The Way, the Truth and the Life

I have found it interesting that the reading from the Gospel this Sunday is the most requested reading (other than Psalm 23) at a burial service. The passage begins with comforting words, as Jesus says: “In my Father’s house there are many mansions, many dwelling places.” However, the passage then goes on to one of the more puzzling and emphatic verses in the New Testament: “I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Fifty to a hundred years ago, it would be unusual for Christians to know Muslims or atheists. Today however, in our more pluralistic society, the idea that Jesus is the way - and that no one comes to the Father except through Jesus - brings many questions.

For me, the Way of Jesus is the Way of the Cross. And the Way of the Cross is a unique way to live an abundant life. I do not think that the statement is exclusive, but rather descriptive. The statement is a description of the paradoxical Christian life, that you must lose your life to save it.

I invite you to walk this Way; and to discover, with me, that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life for you.