Acts 6:1-7
1 Pt 2:4-9
Jn 14:1-12

The Way, the Truth and the Life

The gospel for this Sunday provides us with a very hopeful and positive message. Jesus states, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.” Later in the same gospel reading he tells us, “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.” 

This message is spoken at the Last Supper prior to Jesus’ arrest, death and burial. He is preparing the disciples for what is to come, and at the same time, to have hope for the future after the resurrection. Both Thomas and Phillip make comments that show the disciples really don’t understand what will soon happen. They are like us who often don’t understand or grasp the true message of scripture and the message of Jesus. Do we believe the message from the gospel in the first paragraph of this reflection?

In the same gospel reading Jesus tells the disciples, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.“  

Jesus is the Way. It is crucial for us to understand and believe these words. It’s often difficult to know how we should live in a world like ours today. We are told that we need more money, influence, better jobs, more important people in our circle. The way Jesus lived his life as a faithful Son of God is the model for how we are to live our lives. There are many paths we might choose – materialism, exclusivism, hedonism, violence, etc. Jesus tells us that we are to enter through the narrow gate. “For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13-14). Hopefully, we are among the few who choose to live as Jesus did, to be those who enter through the narrow gate.

Jesus is the Truth. Disinformation is almost the norm for what we see on TV or read in print. Leaders, religious and political, frequently lie. In contrast Jesus says, “I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this: to testify to the truth” Are we on the side of truth? Do our words and  actions reflect truth? Are we on the same mission with Jesus who came to deliver us from ignorance and illusions?.

Jesus is the Life. Do we really live or merely exist? Does our existence reflect the beauty of meaningful living? Jesus is the life; the living bread (John 6:51); the living water (John 4:14). If we live as Jesus lived we will have life in us in abundance here and hereafter.

As we continue in this Easter season, let us be conscious of the deep and abiding love of God present in Jesus and us. May we live our daily lives being persons who demonstrate an honest way to live, offer truth at all times, and live our lives to the fullest as God created us to be.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Do we live in such a way that this statement is true for us?

How does Jesus as our Way, Truth and Life be the guiding principle of your life?