Weekly Sermon of
Fr. Dave Johnson

 Episcopal Church of the Resurrection 

“The Word of Truth, the Gospel of Your Salvation” (Ephesians 1:13-14) 

November 2, 2025 

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In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

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Jesus loves you so much he died to prove it. In his Letter to the Romans the Apostle Paul put it this way, “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, loves you so much he died to prove it. You are fully known and you are fully loved and you are fully forgiven by the One who created you because he wanted to and died on the cross to atone for your sins and to give you eternal life. 

Jesus loves you so much he died to prove it--that is the good news of the gospel--and the gospel resonates in your heart because the gospel is true and what is true always resonates in your heart--you know that you know that you know. In today’s passage from his Letter to the Ephesians the Apostle Paul emphasizes this: 

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In him (Christ) you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1:13-14). 

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I love that phrase, “the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation”--again the gospel resonates because the gospel is true. Jesus’ love for you remains unconditional despite your efforts to make it conditional. Jesus’ love for you remains unchanging despite the ever-changing circumstances of your life. Jesus’ love for you is stronger than death. It is said that nothing lasts forever but Jesus’ love for you lasts forever--that is “the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.” Arguably the most influential theologian of the 20th century was the Swiss scholar Karl Barth (1886-1968), whose 13-volume magnum opus Church Dogmatics totals over six million words. Late in his life when asked if he could summarize that massive work, Karl Barth famously replied, “Yes--Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” That is “the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.”

 

On July 14, 1999, a friend and I went to the Walnut Creek Amphitheater in Raleigh, North Carolina to see two of the greatest American songwriters of all time live in concert: Paul Simon and Bob Dylan. Paul Simon performed, then he and Bob Dylan did several songs together including “The Sound of Silence”, and then Bob Dylan performed, nearly four hours of sonic goodness--one of the best nights of my life. Paul Simon opened with his masterpiece, “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” It was released on January 20, 1970, when I was 13 months old so I cannot remember ever not knowing that song, and it’s the title track of Simon and Garfunkel’s fifth and final studio album. My parents had that record (remember records?) and as a boy I played it over and over. I recently watched an interview in which Paul discussed writing “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” “I have no idea where it came from,” he recalled, “It just came all of a sudden. One minute it wasn’t there and the next minute the whole line was there. It was one of the shocking moments in my songwriting career and at the time I remember thinking this is really considerably better than I usually write …My thoughts were that those lyrics were too simple …but of course that’s really what made it so universal.” 

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While Paul Simon may not know where that song came from, I think it came from the Holy Spirit and that is why it’s universal and that is why it connects with your life. I can’t speak for you and I can’t speak for Paul Simon but for me, the lyrics of this gorgeous song reflect “the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.” 

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When you’re weary, feeling small

When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all

I’m on your side 

Oh, when times get rough and friends just can’t be found

Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down 

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Some of you are weary today, worn down by circumstances and challenges in your life that are bigger than you and perhaps make you feel small and maybe even fill your eyes with tears--but Jesus will dry all those tears--as he said in today’s gospel reading, “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh” (Luke 6:21). And Jesus is on your side, for scripture assures us “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). And “when times get rough and friends just can’t be found” Jesus remains your friend because Jesus is the Friend of Sinners whose amazing grace means you once were lost but now am found.

 

When you’re down and out, when you’re on the street

When evening falls so hard I will comfort you I'll take your part 

Oh, when darkness comes and pain is all around

Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down 

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One of my favorite Eric Clapton songs is “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out”, but while people can be fickle Jesus remains faithful, and Jesus knows you when you’re down and out, especially when you’re down and out, and when you’re on the street Jesus is right there with you. And “when evening falls so hard”, whatever that metaphorical evening might be, Jesus comforts you through the Holy Spirit whom he described at the Last Supper as the Holy Comforter. And Jesus will take your part, especially the part that is weighing you down, and Jesus invites you, “Come to me all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). And when darkness comes Jesus remains the Light of the World who is right there with you. And when pain is all around Jesus hurts with you, for scripture tells us our Savior is “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3); Jesus gets it. 

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Paul Simon wrote the third and final verse of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” in the studio, something he rarely did, and the first lines were intended to encourage his wife Peggy Harper who was stressed because some of her hair was turning gray: 

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Sail on, silver girl, sail on by Your time has come to shine 

All your dreams are on their way See how they shine 

Oh, if you need a friend I’m sailing right behind

Like a bridge over troubled water I will ease your mind

Like a bridge over troubled water I will ease your mind 

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“Sail on, silver girl” …even if your hair is turning gray, it’s never too late for God to do something new in your life, never too late for your time to shine, never too late for all your dreams to be on their way, for Jesus is not only your Friend who is sailing right behind he is also your Friend who is sailing ahead because as we prayed in the beautiful collect a few weeks ago, Jesus’ grace will “always precede and follow us” (The Book of Common Prayer 234).

 

“Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down …Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down” …this points to Good Friday. “I am the good shepherd,” Jesus said, “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep …I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:11, 17-18). At the Last Supper Jesus said, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13), and the next day that is exactly what Jesus did. Like a bridge over troubled water Jesus laid himself down on the cross for you. 

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“Like a bridge over troubled water I will ease your mind …Like a bridge over troubled water I will ease your mind” …On Easter Sunday Jesus took up his life again and was raised from the dead, and even now the Risen Jesus bears the scars as an eternal reminder that he could not love you any more than he does, even now the Risen Jesus is your Bridge Over Troubled Water who will ease your mind. 

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Jesus is your Bridge over Troubled Water. Jesus loves you so much he died to prove it--that is “the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.” 

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Amen.