Way, Truth, Life and God's Big Big House

In this episode of Facets of Faith, Pastor Katie, David, and Keith dive into the rich language of this Sunday's gospel reading, including the place of God, Jesus as Way, Truth, and Life, and the incredible experience of relationship with God as they detangle the way this reading has been misused to exclude non-Christians from God's goodness. 

This week's gospel reading is John 14:1-14

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Scripture quotations from the COMMON ENGLISH BIBLE. © Copyright 2011 COMMON ENGLISH BIBLE. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hello and welcome to Facets of Faith. This week we are continuing our journey through John. We're going into the final discourse, which, if you remember, the final discourse is Jesus' long speech after he shares his final supper with his friends as he is preparing them for his death, resurrection, and ascension. This text is frequently used at funerals, and it includes the ever-famous I am, the way, the truth, and the life. We will dive into that phrase and so much more in this episode, and I hope you enjoy this conversation and you explore a little bit more of the facets of faith.

SPEAKER_01 0:41

So this is from John chapter 14. Don't be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me. My father's house has room to spare. If that weren't the case, would I have told you that I'm going to prepare a place for you? When I go to prepare a place for you, I will return and take you to be with me, so that where I am, you will be too. You know the way to the place I'm going. Thomas asked, Lord, we don't know where you are going. How can we know the way? Jesus answered, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you have really known me, you will also know the Father. From now on, you know him and have seen him. Philip said, Lord, show us the Father. That will be enough for us. Jesus replied, Don't you know me, Philip? Even after I have been with you all this time? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, Show us the Father? Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I have spoken to you, I don't speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me does his work. Trust me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or at least believe on account of the works themselves. I assure you that whoever believes in me will do the works that I do. They will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask for in my name, so that the Father can be glorified in the Son. When you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.

SPEAKER_00 2:17

Thank you. So to put this all into context of where we've been, uh last week we were in John 10, if you recall, which was the story or the description, explanation of Jesus talking about he is the gate, the gatekeeper, the shepherd, etc., in response to restoring sight to the man born blind. After that, we get into the raising of Lazarus from the dead. After that, we get into Jesus' feet being anointed. After that, we get into the story of the feet washing and the Last Supper, and now here we are. So 14 through 17 is traditionally called the farewell discourse. Basically, it's Jesus sitting at the table after the Last Supper and talking for a very, very long time, ending with a chapter-long prayer for the people, for his disciples, all leading up to his death. So we are technically back in the story of Holy Week with this reading. But there is so much, a lot of people know this reading. You hear it at a lot of funerals, but it's a rich, it's a very full text. There's a lot of directions we can take. So rather than trying to tell you where to go, you tell me what jumps out at you, what curiosities do you have? How have you heard it preached?

SPEAKER_01 3:41

Well, my first observation is that I'm glad I got through the reading without tripping over it too many words. That is a lot of dare I say word vomit. It is hard to read. Word salad. Yeah, word salad. I mean, that is, yeah. I mean, I'm not saying Jesus is word salad, I'm just saying the way that it's it's written down. It's a lot of long senses. Philosophy, theological, yeah, a lot of long senses. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

And that's often why John is such a hard gospel to read, because John as a gospel very frequently has that circular language, repetitive language, where they say the same thing twice but shift something a little bit. The word salad to put it politely, um, and it's theological and it's rich and it's poetic, and sometimes that can make it hard to access if you're not kind of in the language of John. So hopefully we can break some of that apart so that way when we hear it, it sounds as rich and meaningful as it is intended to be, as opposed to just a bunch of words that sound meaningless in their abundance.

SPEAKER_02 4:42

Yeah, it's very poetic, and it and it sounds as if it was a uh college professor, you know, doing a dissertation, you know, the way it it reads. But uh I always found that it was a little comforting, actually. Uh gave me comfort, you know, starts off right away. Do not be afraid that I go to prepare a place for you, which I always often wondered, what kind of a place is he preparing for? You know, I mean, if we're going to live eternity with God, uh, why does the place have to be prepared?

