The way, the truth and the life

"Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life".  This iconic claim, reported in the Gospel of John are words which have echoed down the centuries. 

They are words which cut to the heart of the truth claims of our faith. Claims that Christ reveals the truth, most particularly the truth about God.  These are claims which are hotly disputed, not least by some scientists and this morning I would like to spend a little time exploring with you the current conversation between science and Christianity.

I want to begin with Professor Stephen Hawking who last week gave a lecture entitled, ‘Why are we here?’ In it he declared that, “The brain is a computer which will stop working when its components fail.” He went on, “There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.”

Such issues of the afterlife, belief and truth loom large in our Gospel reading this morning. Indeed, the word ‘belief’ occurs five times and the doubts are offered by Philip who wants to see a vision of the Father and that patron saint of doubters, Thomas, who wants to know the way to the Father. Underlying both of these enquiries are questions about the afterlife.

This passage is part of Jesus’ long farewell to the disciples. In it Jesus explains that he is the full and complete revelation of God and that through him the disciples are able to share in the eternal life of God. It contains one of John’s great “I am” sayings which are designed to get us to sit up and take note as Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”

This is also a passage that may be familiar to us from funerals. In it we hear that, “In my Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you.”  I presume that it is just this kind of passage that Professor Hawking would dismiss as a fairy tale.  But just because it is comforting, does not mean that it is untrue.

Dawkins and the current debate

Professor Hawking is one of a number of scientists publishing popular books denying the truths of Christianity. However the best known of these is Richard Dawkins who is professor for the public understanding of science at Oxford University. Despite this seemingly objective role, he says that he wishes to convert the religious to atheism.

In his book ‘the God Delusion’, Dawkins pulls no punches. He describes God as a “psychotic delinquent invented by mad, deluded people”. Instead he argues for an evolutionary understanding of faith. Once we believed in many Gods, now the main world faiths promote just one God and so his logical next step is to dispense with this last God as an infantile, irrational and improbable idea.  For him religion is a global evil, inspiring fanatics to fly planes into tall buildings. Instead he encourages his readers to embrace a godless future in which he says there is “no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind pitiless indifference.”

Dawkins extreme views have come in for much criticism, not only from theologians. Fellow scientists have accused him of ranting and a lack of scientific discipline. Meanwhile atheist philosophers have criticised him for a failure to study Christianity or to engage seriously with its ideas. Leading to what they describe as, “silly, grotesque and immoral claims”.

In counterpoint to Dawkins stands another evolutionary biologist Dr. Francis Collins. He led the Human Genome Project and recently wrote a book entitled, ‘the Language of God’, which reflected on this work. In it he speaks of a richly satisfying harmony between religious and spiritual world views and suggests that the wonder and order of nature point towards a creator God.  My last scientist this morning is Nobel prize winner Sir Peter Medawar who suggested that the natural sciences, far from providing the answer to everything, have their limits. Whilst they excel at exploring the organisational structure of the material universe, he suggests that they are a poor guide for transcendent questions such as, ‘how did everything begin?’ and ‘what are we here for?’

"What is truth?"

I cannot hope to do more than touch on the surface of these arguments this morning and I am no scientist. But several things seem clear.  Firstly science does not disprove God, though suggesting it has- does sell books.  Secondly, there are fundamentalists on both sides of this debate who prefer to shout rather than listen to one another.  Thirdly, there is a quiet common ground between the natural sciences and theology where people of good will are seeking after truth and we would do well to welcome and embrace this shared endeavour.

By way of a conclusion, I want to end where I began, with Jesus’ proclamation that he is ‘the way, the truth and the life’. A response to the disciples intellectual questions through which Jesus invited them to go on a journey with him.  It is clear, here and elsewhere in the Gospels, that Jesus claims to reveal universal truths. Truths about humanity, our beginning, our end and most importantly about God. But it is equally clear that these are truths which science can do little to test.  Rather Jesus seems to be saying that the best way to test the Gospel is by making it a way of life. And as we walk in this way and live this life- so we will discover the truth of what he said.  This, I think, is what Jesus meant when he said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”  

Unfortunately, like Richard Dawkins and Stephen Hawking- I cannot prove it.  Amen.

