“Do not be troubled” is a message to all of us as Jesus’ disciples as a reminder that we are rooted in the Good News, that we are people of the Way of love and grace, the Truth of God at work in this world, and the abundant Life as the beloved community of God….all because we dwell in the presence of God, because we dwell with God.
March 8, 2026
Rooted in the Good News
The Good News is … “the way, the truth, and the life”
John 14:1-14
Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl
John 14:1-14
“Don’t be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me. My Father’s house has room to spare. If that weren’t the case, would I have told you that I’m going to prepare a place for you? When I go to prepare a place for you, I will return and take you to be with me so that where I am you will be too. You know the way to the place I’m going.” Thomas asked, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you have really known me, you will also know the Father. From now on you know him and have seen him.”
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father; that will be enough for us.” Jesus replied, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been with you all this time? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I have spoken to you I don’t speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me does his works. Trust me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or at least believe on account of the works themselves. I assure you that whoever believes in me will do the works that I do. They will do even greater works than these because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask for in my name, so that the Father can be glorified in the Son. When you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.
The Good News is … the way, the truth, and the life” John 14:1-14
Thomas asked, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”6 Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you have really known me, you will also know the Father. From now on you know him and have seen him.”
These words from the Gospel of John are often used to exclude, giving support to the mindset that only Christians, only people who have embraced Jesus as their Lord and Savior know the correct way, the right way to God. These words from the Gospel of John are often used to build and sustain a club of which only a certain group is permitted membership. These words from the Gospel of John have been weaponized for generations, used to create a border to separate and divide, used as a theological litmus test, used as a way to exclude those who don’t think like us, act like us, and especially those who don’t look like us. And when we read these verses out of context, it can easily be understood and yes supported that this is the meaning of these particular verses. But as you have heard me say on multiple occasions, our sacred text was never meant to be read out of context. It was never meant to be used to uphold beliefs which go against the very nature of the Beloved Community of God, a nature which is welcoming, accepting, and embracing of all as created in the image of God and loved more than they could ever imagine. Our sacred text was never meant to be read in isolation, detached from what is happening around it in chapter and verse. So this morning, I invite us to reclaim the context which surrounds this particular text.
As you may remember at this point in the Gospel of John, Jesus has already entered into Jerusalem, greeted by the crowd as they waved palm branches and shouted Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. At this point, in the Gospel of John, Jesus has already gathered in the upper room with his disciples. He has already washed their feet, reminding them that one of the core Truths of following Jesus is serving others. At this point in the Gospel of John, Jesus has already given his disciples a new mandate, a new commandment to love one another as Jesus has loved them. At this point in the Gospel of John, Jesus has already told the disciples that one would betray him, that one would deny him and the others would scatter.
At this point, in the Gospel of John, the disciples are trying to process just exactly what Jesus is telling them. Because the very one who beckoned them to drop their nets and follow him is now telling them he is leaving them. Because the very one who showed them a different way to be is now saying they know the way, the truth and the Life. At this point, in the Gospel of John, the disciples are trying to process just exactly what Jesus is saying because now he is telling them after he is gone, they will do even greater things. At this point, in the Gospel of John, the disciples are confused. They are hurt. They are wondering what it all means. At this point in the Gospel of John, it is almost as if the disciples are having an identity crisis because everything is changing, everything has changed. The disciples are wondering what they can hold to, what they can trust. They are wondering what will guide them in the days ahead. And in the midst of all that confusion and fear, Jesus gives the disciples a promise of comfort, a reassurance of God’s presence, and a call to hold on to the knowledge with every fiber of their being that God is at work in this world, bringing healing and wholeness in spite of what the larger narrative of the world is telling them. All of that is the context for these verses from the Gospel of John.