SPEAKER_00 5:14

Can I blow your brains right off the bat? Go for it. So I have been so fortunate to have a Jewish cantor joining my text study group, and she has been just a wealth of information and a wealth of insight. But something I learned earlier today was that one of the Jewish names for God is macomb, and macomb means place, like the everyday word place. Okay, and so God is place, and so when it says, I'm going to prepare a place for you, and these this would be hearkening back then to this mindset of God is place, and God is where we abide, and God is the space that we can inhabit. And for John, a lot of belief and and all of that is connected to relationship and dwelling in the place of God. And so I think that's all interconnected here. When it says, I'm going to prepare a place for you, it's something along the lines of I'm helping you to form a relationship with God the Creator, God the eternity, God the place. And I think that is just an absolutely beautiful way to think about God. And when we get to all these different ways of using place in here. Now it's not saying that God, Jesus is saying, I have gone to prepare God for you. Um, rather, Jesus is saying a place. But there is that deeper level that we can hear there. Yeah. I thought it was mind-blowing at least.

SPEAKER_02 6:42

I I'm sitting here thinking about it.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

It's just like, yeah, I don't know how to you know internalize that yet. That's actually pretty interesting, yes.

SPEAKER_02 6:52

But it's almost as if if if we use an analogy of our own personal life, if you have relatives or friends coming to visit, you prepare a place for them, you know, because you want them to feel comfort, you want them to feel as if they are part of your surroundings, of your family, of your dwelling. So I guess that you know kind of ties in with that idea that that we are going to be dwelling within.

SPEAKER_01 7:16

And yeah, so if you extrapolate that to like that kind of analogy, right? So when you have a Christmas dinner or Memorial Day picnic, right, you're inviting somebody into your home, your your space, your place. You're welcome welcoming them to be part of your family. Um, at least for that, I mean, if just for that moment in time, right? Um so yeah, again, as I as I'm trying to quickly decompress what Pastor just said, like I I can kind of see that. And then that that does bring a different meaning. It's not like, oh, Jesus is going to, you know, make the bed in my in the guest room for for me to come visit.

SPEAKER_02 8:00

Here's a chair for Keith, here's a chair for David, here's here's a kid chair for Pastor.

SPEAKER_01 8:04

Yeah. Yeah, it's a it's a familial relationship. Maybe both physical and like it's like an interesting, yeah, spiritual and interconnectedness. Yeah, that is pretty cool.

SPEAKER_00 8:18

Yeah, and when when he's talking about my father's um, actually, here it's we have house, but it's my father's dwelling place is closer to the Greek, um, which is related to the abiding that John talks about, which is relationship and things like that. So when Jesus says has room to spare, it's this idea of this expansive, there's room for everybody in God's presence, in God's godness. Um, and so it's not just like I have to go make sure there's room for you because there might not be. It's actually this wide open welcome saying there is space for you to dwell in God's presence, and I'm gonna help facilitate that. Um, because there is this is also kind of helping them prepare for when Jesus is no longer physically with them. Um in this particular context, we hear it as in reference to him dying in those three days before he rises again, but ultimately he's preparing them for post-ascension of what that looks like when Jesus is no more on earth ever. Well, until the second coming, but that's a different conversation. Um and so they're they're kind of starting to wrap their minds around what does it look like to be followers of the way, followers of Jesus when he's no longer with them, and this idea of he's going, he's leaving so that they can get into the space. I mean, I I kind of lost myself there a little bit, but um Okay, I've got a rabbit hole. Go for it.

SPEAKER_02 9:53

Okay. Um, in in the uh one verse where it says, Um, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me. In today's world, a lot of people have different faiths, different beliefs. Um and and I'm wondering if they've never heard of Jesus, what happens to them if if if the word has not been brought to them in this world, or if they are following a different faith, does that mean that they don't have the opportunity to have eternal life with in God?

SPEAKER_00 10:26

This is one of those lines that is so frequently abused in exactly that way.

SPEAKER_02 10:34

And I know, and I've and I've heard it abused, and that's why I was is there any clarification that we could have?

SPEAKER_00 10:39

Oh, so much.

SPEAKER_02 10:41

I thought I'd open the door for you.

SPEAKER_00 10:42

Yeah. So let me collect my thoughts.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

If you didn't, I was gonna kick it down anyway.

