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John 14:1-11
April 20, 2008
Mark S. Bollwinkel
Most Christians hear the words of Jesus in our gospel lesson today..."I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except by me..." as a litmus test about what other's believe. If their creed isn't like ours, if their method of baptism isn't like ours and if their style of worship isn't like ours.... well then are they really going to get into heaven or not? Most of us are quick to define "the way" as "our way" of religion, worship and sacrament.
Taken in the context of the entire text, and the gospel of John itself, Jesus is interested in much more that establishing a litmus test of who gets into heaven.
In every way possible the writer of John is trying to convince his readers that Jesus and God were one and the same. Jesus was the incarnation of Divinity; "word made flesh to dwell among us" (John 1:14). "I am in the Father and the Father is in me" Jesus says to his disciples even after they have seen his miracles and heard his preaching; both Thomas and Phillip, who are directly engaged with this dialogue and have followed Jesus for three years yet entirely missing his point.
..."I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except by me..." isn't so much about the afterlife as it is being able to recognize God right here and now, right when God is standing next to you in this life, face-to-face.
The way to God is through God. If we want to know what God is like all we need do is look at this Jesus. And more than that, if we want to know God all we need do is follow this Jesus. He is the "way"; the word in the original means, "road", and "path", "journey".
Thomas and Phillip and the other disciples for that matter won't really get the point until Easter, in spite of the fact that each were called into discipleship with the invitation to follow Jesus' way.
Rather than pointing the finger of John 14 at others how does it apply to us? One of the earliest titles for Christians was "Children of the Way". How is our journey with Jesus? Are we followers of his Way? What is Jesus' path that we are called to share?
These are the kinds of questions one asks on a pilgrimage.
The tradition of pilgrimage is ancient and universal. For millennia human beings have taken time out of their lives to travel, at times at great cost, to sacred destinations, in order to perform sacred rituals. Whether seeking a miracle or a blessing or a new insight, the faithful journey and in the journey find something that transcends.
Twelve of your LAUMC brethren have just finished the St. Cuthbert's Way pilgrimage walk in the border lands of Scotland and in so doing have in each of their experience reflected on what it means of follow Jesus and journey on his Way.
The St. Cuthbert's Way begins in Melrose, Scotland where the ruins of its abbey remind us the origins of Christianity. Irish missionaries established the first base of Christian life in the British Isles on the isolated island of Iona during the 6th century CE under the leadership of Columba. From Iona, Celtic priests built a Priory in Old Melrose from which a young and promising monk would travel the country side to minister to the "rough hill folk... preachers dreaded to visit due to their poverty and squalor" (Mary Low, St. Cuthbert's Way: A Pilgrim's Companion, Wild Goose Publications, The Iona Community, 1999, p. 36)
Cuthbert lived in a time of warfare along the borders of Scotland and England, plagues and poverty we can't even imagine. Raised in the Celtic traditions of Christianity, he begrudged the transition to the authority of the Church in Rome but did his best to assimilate its teaching with the revelation of God in nature that so framed the Celtic experience. Pioneers such as Cuthbert and countless others planted the seeds of the Christian traditions that we now enjoy.
Not much is known about Cuthbert's (635-687 CE) parentage as he was raised as an orphan. He struggled with illness as a child and limped with a congenital leg problem his entire life. His intellectual and spiritual gifts were recognized immediately and he became a priest at the age of 17. His biographer speaks of Cuthbert's love of the contemplative life, his leadership skills becoming Prior, Abbot and then Bishop of Lindisfarne Abbey. Numerous miracles of healing were attributed to him. Long after his death, his remains and casket were seen as the focal points of pilgrimages for the faithful throughout England and Scotland.
Today a 63 mile, seven day pilgrimage trail has been established between Melrose, Scotland and the ruins of Lindisfarne Priory which has been walked by thousands. It runs between villages, along rivers and streams, up into the hill country, through sheep pastures and forests, by old castles and new churches. The walk is an opportunity to be out in some of the most beautiful areas of the Borderlands and to contemplate one's journey with God.
In her book Walk in a Relaxed Manner (Orbis, 2007) Joyce Rupp reflects on her walk along the El Camino Santiago pilgrimage in Northern Spain. Many of her insights are applicable for any pilgrimage, including Cuthbert's Way or the pilgrimage that is life itself.
We don't walk alone;
As one walks along the remnants of a Roman road built almost 2,000 years ago, or past the ruins of a Celtic monastery destroyed by Vikings in 985 CE, or a church graveyard with headstones from John Wesley's time of 18th century England, one can't ignore the debt we owe to those who have gone before us, our parents, brothers and sisters in the faith who have so contributed to our life and world today. A pilgrimage walk is a dramatic reminder of the heritage we enjoy and the opportunity we have today to contribute to it.
That's true for any of us though, isn't it? Consider the contributions your parents, siblings, teachers, pastors, friends have made in your own life. Consider the opportunity we have to contribute to the lives of others right now. We don't walk alone.
