The Way

John 14:1–7 NET

“Do not let your hearts be distressed. You believe in God; believe also in me. There are many dwelling places in my Father’s house. Otherwise, I would have told you, because I am going away to make ready a place for you.And if I go and make ready a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that where I am you may be too. And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas said, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you have known me, you will know my Father too. And from now on you do know him and have seen him.”

In 1986, two very important events happened in this world. First, on May 6, one of the greatest people in history was born: that being Jocie. My wife and better half.

Then, a scant 52 days later on June 27, the world bore witness to one of the greatest films ever released: Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, starring David Bowie, may he rest in peace.

Being one of the greatest people in history and one of the greatest films ever released, it was no accident that the two should find each other, and so it came to pass that the VHS of Labyrinth still sits on our family’s shelf today. A VHS, for those who don’t know, is a rectangular plastic box, usually black, capable of storing movies which can be viewed through the innovative use of magnets. Or possibly sorcery. I’m not really sure.

For those who have not seen Labyrinth, first of all what is wrong with you? You should probably leave here and go watch it right now. But since I’m in a good mood this morning, I’ll give you a little taste. Labyrinth is about a teenage girl named Sara who is not fond of her baby brother, and wishes he would go away. She gets her wish when the Goblin King, Jareth - the aforementioned David Bowie - takes her brother away, and in a fit of guilt , she chases after Jareth, into the Goblin world, traveling through a maze - or “labyrinth” - to find the his castle and her brother.

As I’m sure you can imagine, all sorts of wonderful muppet-related hijinks and shenanigans ensue. But they wouldn’t have, were it not for the first conversation Sara has inside the Goblin’s labyrinth. She is trying to find her way and as she turns down a passage, the worm speaks up. Don’t go that way, it says. Never go that way. She thanks the worm and runs off in the other direction. As she disappears from earshot, the worm remarks to itself “if she’d gone that way, it would’ve led right to that castle.”

That’s the thing about ways. It’s hard to know what the way is, if you don’t know where you’re trying to go.

As Jesus is preparing his friends and students for life after him, he tells them “don’t worry. I’m only going away for a little while, to get things ready for you. Eventually, I’m going to come back, and then I’ll take you to the place I’m preparing. You know the way. Just follow the way.”

One of his students, Thomas, points out that no, in fact they don’t know the way, because they don’t actually know where they’re meant to go. To which Jesus responds “I am the way.”

And based on that response, and a whole host of faulty assumptions, a tradition of Christian exclusivism was born.

First, folks assumed that what Jesus was talking about in this passage was heaven. He doesn’t say heaven. He says “In my father’s house, there are many rooms, and I’m going to prepare one for you.” In fact, nowhere in the Gospel of John does Jesus talk about going to Heaven as a goal to be sought after. Instead, he talks about things like eternal life, and being one with God, and some future kingdom that has yet to be build. He’s not trying to give the disciples directions for going to heaven when they die. He’s giving them guidance on how to live their lives here and now; by modeling their lives on him. The truth and the life they seek are already available now, if they will follow the way of Jesus.

Second, there’s the assumption that Jesus is setting himself up as some kind of gate keeper to heaven. “No one comes to the father except through me” is read as a challenge, as if what Jesus said was “If you want to get to God, you’ll have to go through me first.” That’s not it at all, though. He’s just repeating what he’s already said once before: I and the father are one. Where Jesus is, there the Father is as well. In fact, that’s how he finishes his statement about coming to the father. “no one comes to the Father but by me. But if you know me, then you know the Father, and you’ll recognize the Father, because you’ve already seen the Father.” Jesus isn’t throwing up a hurdle for the disciples to clear. He’s reminding them that they’ve been with God incarnate this whole time. They don’t understand where they’re going, but even so, they know the Way.

Finally, there’s the assumption that there only two options in life: Be united with Jesus and Jesus’ father, which is good, or don’t, which is bad. Be a Jesus follower, or go to Hell. Those are your options, take them or leave them. Again, the text is entirely silent on such things. Jesus has not said anything in this passage about heaven, hell, or the validity of other people’s journeys. He has said, quite simply, if you want to be counted as one of mine, then you have to follow where I lead you. If you want to be a part of my kingdom, then I’m the way to get there, and there is no other.

What is often used as evidence of exclusion is really a message of broad inclusion. What Thomas is asking for is a set of directions, like you might give someone to get to a physical place. Some steps to take. A path to follow. A sort of “do these 5 things in this order and see God.” Of course, if such a set of directions existed, and they were indeed the only way to see God, then anybody not lucky enough to see those directions is out of luck: They can’t know the way, because they don’t know where they’re supposed to go.

Instead of a formula, though, Jesus offers a less certain but more forgiving route: I am the way. It is I who unite people to God.

And although the disciples don’t have a clue what he’s talking about, and are still waiting for a set of instructions, Jesus indicates that they have already found the way. Which means not only are there no steps to be taken, but it is entirely up to Jesus to decide who will be united with God. Not by merit, not by deed, and not by adherence to a formula, but by the grace, truth, and life of Jesus Christ.

So who gets in? Is it the ones who most closely resemble Jesus in life? The ones who are lucky enough to be born into a Christian family and baptized? The ones who keep the law perfectly?

I suspect that no matter how we try to draw the boundaries, it will turn out we’re not nearly inclusive enough.

As Jesus himself said back in chapter 3, “God did not send the only son of God into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” The world. Not the especially devout. Not the Christians. Not even the humans. But the whole thing. And we can rest assured that act of salvation will be accomplished, because although we do not yet fully know the destination, we know that Jesus is the way we will get there.