I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except though me. John 14:6
Well known but troublesome passage. It has been a stumbling block to friends of mine who see it as an expression of superiority and arrogance. I often feel a double take coming on when I use the words in funeral service attended by a largely secular audience
Did Jesus really put his hands up in the air and say HALT that's it, ignore all other faiths and philosophies!
Commentaries suggest that we should look the root meaning of way and the context of the passage.
ROOT: New Interpreters Bible ( Vol IX page 742) suggests that the "Way" has it's roots in Judaism and is translated "lifestyle of the wise" It suggests to me that Jesus was pointing towards Himself as an example of the nature that his followers should have.
Therefore arrogance and superiority would be counter to the intention of the passage.
I like what McLaren (A New Kind of Christian) says:
I think some Christians use Jesus as a short cut for being right.In the process they bypass becoming humble and wise. They figure if they say "Jesus" enough it guarantees that they won't be stupid.
Peterson (The Jesus Way) ..and who wrote The Message believes that metaphors (such as "way") are vulnerable to "bullying" by those who have personal agendas.
CONTEXT: The New Interpreters Bible (Vol IX p744) suggests that the John passage reflects the words of a particular 1st century community who were convinced of the truth and life they they had received from the incarnation. Also to apply it as a sweeping statement about 21st century Christianity and it's relationship to other faiths is to take the meaning out of context.
For me this means that I can celebrate Jesus as the way , truth and life and at the same time respect other faiths and philosophies.
CONCLUSION: Maybe as Christians the greatest gift to theworld is in our attempts to imitate Jesus. The nature of Jesus is the "palette" by which we paint our relationships with each other and the world. The colours are best described by Paul in Galatians 5:22, love, joy peace patience, kindness, goodness and faithfulness.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Very timely and helpful. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThe strength of a bridge relies on the effectiveness of the pillars on which the bridge span rests.
ReplyDeleteIf one of the pillars is weak then the whole structure is weakened and likely to collapse.
Some bridges have several pillars on which a single span rests others have multiple spans each on resting on a number of pillars.
Our church congregations are like a bridge with many pillars - each pillar has to be as strong as its neighbour or the bridge will fail.
Our challenge in life then is to try to make sure each of our pillars is as strong as the next so that the span of the bridge can rest securely on top of each.
Only when the bridge is complete can a crossing be made.