Easter 5
Devotional
Water From the Well
Lectionary Devotional For Cycle A
Object:
... I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
-- John 14:6
In many ways, we want to argue with this passage. In an age where we have seen the suffering caused by religious intolerance, we want to believe there are many paths to God and that we are all on a common journey. Then we read that Jesus made this exclusive claim to being the way, the truth, and the life. Further, he claimed a common identity with God. This is the challenge of the incarnation. We are not allowed the easy escape of believing Jesus is one among many prophets. But what are we to do with the other prophets and other religions? Philip responded for us when he said to Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Jesus responded, "Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves." Seen through the lens of Jesus' works, the statement that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, take on a different meaning.
Jesus' life was that of a servant to the needy. Nothing he did was determined by how it would benefit him personally. He demonstrated an accepting love that included even his enemy. He was critical of those attitudes and possessions that resulted in excluding the needy and separating others into classes. To say that Jesus was the way, the truth, and the life was to say that the path to God was through serving those in need, offering forgiveness even to your enemy, and not letting either your religious belief or your possessions become a barrier to including those who hunger for the healing love of God. If Christians lived the life of their Lord, no one would think of them as being exclusive in their faith.
-- John 14:6
In many ways, we want to argue with this passage. In an age where we have seen the suffering caused by religious intolerance, we want to believe there are many paths to God and that we are all on a common journey. Then we read that Jesus made this exclusive claim to being the way, the truth, and the life. Further, he claimed a common identity with God. This is the challenge of the incarnation. We are not allowed the easy escape of believing Jesus is one among many prophets. But what are we to do with the other prophets and other religions? Philip responded for us when he said to Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Jesus responded, "Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves." Seen through the lens of Jesus' works, the statement that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, take on a different meaning.
Jesus' life was that of a servant to the needy. Nothing he did was determined by how it would benefit him personally. He demonstrated an accepting love that included even his enemy. He was critical of those attitudes and possessions that resulted in excluding the needy and separating others into classes. To say that Jesus was the way, the truth, and the life was to say that the path to God was through serving those in need, offering forgiveness even to your enemy, and not letting either your religious belief or your possessions become a barrier to including those who hunger for the healing love of God. If Christians lived the life of their Lord, no one would think of them as being exclusive in their faith.
