The Way
The first Jesus followers called their faith practice ‘The Way’. I love this.
So the Christian faith is a Way. But what’s interesting is, it’s not a way towards something. It’s a way from something.
This Jesus Way isn’t like a race to the finish line. Or the expedition of summiting a large mountain where when you get to the top, you’ve arrived.
No...
We start this Jesus Way from a place of arrival.
In the Jesus Way, we’re not even the main actor. We’re not the subject. God is. We’re the object. The ones who are acted upon. Which is weird for us (especially for those of us who grew up with Disney movies).
This Jesus Way was initiated and accomplished at the beginning of time. God’s love is the first and final Word about us. The light shone in the darkness long before you and I were born and it shines whether you or I do anything about it or not. We’re not like Olympic torch-bearers who have to jog over and light it. The eternal torch has already been lit. The question now is...
Now what? If there’s no finish line on this Way... If there’s nothing we need to do to accomplish or achieve some kind of goal at the end of this Way... Then what exactly is our purpose?
I’d say this (and I’m still hashing this out myself)... Surrender to it. Enjoy the hell out of it. Live it. Embody it. Embrace it. Share it. See this life as the borrowed gift that it is. Every breath. Every heartbeat. Every sob. Every fumble and failure. Every meal. Every caress. Every fist shaken at the sky. Every mercy accepted. Every thing...
Because what if life wasn’t something to achieve or accomplish in the future? Rather, what if it was something to endlessly receive right now… And now. And now.
What if it wasn’t about doing the right thing? In other words, what if it wasn’t about personal accomplishment or obedience? Rather, what if it was about receiving this divine flow of love from the Source of all life and then not blocking the flow of that love towards others? In other words, instead of making something happen, what if our role was more about not blocking what’s already there?
And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “this is the way; walk in it. “ Isaiah 30:21
The whole way to heaven is heaven itself. —Teresa of Avila
In the Jesus Way, all that needs to be done, as far as God is concerned, is done. So the work that you and I do along the way here is... Because it brings us and others life. Because we can. Our doingness happens in the light of the love that shines onto, into, and through everything. It is a way that comes from a source of endless love and grace.
This love cannot be shaken or tarnished but it can be ignored and desecrated. We can pretend it’s not there. We can trick ourselves and others into thinking that it’s not a sure bet. It can be spat upon and hung on a cross to die. But we know that when (yes, ‘when’) we do these things - when we take it for granted and we kill it - we never have the last word. Because the last word is always life after death. We thought we were so big and powerful so as to destroy it. But to this, God smiles and does God’s resurrection work.
The Jesus Way is a done deal. Enjoy.
"...not blocking what’s already there.." is a great phrase to meditate on. :)
I really like - and readily agree with - all of what you have said here about "The Way', Jonas!
As a teen-ager attending a Christian Ashram in the High Sierras with my family many years ago, I was mesmerized by the teachings of E. Stanley Jones, a Methodist missionary to India, who shared those teachings with great simplicity through his little devotional books, one of which was called, 'The Way' (and another was 'Abundant Living'). Far ahead of his time, his teachings through those little books (especially 'The Way') became a key to my way of life as I know it today. Thank you for resurrecting that wonderful memory!