SPEAKER_02 10:48

So okay. I just had this conversation over the weekend with um friends of ours uh out of state, and she is a devout Christian, um, and uh she's of the Catholic faith, and she also believes very liberally that um you know, people that are in the Muslim faith or maybe who have not practiced any kind of religion at all, they should not be excluded from life eternal. Why would they? Why would a loving God who has created all of us in God's own image and likeness then all of a sudden say, no, you're not part of the club? Right. I don't get it.

SPEAKER_00 11:24

And I don't think Jesus is saying anything at all along those lines of if you don't follow me, then you're out of the club. Because Jesus, and this is where context matters so much, because Jesus is talking to his disciples. And he is talking to those people specifically, because that sentence goes on. I'm gonna start at the end and kind of work my way up. It goes on to if you have really known me, you will also know the Father from now on, you know him and have seen him. And so he's talking to these disciples in a reassuring and comforting tone. And so he's telling them, You have seen me, you have seen everything I have done, therefore you have seen God. So therefore, you know the way, you know the truth, you know the life because you have known me. And so rather than it being an exclusionary, I am the way, the truth, the life, it's I am way, truth, life, which is actually more um honest to the Greek, is to drop the the the in front of them. Right.

SPEAKER_01 12:22

Um yeah, that actually makes more sense.

SPEAKER_00 12:25

Yeah, and when it says to the no one can come to the Father except through me, that is so frequently used as a word of prohibition, but it's a word of promise because it's talking to people who are within the way. It's when we're talking about John writing, John is writing to people who have been excluded from the synagogues. And so this is actually a way for Jesus to offer a word of promise that you, you who have been excluded, you who have been kicked out, you are welcome. You are part of God's promise. And so it's it's actually meant to be more of a word of promise than a word of exclusion. But our English ears hear that no one will come as jumping to anyone who hasn't is out.

SPEAKER_01 13:15

Well, the the I I feel like that is supported by other easily supported by other um segments of scripture where there is you know God's promise to Abraham, you know, like God does not break his promises. So okay, like even if you just draw the like exclude every other religion except for Jewish and Christianity, like Jewish tradition and Christian tradition. So God made a promise to Jewish people, and then all of a sudden it goes away because Jesus came, and so now the Christians have it right, like that that doesn't make much sense, right? Right. So like this this cannot be an exclusionary statement. It ha but to David's point, how do you wrap your head around it, or what is the what is the additional context that we may be missing when we first just read this like a book?

SPEAKER_00 14:08

I mean, I think one of the ways is exactly what you just did is to interpret scripture using scripture. God promises, God looks at all of creation, all of humanity, and says, it is good. So even going before Isaac and Ishmael, both of whom are promised, long-lasting ancestors or descendants, um, going all the way back to Genesis, which John does frequently, John goes back to Genesis, and we hear God say, I see what I have created, and it is good. And then we hear in John 3, for God so loved the world that God gave Jesus. And so when we read this I am statement in the context of every other I am statement in the context of Genesis, in the context of the rest of John, we hear that it cannot be exclusionary. It can only be exclusionary if you choose to pick it and pluck it out of its context scripturally, but also pluck it out of its context historically. Because again, Jesus is speaking just to those disciples who are in that Last Supper room with him as a reassuring tone of rather than hearing it say, no one will come to the Father except through me, it's a you all will come to the Father through me. Or no one will miss out on the Father because you have seen me. That's another way we could kind of twist the language a little bit to help put it in context with what's coming next. Is you all don't have to worry about being able to be with God the Creator, God the great I am because you have been with me. You know God because you know me. And it's more of that tone as opposed to we're gonna kick those other people out. Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_02 15:55

Yeah, and even after the resurrection, when he appeared to Thomas, he he said, Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. So there's there's obviously that connection to future generations, too.

SPEAKER_00 16:08

Yeah, and that that sentence is not meant to or intended to say, Well, Thomas, you saw and you believed, therefore you're lesser than. Yeah. It's a word of promise looking forward. And I think that's when you interpret scripture through the lens of scripture, which us Lutherans love to do, that's what you hear over and over again, is you hear a word of promise of life and love from God through Jesus across the pages. Another fun, I don't know, the fun way to kind of look at the Greek is you get the um ego e me, which is the great I am, and there's kind of this I, I am, um, but you could also put is in there. It's not as clean, it's not as neat, but it's it helps, um, it's not necessarily a great translation, but I think it helps us re-understand it in our brains when you say I am is the way, the truth, the life. And then that I am sounds more like the name, the name of God, which we hear throughout all of Scripture.