But this is only part of what shapes our understanding of this particular text. We also need to look at for whom the author of John wrote these words. Originally, these words were shared with a disconnected community who was also in the midst of an identity crisis as well. John’s original audience had been disinvited from the local synagogue. They felt abandoned and lost. They were coming to realize that what they had once trusted in as sure foundations were crumbling underneath their feet. Everything was changing. Everything had changed. Nothing in the world made sense anymore. Through their encounter with the Risen Lord, John’s original audience had had their eyes opened to how the narrative of power and might has skewed the systems of the world to benefit the wealthy and oppress the poor. After their encounter with the Risen Lord, they could not go back to the way things used to be. They did not want to go back to the way things used to be. Like the disciples before, John’s original audience was confused. They were afraid. They were wondering what they could hold to, what they could trust, what would guide them in the days ahead. And in the midst of all that confusion and fear, John uses these words which Jesus gave to disciples to bring to his disconnected, his disillusioned, his despondent community a word of comfort, a reassurance of God’s presence, and a call to hold on to the knowledge with every fiber of their being that God is at work in this world, bringing healing and wholeness in spite of what the larger narrative of the world is telling them. John uses these words which Jesus gave to his disciples to ground his community in the Good News, to give them connection during difficult times, and remind them once more that love and light will always overcome….Just like these words from the Gospel of John still do for us today, some two thousand years later.
You see, there is so much in this text which speaks to our hearts…Thomas’ need for clarity and direction. Philip’s need for a discipleship template to follow. Even our own…”but, Jesus” questions, wanting, needing Jesus to stay so that we will absolutely KNOW that everything is under control and that there is an adult in the room, somebody besides us who has all the answers and who can fix all of it. And instead of all that, we get…”I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. Instead of fixes, we get promises of comfort, reassurances of God’s presence, what we get is this call to hold on to the knowledge with every fiber of our being that God is at work in this world, bringing healing and wholeness in spite of the narrative of fear which fills our world.
Or let me say it this way…as followers of Jesus Christ, we were never called to separate ourselves completely from the world around us. Jesus gave us the call to serve, the call to love, the call to share the Good news of God’s grace and love with others. And yes, I fully admit all of that would be so much easier to do if people were not involved….grumpy, messy, imperfect, complicated people. People like you and me, people who need to be reminded that love and light will always have the last word, people who do not want to go back to the way things used to be, people who are wondering what they can hold to, what they can trust, what will guide us in the days ahead, especially as we see everything changing, especially as we know everything has changed, especially as we recognize that the world which surrounds us — with its fractures, its grief, its relentless news cycle — can make it, is making it difficult to locate any ground of peace.
Now please don’t hear me say that I have all the answers. I am just as worried, frustrated, heartbroken as everyone else. But what I do know is that we can feel all those things and know that in all things, through all things, Jesus serves as our example. He showed us how to serve. He showed us how to love one another. He showed us what it means to be in relationship, in community with one another. And this example was not a one and done kind of thing. It was his whole life. It was his ministry. It was his death. It was his resurrection. This way, this truth, this life is what transformed us and is helping us become the people God created and calls us to be. It is what serves as a reminder that in the midst of all the complications of this world, we dwell in the promises and presence of God. That no matter what, when it feels like everything is changing, when the sure foundations we counted on are crumbling, when our eyes are open to hurt and hate which is filling our world and we can no longer turn away or ignore it, as Jesus’ followers, we know, we know that this world will not have the last word, that God is here, moving in and among the people of God, bringing healing and wholeness.
And for us as followers of Jesus Christ, this is our good news just like it was for the disciples on that night all those years ago. Just like it was for John’s original audience, a reminder that our faith is not just a set of beliefs but rather a Way of love and grace, a Truth knowing that God is at work in this world, an abundant life experienced through community with the Beloved Community of God. It is this very thing that invites us, that yes allows us to dwell in the complications and hurt which constantly fills our world and know that God is here. It is the very thing we can hold onto, the very thing we can trust. It is and will always be what guides us in the days ahead. May it be so. Amen.
See also: Theology Tuesday for Sunday, March 8, 2026 – The Good News is … the way, the truth, and the life John 14:1-14
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