, “I am” should really be translated “I, I am” with an extra emphasis on the “I,” which is only used in reference to God. So today, the disciples hear: “I myself am the Way—I am the Truth, and I am the Life” (John 14: 6a). Three times they are told “I am,” and yet they still do not understand.
I’m sure Jesus is frustrated at this point that they just still don’t get it: “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and still you don’t know me? (John 14: 9). But Jesus doesn’t stop there. He continues on to say, “Don’t you believe that I am in Abba God and God is in me? The words I speak are not spoken of myself; it is Abba God, living in me who is accomplishing the works of God” (John 14: 10). This is a beautiful invitation by Jesus to truly know him; to see him as he is, fully human and fully divine. Now, it makes sense that the disciples would have a hard time understanding this because we still have a hard time thinking about this, but Jesus is inviting them into deeper relationship with both him and the Triune God because of his identity. When Jesus does all of these signs and wonders, when he does all of his teachings, he is not separate from God; but we see God and come to know more about God through everything that Jesus does. This is what it means to confess that he is fully human and fully divine; that those natures don’t just switch off roles whenever it is most convenient. It is what helps us see God in other people too.
I could go on for hours with this, but instead I want to bring us back to what this all means when we take this story and the stoning of Stephen together. First, I think we have to acknowledge the harm that the larger church has done in the name of Christ. I think we truly have to ask ourselves when we have been acting in the role of Saul, even though right before our Gospel reading for today Jesus gives again the new commandment to love one another (John 13: 34). Second, I think we are called to think about what this love looks like; because in this Gospel it looks like Jesus inviting us to be in relationship with his full self, so that we can show up as our full selves too, not needing to change in order to be accepted. I don’t think Jesus means love to be coercive or executing power over others because we think we know what is best for them. But genuine love comes through those relationships, of truly knowing one another, of acknowledging their belovedness in the eyes of God.
Lastly, I don’t know if we can ever know exactly what Jesus intended when he said that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, but I do think that is an acknowledgment that Christ was present and active in all of creation; including when God saw what God created and called it good. So, I think we are called to do that too; to see one another in love, to care when people are in pain, to pay attention when an entire group of people is missing or murdered or experiencing extremely high rates of violence, and to speak out about the ways they are forgotten. Jesus reminds the disciples today that there is a dwelling place for all of them (John 14: 2). What would happen if we believed this to be true for all people too? Because I don’t think Jesus came to give us permission to destroy the world and the things that God created, but Jesus came to bring life to all people. May we live in such a way that shows we believe this to be true, following the one who is the way, the truth, and the life.