Football, Africa & red envelopes

To mark Christian Aid Week our youth club will be watching Africa United, before being sent off with little red envelopes!

The secret of leadership

With our political leaders getting used to the new landscape after the recent elections, leadership styles are once again under the spotlight. Should Nick Clegg flex his muscles, is David Cameron allowed to gloat and has Alex Salmond’s charisma won out over policy?

Leadership is not only a concern of politicians, it is also something in which the Church is interested. Indeed last week I had to write an essay on the subject as part of my ongoing training. I began by reading Jim Collins ‘Good to Great’ which has now sold over a million copies. Here I thought that I would get the latest insights into tough minded, ambitious leadership. What I discovered, however, was quite different.

Collins rejects heroic, macho models of leadership. Instead, his research shows that the leaders of great companies, are self-effacing, quiet and possess a compelling modesty. Another writer Joseph Badaracco agrees, saying that leaders require modesty, restraint and tenacity. Their thoughts chime with those of Robert Greenleaf who taught at MIT and Harvard. His beast seller is entitled, ‘Servant Leadership’ and reflects upon a career in AT&T. He suggests that the leaders of the future will be ‘servant leaders’ who display an unlimited liability for others, enable those around them to flourish and commit themselves to rebuilding community.

This wasn’t what I expected to read from the bastions of Anglo-Saxon corporate culture. That is not to say, however, that this approach is new or unfamiliar. For this is a leadership style we read of in another bestseller. A book about a world changing leader who told his followers to serve others, who washed their feet and eventually laid down his life for his friends.

Proclaiming the love of God

Happiness, hugs & Easter joy

Can I begin this morning by wishing you Happy Easter. Whether your happiness is due to relief that your Lenten fast is over, or maybe it is because you are looking forward to Easter eggs or perhaps it is just the surfeit of bank holidays? Whatever the reason, may I wish you and yours a very happy Easter.

As I do so, I realise that I am joining a growing movement; for happiness, it seems, has become very fashionable. Indeed Nobel prize winning economists now tell us that if we really wish to rate the wellbeing of our society, we should not measure economic growth (thank goodness for that!) but rather we should measure happiness. Only the other week a global movement ‘Action for Happiness’ was launched with the strapline that ‘doing good, feels good’. At their launch party they began a campaign of free hugs encouraging people to join the movement and ‘be the change’.

Now our Gospel reading this morning involves a lot of emotions but, surprisingly, happiness is not one of them. Indeed it begins in a very different place. It begins with sadness; the sadness of the two Marys going early to keep watch at the tomb. They arrive still in shock and disbelief that Jesus whom they had followed and loved so much seemed to be no more.

Then there is fear. The fear of the two soldiers guarding the tomb as the ground shakes and an angel appears. Then there is the fear of the women as the angel tells them that Jesus is not there. But then, as the good news begins to sink in, their fear turns to joy as they run to tell the disciples what has happened. Finally, hope turns to rejoicing as they meet the risen Christ.

So on that first Easter morning sadness and fear turn to hope and joy. But there is no report of sadness which by comparison does start to sound a little bland. Happiness of course depends on what may hap. It depends on luck and fortune and is not a very Biblical idea.

Joy, on the other hand, is central. The word from the Greek word ‘Caris’ is a deeper, richer idea related to gifts, generosity and thankfulness. This is the emotion that fills the two Marys as they run to the disciples. This is the joy which overwhelms them when they meet the risen Christ. And this is a joy informed by all that they have endured this week. A joy which knows that life is fragile and that hope is costly.

So what of happiness? Well I am for it- and for any organisation which promotes it. But I would rather that we upgrade to join a movement for joy. And that is what we are invited to do this Easter morning. For this is our launch party- and we offer free hugs every week. For this Easter morning, as Christ bursts from the tomb, we discover that love is stronger than death, that hope is stronger than fear and that come what may the God of love is our beginning and our end.

So this morning I want to wish you not only a Happy Easter but also an Easter filled with joy. A joy that cherishes our fragile lives and fragile world. A joy that will bear us up in costly hope. A joy which overflows, as we too meet the risen Christ in this Eucharist.

Amen.