The Way

In 1966 my family made a pilgrimage to Nebraska. We wanted to see where my dad grew-up. We wanted to meet some of his relatives who still lived in that region. So we’re driving into the little town of Franklin, Nebraska, where his aunt and uncle lived. Dad hadn’t been there for at least 20 years; maybe even 30. But he was confident that he knew where the house was. So we drove up one street and down the next. Then we drove up another street, and around the corner and “Surely this is it? No, that’s not the house either.” I know that Franklin isn’t a big place because we pretty well drove around the whole town in 10 minutes. Still couldn’t find Uncle Oscar and Aunt Loa’s house. Finally we pulled into a gas station and asked the fellow if he knew where Oscar and Loa Thomas lived. He said, “Sure; everyone in town knows the Thomases.” And in two minutes, we were there!

If you want to know the way, sometimes you have to ask for directions. In John’s gospel, we read that that is exactly what a disciple named Thomas did. In language that is typical of the fourth gospel, John has Jesus speaking in a way that is poetic and cryptic and not always clear. “In my father’s house there are many dwelling places,” he has Jesus saying. “I will come again…You know the way…” Well, the disciples don’t have a clue what he’s talking about. So Thomas – for whom I think John had a special fondness because he makes him the bold and outspoken one – Thomas says, “Lord, we don’t know the way; show us the way.”

And Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (see John 14:1-6).

Now what does this mean? Does it mean that only those who follow Jesus get to heaven? Does it mean that you have to be a Christian in order to walk with God? Jerry Falwell was a Christian. He felt that there was no place in the Kingdom of God for gays and lesbians. He felt that there was no place in the Kingdom of God for what he would’ve thought of as soft headed, peace loving, justice seeking liberals. Mahatma Gandhi was a Hindu. He recognized God’s children everywhere. Gandhi loved peace so much that he said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” If Jesus is the only way to heaven, does that mean that Falwell gets in but Gandhi doesn’t? Someone once said, “If heaven is a place where Falwell can go but Gandhi can’t, then I don’t want to go there either.”

But maybe that’s not what Jesus meant when he said, “I am the way.” Marcus Borg suggests that what is meant here is that there is indeed only one way to God, and in Jesus we see that way. But not only in Jesus. Borg suggests that The Way of which Jesus speaks is the way of selfless love. It is The Way of dying to self and rising to new life in God. It is The Way of compassion and mercy; justice and peace. It is the only way. It’s not some relativistic option which may be right for you, but maybe some very different way is right for someone else. No, all people everywhere are called to walk this way. And yes, it is through Jesus that this way has been revealed to Christians. But this way is found in other religions as well. Indeed, The Way of dying to self and rising to God, The Way of compassion and mercy and justice and peace; this is the ancient tradition of many religions. It has been taught by many spiritual leaders; by great and wise men and women from many times, and many places, throughout history.

In Christianity we know this way as the way of the Cross. Jesus said to his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25).

Now many of us know the expression, “I guess that’s a cross that I have to bear.” And sometimes people mean this in terms of having to put up with a quirky member of the family, or the jerk in the next cubicle at work, or some neighbour down the street who plays his music too loudly. But the way of the Cross goes much deeper than this. It has to do with dying. It has to do with letting God or the Spirit or the Universe – however you want to express it – it has to do with letting the Sacred kill off that self-centered, egotistical core within each of us who is so preoccupied with his or her own needs and so insistent on having his or her own way. This tendency to centre your life on your self – a tendency which is all too much a part of human nature everywhere – that’s what has to die. And the new life to which we are raised up is the life that is outlined in the 12th chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans: a life in which our first love is not the self but the other; a life of service with a zest for living; a life which rejoices in hope, is patient in suffering, perseveres in prayer, is generous in giving, offers hospitality to strangers, and treats friend and enemy alike with compassion.

This is the way of the Cross. This is the way of the Christ. But it’s not only the way of the Christ. You’ll find the same pathway to holiness in the wisdom of Judaism and Buddhism; Islam and Hinduism; and other ancient religious and philosophical traditions as well. Not in all versions of those various religions and traditions, but somewhere within all of them you’ll find this way.

I was at a church camp years ago which took seriously the ancient tradition of hospitality, which is one of the timeless principles of The Way. Their version of hospitality was to welcome into their midst a certain crazy liberal from Chicago. It was a good week: good discussion, good singing, a genuine spirit of caring throughout the camp. Now it’s the last day, and any of you who’ve ever been to church camp – and I suppose it’s also true of Guide camp and other youth conferences – you know what the last day of camp is like: everyone is hugging and laughing and crying, and the singing is especially heart-felt and fervent and it’s the most wonderful bitter-sweet experience that you’ll ever have in your life. So we’re in the closing circle – standing out there in a field in central Ohio we’re in the closing circle – and everyone is holding hands, and we’re singing and swaying and we got our hands up like this, and then people around the circle start to point their index finger to the sky. Now this is in the mid 1970’s, and you may remember that pointing that finger to the sky meant, “Jesus is the way, Jesus is the only way; if you don’t believe in Jesus, then you’re going to hell.” Well, I wasn’t going to be part of that fundamentalist clap trap. So I didn’t stick my finger up. The gal next to me did. (I always stood next to a pretty girl in those closing circles). The gal next to me pointed her finger to the sky. And she tried to get me to point my finger to the sky too. I resisted. And she persisted. Boy, did she persist. Seemed like she was going to break my finger if she had to and force me to testify to the gentle way of Jesus.

Take up your cross and walk in The Way of love. Die to yourself and rise to a new life of seeking justice and loving compassion and walking humbly with God (see Micah 6:8). This is The Way, and The Truth, and The Life. There are lots of people who are not Christians who walk in this way. I mean, that Micah text to which we’ve just referred is just as much a Jewish text as it is a Christian text. We who are Christians walk in this way because we have decided to follow Jesus.

Other religions have their own expression of The Way. Which is not to say that all religions are exactly the same. They aren’t. For example, from our Christian perspective I would argue that Hinduism and Buddhism don’t take history seriously. They would say that salvation is found by escaping history; we would say that salvation is found in history. The Word of God became flesh in history. God creates justice through the events of history. All religions are not exactly the same. Islam and Christianity both speak of justice and mercy. But in some versions of Islam, if you don’t do a good job of seeking justice, you don’t get much mercy. The same could be said of some versions of Christianity. That’s left-wing fundamentalism and it’s almost as dangerous as right-wing fundamentalism.

It’s been said that forgiveness is not only a theological concept, it’s a practical necessity. Mercy and forgiveness are crucial components of The Way, and in Christianity they are part of the concept of grace. The grace of God both forgives our failures and empowers us to be followers of The Way. Grace both accepts us as we are and enables us to be all that God has created us to be. We all need mercy because we all make mistakes. All humans everywhere of every tradition; we all blow it. And sometimes we blow it big time: like flying airplanes into buildings and killing 3,000 civilians; or invading a country that poses no immediate threat to your own, which leads to the death of more than 100,000 civilians. Muslims and Christians, Hindus and Buddhists and Jews; we all make mistakes in ways so small that it’s silly to dwell on them and in ways so big that it threatens the survival of humanity.

But there is a way in which we are all called to walk; a way that to some extend transcends the relativities of culture and history. If you’re willing to walk in that way of dying to self and rising to God, I can assure you the journey of a lifetime. Amen.

Text: John 14:6
Preached by Bruce D. Ervin
31 August 2008