The Way

Jesus says, “I am the way and the only way.” In John’s Gospel, Jesus gives a series of self-identifying statements, which reveal his divine status, and this one makes me struggle the most. If Jesus is the only way to the Father, then no other way gets us to God. Pre-Jesus Judaism will not get you there. Islam leads you on a road that doesn’t get to THE Destination. And the list goes on and on.
I am a product of my environment and that’s not all bad. I have been formed (some by choice and some not so much by choice) to be a person that doesn’t want to disrespect the religious experiences and the stories that influence someone’s life. I don’t like the idea of telling someone that their religious heritage is empty, because Christianity has been given too many black eyes by people who are quick to get involved in verbal (and not so verbal) fisticuffs with those who have different religious experiences. So I am tempted by the popular option of saying that all roads lead to the same destination. A Hindu and Christian both travel roads that lead to the same divine mountaintop. This mentality proposes to respect all differing religious stories by proposing that they are really all analogous. But does this really respect all religions? It seems to actually disrespect all religions by the arrogance of the outsider. One can pompously say that these differing religious narratives actually aren’t that different. Our Hindu friend says there are many gods, but our Jewish friend says that only one God exists. Yet the supercilious outsider mocks the defining characteristics of each by saying your doctrines matters little because you both are going the same direction.
While I maintain the mentality that “do unto others…” does include respecting formative religious narratives of others. I think that watering it all down just doesn’t work either. I am reminded of an episode from ER not too long ago in which a grief-ridden doctor faces death while being swamped with the guilt of administering a lethal injection to a posthumously vindicated man. He wants the chaplain to give him answers for how to be forgiven and how to experience grace. She gives him the nebulous postmodern “all roads lead…” answer. But this answer leaves him empty. The doctor furiously castigates her because he wants a simple right or wrong, yes or no answer, but all she has to offer is ambiguity.

Jesus gives us that simple answer, “I am the way.”