" 'Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?' Jesus said to him, 'I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.' "

This passage has upset me because of its exclusivity. It excludes the Jews, God's Chosen People. It excludes the Gandhis and Dalai Lamas of the world. And on a personal note, it excludes my wonderfully loving, open and accepting adult children who were raised in the Unitarian church.

This weekend, a dear friend from Atlanta -- I'll call her Lucy -- came to visit. Lucy and I have been friends for well over twenty years. She is not a Christian. In fact she engages in a decidedly suspect spiritual practice which involves magic. I spent several hours one Saturday grilling her about her faith. I wanted to know what drew her to it, what had caused her to turn her back on her Lutheran upbringing, and where she saw her spiritual path taking her in the future. Surprisingly enough, she agreed to go to church with me on Sunday.

As I was meditating during Holy Communion, I asked God if Lucy's spirituality was from Satan. The answer I received was that by people's fruits, we will know them.... and the fruits of Lucy's life are love and joy and peace. I can not believe that she will be excluded from God's kingdom. However, I will pray for her ... and for my children ... and for all of the other love-filled, joy-filled, peaceful peoples of the world. May God accept them all, and love them all, and may we do our part in loving them into God's Heaven.