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This passage and Psalm 23 are probably the most widely read passages at funeral or memorial services.
And no wonder. These words of Jesus address in a most personal and direct way our questions about death and what will happen next.
Jesus addresses his followers then as he addresses us now:
Do not be afraid
Note that the reason we should not be afraid is NOT because Jesus is going to magically make all the bad, no good, horrible circumstances go away - he IS still going to be arrested, tortured and executed. Rather, we are not to be afraid because these circumstances will not be the end of the story.
I love the way this passage presents the very human, natural, fears and questions of the disciples. A good title for a sermon would be, "Were It Not So?" precisely because that is OUR question. Is that so? What does happen after we die?
In a few words, Jesus paints a wonderful word picture of the life to come: my Father's house; many rooms; a prepared place; a prepared way to get there; a trusted guide; not being left alone to find our own way; ending with being with Jesus again.
But as usual, the passage does not leave us without inner, spiritual work of our own to do. Namely, to trust and to believe INTO (not "in") Jesus:
And you know the way to the place where I am going ...
If you know me, you will know my Father also
Aside: The NRSV translation of "believe in" would be better as "believe into." That is, be bonded with Jesus; not "accept concepts about Jesus." And "believe" is better translated as "trust" precisely because the underlying Greek word is more about a quality of relationship with Jesus than it is about ideas about Jesus.
That sneaky word "And" as in, "And you know the way," implies a pre-existing knowledge on the part of the disciples. Jesus is not telling them anything new; they already know: And you know ... There then begin a series of questions from the disciples that demonstrate they do not in fact know; and a series of responses from Jesus that demonstrate that in fact he has already showed them.
Thomas is the first to make a statement and then ask the question that is our question: How can we know the way?
Jesus' response to this question is one that has caused enormous suffering and harm through the centuries.
But I think we have not read his response for the plain statement of truth that it is. Jesus first says:
I am the way, and the truth, and the life
And then he says:
No one comes to the Father, except through me
Now, if we simply substitute the "me" in the second statement with who Jesus says "I am" in the first, we get:
No one comes to the Father, except through the way, the truth, and the life.
That statement, I think, is NOT grounds for slaughtering non-believers in Jesus, or forced baptisms, or worrying that non-believers have been condemned to everlasting damnation. It is, I think, a plain statement of the simple truth that the life to come will be a way of truth and life - and thank God for that. And, since Jesus has said that he will come and take us to himself, we can trust that we will not be abandoned and left on our own to find this impossible-for-us-to-be-nothing-but-truth-and-life way.
Aside: I appreciate that John very likely meant us to read this passage in the very exclusive way it has been read for the past 2,000 years: No one gets to heaven except through Jesus; but I don't buy that is in keeping with the spirit of Jesus' own life and teachings. And as I've just pointed out, that interpretation doesn't even accord with the logic of the two statements themselves.
Philip's request:
Show us the Father and we will be satisfied
is again a statement for us: we would like to see God, and THEN we would be satisfied. (Cue the Rolling Stones, "I Can't Get No Satisfaction.") And again, Jesus' response points us to what we already have experienced and know. There is no further, additional, special, secret, "insider," knowledge / wisdom / insight / enlightenment that is needed. It don't get any better than this folks!
And note again, the repetition of the play on the themes "believe in" and "is in." Have I already mentioned that "believe in" needs to be "believe into?" Bonded into. Trusted into.
Unfortunately, "whatever you ask in my name," does not mean that tacking on "in Jesus name we pray," means that we will get whatever we just asked for.
The phrase "in my name" should be translated, "in my honour," so that it would read:
whatever you ask for that honours me will be granted
Darn that Jesus. Just when it sounds like he is offering us a "Get Out of Jail Free" card; a free ticket to all the things we want simply by asking "in his name:" it turns out he is asking us to align our needs / requests to be in honour of him / worthy of him. So much the Mercedes Benz I've been praying for! Janis and Jesus must surely be crying - or weeping - or both over all of the dishonouring prayers that are offered in Jesus' name.
This is a passage both of great comfort and of great challenge.
David Ewart,
www.davidewart.ca
