You Know the Way

Emily Schaming
April 20, 2008
Ottawa Mennonite Church

www.ottawamennonite.ca

So far, over-dependence on GPS devices has resulted in more inconvenience than actual danger, but things took a turn for the worse when a woman in the U.K. sent her £96k Mercedes SL500 flying into a river, trusting the car's optimistic GPS guidance instead of the road signs warning of impending doom. Matters were made worse as the river was swollen from heavy rains, which caused the vehicle to be swept some 200 meters downstream before the woman was able to escape. While she emerged unscathed, the car unfortunately wasn't quite so lucky, remaining stuck in the river for a week after the incident and now believed to be a complete write-off.

Perhaps you have heard stories like this one, in which an overenthusiastic motorist puts blind trust in their satellite system and suddenly finds their car lodged in a sandpile or stuck under a bridge. These people really feel that they are going the right way, that their technology will guide them better than those old fashioned "road closed" signs ever could. Presumably, however, a GPS device has not actually been where you are going. Equally likely, the people who put up the signs have a pretty good knowledge of the road conditions, having been there themselves to test it out.

The Way

In life, God has showed us the right way to live by coming to earth in human form, by living alongside us to show us through Jesus the that we already know the right way to live and that we simply must follow Jesus' path. When the disciples show concern about the difficulty of following Jesus he tells them,

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going."
Sounds easy enough. Except it just happens to be the hardest thing we will ever be asked to do. Trust in God and follow Jesus.

In today's New Testament reading we heard the end of the story of Stephen, the first recorded Christian martyr. If you read the whole sixth chapter of Acts you will see that Stephen was not exactly engaging in what we would consider dangerous behaviour. He was selected to serve food to the Hellenist widows. He- and six fellow believers- stood up to the beliefs of his contemporaries who were giving preferential treatment to the hungry Hebrew widows. Feeding the hungry does not seem like a rebellious act, and it is not. Having a reason for feeding the hungry that contradicted the ruling powers, however, was unsafe for Stephen and resulted in his death. He not only fed everyone without regard to their status in society, he told the leaders of the day that he did it because Jesus is the Messiah.

Of course, these days we have more religious freedom and tolerance, right? Then I guess it should be easy for us to go against the opinions of the day to ensure that people are treated with the love and respect that all of God's people deserve. Yet perhaps there is a point at which living out one's faith automatically makes one vulnerable to the kind of persecution Stephen experienced. Westminster Abbey in England has ten statues of twentieth century martyrs, among them Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian who was executed in a Nazi concentration camp, Martin Luther King Jr. who was assassinated for speaking on behalf of African Americans, and Archbishop Oscar Romero who made public his sympathy for the plight of the poor and victims of the civil war in El Salvador and was assassinated as he was blessing the bread during a Mass.

A couple of years ago, two Arizona university students volunteering with a Christian organization were arrested for giving water and trying to find medical assistance for Mexicans who had been walking across the desert and were near death from dehydration. After a year of hearings and deliberation they were cleared of the charge of providing illegal humanitarian aid. Comments by the public on the Tucson Citizen website were scathingly opposed to the students, complaining that any help for so-called "illegals" should be punished severely. One person even commented that, "Those two bible- thumping cockroaches ought to be in prison"!

Helping the broken, the weary, the stranger. Jesus' way is still counter-cultural in 2008. Jesus' way is still powerful. Jesus' way still speaks truth.

The Truth

How should we speak the truth?

Today in the Word tells a story of Henry Augustus Rowland, professor of physics at Johns Hopkins University, who was once called as an expert witness at a trial. During cross-examination a lawyer demanded, "What are your qualifications as an expert witness in this case?"

The normally modest and retiring professor replied quietly, "I am the greatest living expert on the subject under discussion." Later a friend well acquainted with Rowland's disposition expressed surprise at the professor's uncharacteristic answer. Rowland answered, "Well, what did you expect me to do? I was under oath."

Truth is a tricky thing. Too much can get you in trouble, too little can get you in trouble. Many Christians struggle to discover the truth of this mornings' gospel reading in which Jesus says that, "no one comes to the Father except through me."

Theologian Karl Barth, was delivering a lecture to a group of students at Princeton University. One student asked him a question that has probably crossed your mind from time to time: "Sir", said the student, "don't you think that God has revealed himself in other religions and not only in Christianity?"

Barth's answer surprised the crowd. He answered, "No, God has not revealed himself in any religion, including Christianity. He has revealed himself in his Son."