Many came before us and many will journey in the future along the same roads we have traveled. We are not only indebted to those who have gone before us we are obligated to those who will come after for the world we leave them. When Jesus says, "I am the way..." he is not inviting us into a journey of isolation but one of community; he didn't travel alone in this life either.
Walk in a relaxed manner:
Everyone has their own pace on the trail....in life. Failure is inevitable if one lives defined by the expectation of others. Competition, ego, pride are some of the heaviest burdens we can carry in our walk.
I was consistently the last and slowest walker of our group which at times concerned me that I was frustrating those ahead. Rather they gave me permission to go at my own speed, which afforded me luxurious periods of solitude and silence in some of the most beautiful country I have ever been in.
Finding your own rhythm, style and asserting your own needs is crucial if you are going to walk 63 miles in 7 days....if you are going to be yourself as a child of God in this life.
Our life in this multi-tasking, high expectation culture is rewarding to be sure, and exhausting physically, mentally and spiritually. The constant stress of accomplishment and acquisition makes it difficult for any of us to hear the birds singing around us, feel the wind against our cheek, the strength of our legs or real hunger and thirst....to feel anything at all for that matter.
Jesus teaches, "And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?" (Matthew 6:27) What would our lives look like here and now if we walked through it in a relaxed manner rather than the anxious '40 yard dash' most of us live?
Let go of that which you cannot control:
A pilgrimage walk reminds one of that which you cannot control; the weather, the expectations and needs of others, a sign post missing or pointed the wrong direction, the real limitations of aging bodies.
Our group walked through mud, bogs, soggy heather and sheep pastures. As we began some of the hills they appeared so steep as impossible, yet determined to make it each of us focused on putting one step in front of the next and focusing on that step alone. Surprisingly, that was one of the ways we could over come obstacles and fear; taking one step at a time.
It is Jesus who teaches, "...do not worry about your life...but strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well..." (Matthew 6:25, 33) A pilgrimage walk can be a reminder of priorities, purpose and letting go, values we each need every day!
The journey is the destination:
On one particular brilliant afternoon we ascended a very steep hill after lunch. I had to take a breather about every fifty yards it was so steep. Yet these stops became a moment to turn around and enjoy the view of two beautiful valley on the right and left.
On one such stop I thought to myself, "...if I could only grasp this moment and hold on to it forever, I feel so alive, so connected, so inspired...." Yet just as quickly came the insight, "...but then Mark, it will only be a memory...as important as memories are..." rather than hold on to that one moment, it was teaching me that any moment can be an experience of beauty, connection and inspiration.
George McLeod, founder of the Iona Christian Community, spoke these words during a sermon in 1955 (Low, p. 204):
There is a living flower. You want to have it, so you pluck it. But by your act of plucking it, it dies. You are fascinated by a sparkling running stream, a living stream of water. But, as you grasp it, it runs through your finger, so you scoop it into pail, you no longer have life, just a bucket of H20. There is a sunbeam dancing in your room. If you pull down the curtain to capture the beam, it is gone. There is a bracing wind that enlivens your whole being. But try to catch it in a bag and you have stagnant air. All this reminds us how not to get in touch with life. Here is the root trouble of our lives. We all love life, but the moment we try to hold it, we miss it. The fact that things change and move and flow is their life. Try to make them static and you die of worry.
This is just as true of God who is the Life of life. They only way to achieve a sense of God's presence is to put yourself in the way of Him. In our analogy, you achieve a sense of life in the presence of a flower, by a running stream, in a bracing wind, with sunbeams falling on the stream. You come home to say you have had a perfectly lovely day, which means a lively day. It has been a benediction of a day. You can only achieved a sense of God in a similar way....you can only find God in the now.
This is just as true of God who is the Life of life. They only way to achieve a sense of God's presence is to put yourself in the way of Him. In our analogy, you achieve a sense of life in the presence of a flower, by a running stream, in a bracing wind, with sunbeams falling on the stream. You come home to say you have had a perfectly lovely day, which means a lively day. It has been a benediction of a day. You can only achieved a sense of God in a similar way....you can only find God in the now.
Ironically, one of the real lessons of a pilgrimage is that true pilgrimage is waking up to the holy all around you in your daily life, not attempting to stay "on the mountain top". One doesn't have to travel to Scotland....or Jerusalem...or Mecca....to find God. Such a journey is a simple reminder that God has been all along, and is now, all around us. We need to wake up to the reality of God right in front of us...standing along side of us. Like Phillip and Thomas when they asked Jesus, "show us the way".
What does it mean to follow the way of Jesus? We don't walk alone. We can walk in a relaxed manner. We can let go of that which we cannot control. And the journey is the destination.
It's a journey of compassion, service and wonder. It's a path of abundant life.
It's not our way, it's Jesus' way. And the saints before us and with us and the saints to come teach us that it is the way of love.
Amen.
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