SPEAKER_01 17:10

I was actually gonna ask that in that um verse, verse six, Jesus answered, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Is is that the same word that um we we hear in what is it, Exodus, when the great I am. Yeah, the great, right. Is it literally the same word? Like in in the Greek or whatever? Because if so, then that would kind of actually does kind of make sense. Yeah, I am is the yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:39

So, yeah, I mean Exodus would be written in Hebrew, and then there's the Greek translation, but yeah, it would be the same as the Greek translation of Exodus here. It's ego ami. So the way declensions work in Greek is you don't need the pronoun I to go with ego. Ego already says I am, and so when you have the ego a me, it's I, I am. And so that's a very unique combination, and so that's why we can pull it out in John when Jesus says I am, I am this, I am this, or just I am, we can connect it back to the holy great I am of Exodus because that combination of ego a me is unique and not necessary unless you're trying to say something particular.

SPEAKER_01 18:24

And then when you read the rest of the to that, I guess to that point, when you read the rest of the verses, right? At least the next what four or five, you know, I am in God and God is in me, and we're in each other and all that, yeah. Like, okay, well, like then that also then makes sense. Yeah. So you already have seen God because you've seen me, and if the way, the truth, and the life is already being shown to you, then you already you already know the path.

SPEAKER_00 18:52

Right. And that's a great transition because it is about the path, it's about the journey. Um, when you look at verse four, and it says, You know the way to the place I am going. I hate to bring up so much Greek, but John really does require us to dig a little into the Greek. Um, when you look into the Greek, it actually just says, you know the way. And the word the place is not in there. And so it becomes about this idea of the path, the journey, the way is what matters. And we don't need to worry about the destination because when we follow the way, the path, the journey, we will be able to do that.

SPEAKER_02 19:31

You get to where you the destination is already there. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00 19:34

Right. And that's, I mean, John has this classic combination of Jesus will say something like, You know the way to where I'm going, and Thomas or somebody misunderstands it, takes it very literally and says, but we don't know. We need a map, we need a GPS, we need some directions. And Jesus corrects it with that sentence of, you know, because you know me, you know the Father, and it becomes again this idea of a more of that spiritual, you know the way to be, because you know me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:04

And if you're going backwards in the in the text to that point, that actually makes perfect sense because that explanation is literally Jesus provides the response to the question that that you just explained, right? Because Thomas comes in and says, Well, we don't know the way. Yes, you do. I am the way. I am the journey, I am the path, follow the path. It's not about the destination, focus on the path. Because you'll get to where you need to go if you stay on the path.

SPEAKER_00 20:39

There's an old adage for pilgrimage. Um, you make the journey by walking or something along those lines. And it's this idea of when you go on pilgrimage, you don't go with a sense of I'm going from A to B. You go with the sense of I'm taking the next step before me. And you make the way, you make the journey by walking, by going on it. And it's not this laid-out plan, you just kind of take it, take the journey as it takes you to get a little esoterical. But I think that's a common imagery that we see in here too, is this idea of we make the journey, we make the way by living it, by walking on it, by experiencing it, as opposed to sitting and thinking in our brains, how do we do what we need to do? We just simply go out and we love. Because this is right after Jesus said, Truly I tell you, you go and love your neighbor as I have loved you, um, or love each other as I have loved you. And Jesus says, This is what life looks like in the way. And now Jesus is kind of reiterating again you know the way because you know me. And what have I done? I have healed, I have fed, I have loved, I have walked alongside people, I have done all these things, I have been a servant, I've been humble. So you know the way because you know me, and live in the way, and you'll make the way by walking it.

SPEAKER_02 22:00

To bring it into almost our own personal lives in in here today. I've mentioned before that there were many times in my life where I did what I thought I was supposed to do, um, but then I found out that I was on the wrong path. You know, I it was it was a shortcut, but no, it wasn't a shortcut. And I had a soul moment, and all of a sudden it said, Okay, Lord, where am I supposed to go now? And it's like when you put your trust finally and say to the Lord, just give me the way, you get there. You get there. It's very circuitous, you know, and a lot of times you don't know what's around the bend, but you know you're on the way, and and it and it gives you a sense of reassurance if you are staying on this path, on this way.