We are called to believe, not in a mere religion, but in a person. Jesus the living person; a person who not only spoke for God - but who was and is God.

It is easy for us to get caught up in the radical pluralism that pervades modern, or I guess it's actually postmodern, Christian thinking. I am reminded of a Simpsons episode in which Ned Flanders, the Simpsons' evangelical Christian neighbour, finds out that the Simpson children have not been baptized. He calls his pastor in a panic with the news. The pastor responds in a soothing voice, "Ned, have you ever considered one of the other major religions? They're all pretty much the same."

However, the idea that all religions are the same does no one any justice. I am not saying that we must categorically claim that all other religions are false. Dan Clendenin comments in his 10 Reflections on the Gospel and Other Religions that, "Christians need not reject everything about other religions. They acknowledge areas of both agreement and disagreement, and struggle over the latter. In most areas of human knowledge, when you encounter contradictory views you don't throw up your hands and concede, "they're both true." No, you study hard, make an informed choice, then remain open to further insight… but that doesn't mean you can't conclude that someone's beliefs might be false and consequently try to persuade them of your understanding of what is true."

The truth that Jesus brings us is so broad that there is no way for us to squish it into a tiny catchphrase or a single Bible verse. The truth he brings is that he himself is the truth. Not like our opinions of him. Not like our beliefs about him. Just himself. Or as he says, using an ancient Hebrew name for God, "I am."

Jesus spoke truth. We too, have daily opportunities to speak of the truth we find through him. We can talk about prayers that have been answered, lessons we have learned, about strength beyond ourselves that has sustained us in difficult times, about hope, peace and joy.

Of course knowing the way and truth of Jesus means nothing unless we also live it.

The Life

A lady once asked John Wesley if he knew that he would die at midnight the next day, how would he spend the intervening time. He replied, "Why, madam, just as I intend to spend it now. I would preach this evening at Gloucester, and again tomorrow morning; after that I would ride to Tewkesbury, preach in the afternoon, and meet the societies in the evening. I would then go to Martin's house...talk and pray with the family as usual, retire myself to my room at 10 o'clock, commend myself to my Heavenly Father, lie down to rest, and wake up in glory."

If tomorrow was to be your last day, would you proceed with it exactly as planned? Wesley obviously believed that the way he lived his life every day was pleasing enough to God that he would continue with it, even on his last day. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life ." His life was the one that we are meant to emulate. Not only did he give us life, but he also gave us a way to live. To believe in Jesus does not simply mean that we agree with a good theological argument. It means that we entrust our entire lives to God.

When our lives reflect God's values we can feel the truth and meaning. We know when we are doing the right thing. Perhaps it is conscience, or maybe something much bigger. This week, the whole world seems to be focused on Earth Day celebrations and living with care for creation. I have been rereading Doris Janzen Longacre's Living More With Less , which was a follow-up book to her More With Less cookbook. We have a copy in the church library and I would highly recommend checking it out. This book prescribes, "a pattern for living with less and a wealth of practical suggestions from the worldwide experiences of Mennonites." It is interesting to read the suggestions people have contributed about bringing one's own bag to the grocery store, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and ethical investing. Interesting because this book was written thirty years ago. We know the way. Jesus tells us this directly. It is up to us to live the way.

G.K. Chesterton said, "the Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried." But those who have tried to live most fully in that ideal, people like Stephen, have found it difficult, yes, but also immeasurably rewarding. The Bible describes him as being filled with grace and power.

How did Jesus live? Immersed in prayer, surrounded by friends, taking time for children, caring for the sick, making room for the marginalized, loving all people. If we truly believe that Jesus was God incarnate we know that his life is the life that God wants us to live.

Theologian Sarah Dylan Breuer asks, "What if our lives proclaimed a God who is at work in the world as Jesus' followers saw him at work among them?"

"For starters," she responds, "our age of anxiety might finally be able to take in Jesus' exhortation, "do not let your hearts be troubled." When everybody wins, the rats can stop racing. There's no sense in suing for property or privilege when the year of jubilee is at hand. The God who created the universe is at work in Christ, the Christ in whom we abide. God's kingdom, God's dream, is no fantasy; it's the most fundamental of realities."

We do not connect with Jesus' way by apologizing about how Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and the way, the truth and the life, but by proclaiming in our words and deeds the grace and power of the one who calls us out of darkness into everlasting light. We can rest in the assurance that Jesus said, "I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going."

Amen