“I am the
way, and the truth, and the life.”[1]
Today’s gospel is one of those gospel passages we can use as an “all purpose”
paint job. You know what I’m talking about, one of those “let’s give the wall a
quick coat of paint to make it look better before the relatives arrive.” The
plan is always that later, some time in an unspecified future, we will go back
and strip off that coat of paint and see what the wall really needs. How often
does that happen? Most of the time, we leave that coat of paint up there –
because it looks pretty good, after all – and then we don’t worry about it
until the next crisis comes along. And we slap on another coat of paint.
For some people, this gospel passage is
an all-purpose “coat of paint.” It’s what helps us deal with periodic crises in
our life, especially crises that involve people who do not believe or believe
differently from the way we believe.
Unfortunately, this kind of “coat of
paint” gospel does not work well for us over a lifetime. Because what about someone
who dies and does not profess the Christian faith? What about those who seem to
find their “way, truth and life” in another way, by another truth, and with a
different life?
In some circles, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life,”[2]
justifies excluding everyone but Christians, or more often a certain brand of
Christianity, from experiencing what Jesus offers us. This gospel has been used
as the gospel of exclusion, rather than the gospel of inclusion and expansion
that we hear from Jesus himself.
Suppose instead we try to integrate today’s
reading with other readings from John’s gospel. “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.”[3]
This is one of our unique claims of the Christian faith. It is a claim of the
“way,” that you and I walk together. That ultimately, God offers all of us a
place in God’s sheepfold.
Is it possible then, that, “I am the way, the truth and the life,”[4]
offers something other than an exclusionary “one way” that denies that God is
found anywhere else? That instead what Jesus offers us is the ability to
recognize God in words and actions, even in those places where Jesus is not
known? That Jesus offers us the comfort of knowing that in some way we don’t
quite get, God is at work for everyone’s
salvation, rather than just ours?
Could today’s gospel offer more comfort than the “coat of paint” gospel
that people interpret as, if you’re a Christian you go to heaven, but if not,
you’re on your own? We might instead look at the sum of scripture and find not
only comfort but also constant joy in the idea that we are never the ones who make decisions about the flock. We don’t get to decide who’s in and
who’s out. Instead, we find our way of looking at God through the person
of Jesus Christ, giving us eyes to see God in the world. For us, then,
Jesus is indeed, “the way, and the truth, and the life,” and we find our
way to God through him.
This does not free us to do as we wish with our lives. The confusion the
disciples exhibit to Jesus is the same confusion we continue to have over what
“the way, and the truth, and the life” means for us. And one of the primary
things it means is to go out and do. Yet, if we take comfort in the idea that
salvation is God’s business, then how can it be ours to do something about?
Simply this: disciples, and we are disciples, are equipped by the Holy
Spirit to spread the gospel to the world. Our faith calls us to share what we
have in whatever ways we can. Just like Jesus’ first disciples we are sent into
the world to spread the word of “the way, and the truth, and the life.”
We, too, are disciples. We are living “the way, the truth, and the life”.
We are equipped and sent. We are equipped by the knowledge and life in the
Spirit that ultimately, there is a place for us in God’s house of many dwelling
places. Even if we are unsure of everything else, there is a place for
us. And we are sent. We are sent to share this compassionate Good News with the
rest of the world. There is one flock, one shepherd. There is a dwelling place.
There is a way, a truth, and a life that we are called to share. AMEN.
The
Rev Nicolette Papanek
©2017
No comments:
Post a Comment