Jesus the Way Finder: finding our way in troubling times
A talk at St Bride's by Jon Jelfs
One of the central ideas of anthropology is that the culture or social world in which we live is not an absolute given but has come about through a whole series of intellectual and spiritual choices over many generations, over 100’s, if not thousands of years. The way things are is not necessarily the way they have to be. Cultures are on a journey, always shifting, always changing.
Change is possible, change is inevitable, new choices will be made, the future can transcend the present. It seems to me that the Bible is a text that illustrates this very well. It is full of stories that describe the evolution of culture as people seek to understand their experiences with reference to God, with reference to their changing understanding of how the Source of All relates to this world. I think we can see in biblical text a sense of movement, that humanity is on a journey, even that God is on a journey – or at least our understanding of the divine – and that there is momentum and a trajectory – a trajectory towards justice and freedom, peace and harmony, love and joy. One of the biggest mistakes we make, in my view, is if we see the Bible as a static text with fixed beliefs or practices. We shouldn’t be surprised to find things we no longer agree with in the Bible – it and we are on a journey.
We are conscious that we live in troubling times. We see unhealthy and unjust trends in our own society, especially the trend towards seemingly ever increasing inequality. We are also very conscious of troubles elsewhere – especially where extreme nationalist or religious groups seek to pull back from western influences and are willing to use cruel violence for their own ends. We pause and think of James Foley and his family…
At times like this, perhaps as in every time, we need WayFinders: those who with genius, inspiration, energy and a strong sense of social justice can lead the way to a healthier future.
The ancient Polynesians were known as WayFinders, skilled navigators who sensed the presence of islands by reading the stars, winds, clouds and light. They holistically experienced the sea and the air in a way that guided them to new land and to new possibilities, able to navigate even in the darkness of the night. There is a sense today that we need help to find the way through difficult situations that seem out of control – we need WayFinders – people with vision to see the way and the passion and energy to open up that way.
As Christians we have Jesus, the person of the Way. We can think of Jesus is as a WayFinder. He is one who lived with a clarity of perception, able to interpret the individual human heart and also the powers of the time. We know that he said “I am the Way” suggesting that he himself embodied the way forward. He spoke of the way elsewhere too: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Many of us want to live in the way of Jesus, pursuing a life that is deeply soulful, responsive to real needs in ourselves, each other and the places of suffering in this world. We want to follow Jesus who seemed to have such clear insight, who was awake to the deepest need, who was moved with compassion and offered forgiving words and a healing touch. Jesus who died a death that in a mysterious way reveals the full extent of God’s love for us and unleashes it in a way which heralds the eventual end of the suffering of innocent people.
I am going through a time in my own life when I am asking again “what does it mean to follow the way of Christ” or “in what way is Jesus a way finder for us”. When I think about Jesus as someone who embodied the Way I think about things like this:
Someone who was fully alive, energised by the Spirit of God
A person wide awake to the presence of God with a close and loving relationship
A man with clear vision, to understand people, situations and institutions
Having DEEP SELF-AWARENESS of being a child of God, having his source in God, loved by God and one with God
Showing DEEP AND DISCERNING LOVE AND COMPASSION for people especially the poor and suffering
Bearing the HEALING AND CREATIVE ENERGY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Knowing DEEP TRUST AND DEPENDANCE ON GOD
Practicing DEEP SIMPLICITY OF LIFESTYLE
Speaking for myself, I am deeply dissatisfied my own history of following the way of Christ. I’m hungry for God and thirsty for greater energy and courage to follow the Way of Christ. There are many times when I feel broken, constrained, and inadequate for the Way of Christ. I still feel burdened by weaknesses, limitations and a lack of courage to follow the Way. I want to be more loving, more warm-hearted, more generous and compassionate, much more able to convey the presence of Christ to people and situations, and perhaps as much as anything simply to be at ease with myself as person loved by God with nothing to fear.
So I find myself asking the question again is “How can the Way of Jesus become real for me and for all who feel inspired to follow Jesus and to seek a more beautiful world our hearts tell us is surely possible?” How can my relationship with God be refreshed and invigorated? How can I become more whole as a person and able to be of greater service? How can I follow the Way of Christ with more integrity and authenticity and be more fully part of that journeying people living in the trajectory of the Kingdom of God?
At the moment I am reading an inspiring book called “Practicing the Way of Jesus” by Mark Scandrette. For more than 10 years he has been involved with a community of Christians that took the decision to become a practicing community of the Way of Jesus, wanting to re-imagine and re-discover how to do this. They decided to create a community of people who supported each other in experimenting in taking the risk of following the Way of Jesus, practical experiments which they would discuss together, plan and reflect on afterwards, growing together in the Way of Christ.
A short video was shown followed by discussion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGWezERJvkc
Jon Jelfs Aug 2014