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Finding The Way Again
Jesus spent a good deal of his time talking about things getting lost—sheep, coins, treasure, children. It's almost as if he knew he would one day be among them. Jesus, his message, and the meaning of his life have been lost. This book seeks to find him—to uncover his lost teachings, to rediscover the meaning of his life. When I refer to the lost teachings of Jesus, I don't mean a recently unearthed dust-speckled scroll or a fragile fragment of papyrus. Nor do I refer to "secret" or "hidden" knowledge concealed from all but a select few intellects. Rather, I refer to teachings that have been misplaced, obscured, and ignored. The teachings of Jesus have been lost in translation, altered by interpretation, contaminated by domestication. Finding The Way Again is a small book with a narrow focus—a strait gate if you will, for broad is the gate and wide is the way that leads to dissipation and confusion. Its subject is not the complete teachings of Jesus, but the most important ones, the ones that have been hidden, obscured, and lost. By looking only at the essential issues of Jesus, his life and teachings, we can avoid the very things, including sheer volume, that have obscured him in the first place. When we clear away the clutter that he so often attracts, Jesus will be seen, Jesus will be heard. Jesus, the Jewish rabbi, taught The Way and proclaimed the kingdom of God, but instead of continuing on The Way to the kingdom, Christianity has become about little more than a shallow belief in Jesus. This exchange of the gospel of Jesus for the gospel about Christ has led to a loss that is nearly unfathomable. Still, there is hope. I've written this book because I'm convinced we can find our way back to The Way again. Throughout all the meditations collected here, I have had one primary goal—to reveal what has been concealed, to remind us of what has been forgotten. I'm sure in the process I have hidden and misplaced other things, so that what emerges is more the gospel according to Michael than anything else. Still, I have endeavored to expose, not obscure, to illuminate not contaminate the ancient manuscripts and the extraordinary person they proclaim. The core teachings of Jesus are as radical and subversive as anything in human history. What follows is what I believe to be the core of Jesus's message, the essentials of his life. Following the meditations, I have included an essential teachings gospel of Jesus in which I have attempted to strip away as much as possible so as to present only the unvarnished good news, to lay out the core teachings of Jesus so their essence isn't lost. Like all books, the specific time and cultural context of this one shapes and informs it. Though the gospel is always the same, what supplants it varies according to time and place. The majority of my criticisms are leveled at Western Christianity in general and American Christianity in particular. If I lived in another era or society, this might very well be a different book. Though based on recent scholarship and years of study, this book is by design more inspirational than informational, more meditative than academic. My hope is that you will find this book accessible and easy to understand, yet sense the safety of the secure historical and theological foundation it rests upon. There are far worse things than being lost—or even losing something valuable. Sometimes being lost is the only way to truly be found, misplacing something priceless, the best way to really find and appreciate it. I'm convinced the very best posture we can assume is that of active, lifelong seekers. It's far better to be lost or to lose something, than to arrogantly (and foolishly) believe we have all we need, including all the answers, directly contradicting Jesus's insistence that we become like children. Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened. Let the search begin.
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