We are back in the upper room in the intense atmosphere of
the Last Supper. Jesus has initiated the Mass and Judas has left to betray him.
He has given us the great comfort that is used at so many Christian funerals of
there being many rooms in his Father’s house and we come to this.
“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.”
It is the first line of today’s gospel. How many of us read
it and pass on without fully taking on board the importance of what Jesus is
saying here? He is telling us that if we want to get to see the Father in
heaven, then we have to follow him. But in following him, we have to follow his
teaching, because he is indeed the truth. But in following his teaching, we
must follow the way he lived his life as an example for how we should live.
Simple as that. So it is remarkable that so many people
ignore this great statement of Christ. For many it is A way, A truth, A life.
In times of great relativism, there is always a
justification as to why Jesus’ words or actions do not apply to us when they
are difficult. It might be in our worship of God and the requirement to attend
Mass each week, it might be our own lifestyle, such as moral behaviour or
sexual habits or it might be the way that we relate to our neighbour so that we
justify not helping our fellow humans in need.
It affects our society as whole so that we no longer have a
moral compass on what life means when babies are killed in the womb and the
inconveniently old are killed to be got out of the way, when foetuses are
destroyed in the pursuit of babies when children are in need of adoption, when
there is no appreciation of the meaning and purpose of marriage with children
being brought up outside marriage… and so on.
We find a way to justify our own position, but Jesus said
that “I am the way, the truth and the life” …
Pope Emeritus Benedict warned the world of the advancing
relativism that removes the clarity of the truth Jesus professed. And Pope
Francis uses his own inimitable style to bring to order those Catholics who
seek to justify their lack of adherence to Jesus’ Way, Truth and Life. He calls
them Cafeteria Catholics, willing to pick and choose what parts of the message
they want to hear and act on.
And the great sadness is that by losing sight of Jesus’
message we not only do him but also ourselves a disservice, because we take
ourselves away from the path to heavenly glory. It might be incredibly
difficult for us to comprehend, but Jesus’ message is one of great love for us.
He truly understands the struggles that we face and yearns for us not to make
it even worse for ourselves by ignoring the means to salvation.
Let us reflect on where we are remote from Jesus and his
message. Let us prayer that he can guide us and comfort us as we move from a
meandering course of uncertainty to the clear path of Christ. We can then come
to know the Father with all of the joy that will spring from that.
Gospel John 14:6-14 ©
Jesus said to Thomas:
‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one can come to the Father except through me.
If you know me, you know my Father too.
From this moment you know him and have seen him.’
Philip said, ‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall
be satisfied.’
‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip,’ said Jesus to
him ‘and you still do not know me?
‘To have seen me is to have seen the Father,
so how can you say, “Let us see the Father”?
Do you not believe
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words I say to you I do not speak as from myself:
it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work.
You must believe me when I say
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;
believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other
reason.
I tell you most solemnly,
whoever believes in me
will perform the same works as I do myself,
he will perform even greater works,
because I am going to the Father.