Christian Identity in a Multi-Faith World
Category: Sundays after Pentecost
Speaker: The Rev. Shearon Sykes Wiliams
“I am the way and the truth and the life.” These words from the Gospel of John can either be very reassuring or very unsettling. When we hear them in the context of a Christian funeral, they remind us that the one we loved is with God and that they are still with us in a spiritual sense. These words remind us that Jesus is showing them the way to eternal life. The one who has died is not alone and neither are we.
If we hear these words in another context and think about our Muslim co-worker or our Jewish family member they sound very different. Rather than comfort and reassurance they evoke feelings of disquiet and upset. When Jesus says, “No one comes to the Father except through me,” does that mean that people from other faith traditions will not be with God in everlasting life? We put such emphasis on inclusion in the Episcopal Church and this sounds very ex-clusive. Christians are in and everybody else is out.
Context is everything. And looking at the context of today’s Gospel sheds a lot of light on how we might interpret this text and appropriate it in our lives.
It is important to remember that the Gospel of John uses a lot of insider language directed at Jesus’ followers. This part of the Gospel of John is called the Farewell Discourse. Jesus is speaking to his closest disciples. He is trying to prepare them for his impending death. He is speaking to them very intimately. He is reminding them of all that he has taught them and reassuring them that he will be with them always, even though difficult times lie ahead. He is speaking in highly metaphorical, mystical terms. That is the language of the Gospel of John. It is very dense and elevated language in comparison to say, the Gospel of Mark which is more grounded and straightforward.
Thomas is anxious because Jesus keeps talking about his death and he is struggling to understand what Jesus is trying to tell them when he says he is going to prepare a place for them. “Where is this place? How do we get there? We want to go too.” And Jesus reassures Thomas that he already knows how to get there because he knows Jesus. Jesus is returning to God’s full presence and Jesus IS God’s full presence on earth. All Thomas and the other disciples have to do is to keep their connection with Jesus and they will continue to know God forever.
This language is hard for many to understand. Jesus is trying to tell them that they need not worry. All they need to do is to remember what he has taught them all along and to have faith. Things will be hard but all will be well. “Be who you are no matter what. You are my followers and that is enough. That is everything. Do no let your hearts be troubled.”
That perhaps is the part we most need to hear when we think about people from other faith traditions. It’s important for us to be who we are. We are Christians following Jesus on the Way. That ‘s who Christians have always been. In the early days we were often called the People of the Way. But somehow we lost our way and started thinking of these words that are meant for those who believe in Jesus’ oneness with God as the only way to God.
I think our call today is to be who we are and let that be enough, claiming our identity, not travelling incognito trying to blend with the rest of the world, sharing our faith, inviting others to be part of it with us, but never judging and always appreciating and learning from other faith traditions, leaving the rest to God.
Following Jesus on the Way means that we are journeying to God and we are also already at the destination in a very real sense because Jesus is with us and he is God. And Jesus is there for people of other faith traditions as we all travel to God.
Being more like the one we follow is the greatest witness of all. Arrogant triumphalism has been an ugly strand of Christianity at different times in our history. It is still with us today. But Jesus didn’t come to take people by force and neither should we. That is what has given Christianity a bad name. But Jesus also came to issue an invitation and so should we.
So, we live in the tension of believing those words of Jesus, claiming them, living them and sharing them, while at the same time, loving our neighbor, our family member, our colleague, as ourselves and valuing the richness of their faith.
So, there is great joy and comfort as we gather today as Christians to hear Jesus’ words and to affirm and strengthen our commitment to him and his way. His way gives us grounding in this life and the hope of eternal life. It gives us the joy of inviting others to join us and freedom in trusting that God is at work in the world in rich and varied ways, some seen and some unseen. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.”
Sources:
Sacra Pagina, Vol 4, The Gospel of John, Francis J. Moloney, S.D.B. , ed. Daniel J. Harrington, S.J. Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1998, pp. 393-400.
Feasting on the Word, Year A, Vol 2, ed. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Louisville: Westminster Knox Press , 2010, pp. 466-47