The Way of Jesus: Bigger Than Any One Religion

It was one of the strangest moments I've ever experienced in sermon preparation.  The words flowed easily, effortlessly, from my mind, through my fingers, and on to the page.  I almost didn't even think about it, until a voice in my head said, "Whoa.  Do you realize what you've written?"

I put down my pencil (yes, I write with a pencil) and read:  "The way of Jesus is bigger than any one religion.  The kingdom of God is bigger than any one religion."

Yikes!  I thought.  I can't say that, can I?  I might as well say that one doesn't have to be a Christian in order to follow Christ.  I might as well say that anyone can come to the Father without being a Christian.  Is that really what I meant?

Where on earth did such a thought come from?

I began reviewing my train of thought.  I had been discussing about how Jesus was the Jewish messiah, returning to his hometown, explaining how God has always shown favor to not only the people of Israel, but people from other nations and religions as well (cf. Luke 4: 22-30). 

Immediately, I searched my memory for other examples, and to my surprise, I found plenty.  Even though Jesus' religion was Judaism, he welcomed and ministered to Samaritans, Roman officers, and a Syrophoenician woman. 

I thought of the Ethiopian eunuch, returning home from a visit to Jerusalem, where he was most likely turned away from the temple because he was not Jewish enough (Acts 8). Nevertheless, he was baptized by a faithful follower of Jesus.  Baptized!  Who among us today would baptize someone who wasn't really Christian, who didn't worship the right way, or who didn't have all of the right beliefs? 

And yet, I don't see much difference.  In the first century, the followers of Jesus considered themselves Jews, followers of the Jewish messiah, but they were willing to welcome non-Jews.  Today, the followers of Jesus consider themselves Christians, but rarely are they willing to follow the example of first-century followers and welcome non-Christians.  Indeed, we often find ourselves leary of non-Christians and even downright fearful of those who don't worship the "right" way or have all of the "right" beliefs.

Paul and his companions welcomed Gentiles into the Jesus movement.  They didn't even require them to be circumcised first.  They understood that the way of Jesus was bigger than Judaism, that the kingdom of God was bigger than any one religion.

What does that mean today?  It means that the way of Jesus is bigger than Christianity as we understand it.  The way of Jesus is bigger than Christianity as we've made it.

I think it's safe to say that Gandhi, for one, considered himself a follower of the way of Jesus, even though he certainly did not consider himself a Christian.  (More on this.)  I think a good number of those who consider themselves "spiritual but not religious" consider themselves followers of the way of Jesus, but not necessarily Christians.  This leads me to wonder:  Would the first-century followers of Jesus welcome them and accept them?  Would Jesus welcome them and accept them, accept their desire to follow, even though they might not have all the "right" beliefs?

I think he would.

Perhaps it's not a coincidence that these thoughts have come to me as I've become more involved in interfaith dialogue in my community.  I hope that my friends who are Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, etc., are not offended when I say that I am learning to see them as followers of the way of Jesus.  Probably they will not be as offended as some of my fellow Christians will be.

My statement concerning people of other faiths has nothing to do with a desire to convert them to Christianity.  After all, even though I am a Christian, I know that the way of Jesus is bigger than that.  Instead, it is a recognition that the way of Jesus is actually the way of God, and it is open to all.

The belief that "the way of Jesus is bigger than any one religion / the kingdom of God is bigger than any one religion" has since become a recurring theme in my preaching.  Clearly this is because it is a belief that I myself am still growing into.  (Sorry, church, but my sermons are as much for me as they are for you.)  Other recurring themes include:  understanding the kingdom of God as a present reality; our call to be a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world; finding a life of meaning and deep satisfaction through generosity and simple living.

These themes are all related.  A search through my blog posts will probably reveal that they occur here as well.  They are all themes that I have come to gradually, through prayer, study, and reflection.  None of them startled me as much as the idea that the way of Jesus is bigger than any one religion.  All of them, I believe, are true.

Not Playing the Game

This week, another season of Survivor came to a close.  At least, that's what I heard; I've not seen an episode of Survivor in many years.  Early on in the series, I did watch the show, for two or maybe three seasons; but after that, I lost interest.

Survivor is, of course, a game show, in which contestants vote one another off the island (or wherever they're located) as they compete to be the last one standing:  the sole survivor.  Each season, there is some variation: the challenges are different, the teams are mixed up, etc., but for the most part, the game remains the same.

I guess I got tired of the game.

I remember that, when Survivor premiered, it was seen by some as representing life in general:  it's a dog-eat-dog, survival-of-the-fittest world, in which everyone struggles to climb to the top and be the sole Survivor.

I'm tired of that game, too.

This week, I wondered what would happen if, on one Survivor episode, the contestants refused to play the game.  What if one of the contestants did everything he or she could to help one of the other contestants win?  What if each contestant agreed to vote for themselves at tribal council?  I do seem to remember something about a rule prohibiting that, so what if, from day one, the players planned their votes so that, when the votes were counted, every person had one vote?  If they continued that practice, then by a team's fifth tribal council, every contestant would have received five votes total over the course of the season: an unbreakable tie.  What if the contestants stuck to this strategy, no matter how many re-votes took place?

Having not watched the show in some time, I don't know if a situation like this has ever happened.  If it has, then my guess is that the producers figured out a way to overcome it, a way to force the contestants to continue playing the game the way it is supposed to be played.

I wonder, though:  in the game of life, who is forcing me to play?  If I refuse to play, what will happen?

Last weekend I took my sons to see the movie How to Train Your Dragon.  The main character - a boy named Hiccup - lives in a Viking village where the "game" is fighting and killing the dragons who ravage the village and steal livestock.  This "game" is the game.  It defines all of life.  It defines who the people are.  The people of the village can't even imagine living by any other rules.

Except Hiccup.  He discovers, by chance, that there is a life outside this game.  This is something that no one else could possibly understand, since the rules of the game are the only rules they know how to live by.  So Hiccup keeps his discovery a secret.  He doesn't see how he can open the eyes of the villagers to the truth he has found, that there is a life outside the game, a life that is more liberating in so many ways than he could have imagined, a life of understanding and peace.  He wants to share this with the people of his village, but he doesn't know how; so he keeps it secret.

The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that "not playing the game" is a metaphor for living in the kingdom of God.  I won't say any more about that now.  But I invite you to re-read the parables of Jesus, and see if you don't agree.

Pictures from CBS & Dreamworks. 
If you've seen the movie, does it seem that there's a mistake in the image of Hiccup & Toothless? 
See if you can see what I see...