SPEAKER_00 22:40

I'm just juggling, because a lot of pastors will have that exact same thought process of like, well, we tried everything else and it wasn't working.

SPEAKER_02 22:46

Let's do God's plan.

SPEAKER_00 22:48

But I think also we broaden it out to the church. Like the when you think about how churches figure out how to be church in this world, it's easy to try to come up with the destination first of what splashy program can we add to do this or that to create more people. But sometimes it's this process of listening and learning and just taking the next step in faith of what sounds faithful to what God is doing here already and that kind of stuff. And I think because I don't I know sometimes people they I'm jealous of these people. They grow up wanting to do something, they go to school for the thing, they do the thing, they love the thing, and everything's just nice and smooth and easy. But I think there are still lots of areas where we are still discerning and making the path by walking it in church, in life, and in relationships.

SPEAKER_01 23:42

At the very end that we read, I will do whatever you ask for in my name so that the Father can be glorified in the Son. When you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it. Okay, I want a million dollars, Jesus. Go.

SPEAKER_02 23:54

Prosperity gospel. Right.

SPEAKER_00 23:57

I was waiting for this section. Um, it's because I think there's actually a very clean and elegant response. Um, so when you look at the word name, um, especially in biblical usage in this context, um, the way the Greek word for name that's used particularly here, because of how all of that goes together, so one of the ways that it gets used is the name is used for everything which the name covers. Everything, the thought or feeling of which is aroused in the mind by mentioning, hearing, remembering the name, i.e., for one's rank, authority, interests, pleasure, command, excellences, deeds, etc. And so when you think of it that way, when Jesus says, anything you ask in my name, I will give to you. Anything you ask within the purpose and identity of who I am. And who is Jesus? Jesus is God's word incarnate, Jesus is life and love manifested. And so anything you ask in those in the context of God's overarching purpose, of God's overarching grace and being an identity, that's what's fitting in there. It's not about the magic VIP card, like flash, I've got God's name, I can get whatever I want. Because obviously we've seen many people who have done prayers like that of God, please, I beg you, save my child, or please, God, I beg you, I need money to pay the car payment, or whatever, and it doesn't come through. So rather than saying Jesus is lying here, it's more about coming back to, it's not out of John, it's in Matthew, but going back to like the Lord's Prayer. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And so when we ask things that are kind of within the scope of what God's purpose is, which will be grace, mercy, loving kindness, compassion, when you ask those things, God will provide what you need: courage, perseverance, strength, as opposed to uh physical feelings or that's how I hear it at least.

SPEAKER_01 26:14

Okay, that I think that's an important distinction because I'm thinking as you were going down that path, obviously I asked the question in a really ludicrous way, but save my dying child or world peace or world hunger. I mean, like I feel like those are pretty reasonably loving and selfless requests, yet we do it every Sunday, and still a lot of war, still a lot of hunger. What are we getting wrong? Like, what are we missing?

SPEAKER_00 26:43

It's not that we're getting it wrong, I don't think. I think it's that through us, God is doing something. Um we look at world hunger. When you acknowledge that there are hungry people in the world, God is working in you to build compassion, to share your resources, to live with arms wide open, hands wide open, to share what you have and to feed people. And so then through that, God is providing food. It's just not a magic quick fix. Same thing with world peace. When you see the violence in the world and your heart is so wrenched and so gutted, that is God putting compassion in you for those who are being hurt. And that compassion can give you the strength and the wherewithal to go and start to do something, to speak against violence, to say that this is not the way we are intended to be. And so God is working through these things and God is doing something. It's just through us and not always the magic quick fix that we want it to be. This has been such a rich conversation. I am sure you can imagine that there is much that we could not fit into this episode that we were able to talk about. I encourage you, if there is something that you are curious about in the description of the show episode, you can send us a message, send us a comment, ask us questions. We would love to respond, we would love to engage with you. Follow us, like us, share this episode with others so that others can explore their facets of faith too. With that, then let us say a word of prayer. Almighty God, your Son Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. Give us grace to love one another, to follow in the way of his commandments, and to share his risen life with all the world. For he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.