WATCHWORD:
1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. John 14:1-9
Meditation:
The Way…
The following excerpt from A Life for Barabbas is a conversation between the apostle Barnabas and Barabbas which occurred in Capernaum within days after the resurrection. Note how the term “The Way” is used as both reference to meetings of believers and the body of Jesus’ teachings.
“Barnabas, I remember when we last met, in Jerusalem, a year or so after my marriage celebration. You wanted to share something about what this man, this Jesus, was teaching, but I wasn’t ready. But, now…I want to know everything about The Way, and all about the teachings of Jesus.”
“Well, my young friend, you have come to the right place. I meet with a group of believers of The Way in Jerusalem and you are welcome to join us when you return home. You are right, our focus is on Jesus’ teachings, which is why we call it The Way.”
Let me throw this term at you: Post-Easter Christianity. Put yourself in the sandals of Peter, John, Barnabas, etc., as they witnessed the resurrection and felt the infilling of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. With those two happenings, the whole movement of following Christ took on new meaning. It seems reasonable to assume that use of the term “The Way”, as spoken first by Jesus, was the reason that early Christians adopted it as reference to the teachings of Jesus as well as the gatherings of followers of Christ. The growth of The Way posed a threat to both Rome and the hierarchy of Judaism.
“The Way”, as an identifier, stuck until Barnabas returned to his home region of Syria and established one of the early churches, a gathering of The Way in Antioch. It was there, as the church grew, attracting Jews, Greeks and Gentiles, that they chose “Christian” as an inclusive term in reference to individual believers, and that led to the coining of the word “Christianity”. These terms were formally adopted during the Jerusalem Council in 50AD, nearly 20 years after the resurrection.
“The Way”, is a declaration of the Spiritual power in the teachings of Jesus, emphasized in His statement: “I am the way…No one comes to the Father except through me.” That phrase is often the crux of discussion and disagreement among well-meaning believers. For me, those arguments have little substance. Think about it, in the light of our Triune God–No one comes to the Father except through…the Father, and the Holy Spirit, and the Son. It just seems to me that you can’t have Jesus separate from the Father.
Having said that, let me fudge, just a little. Jesus’ statement is for the disciples and us, flawed humans that we are, and the message is that no one comes to the Father except through belief in Jesus, and the Word from God. How can it be otherwise?
Bulletin Board:
Irish humor, revisited — Miss O’Leary is a lovely little old Irish spinster from Cork. The old priest at her Catholic church had retired, and was replaced by a much younger and handsome one. After Mass one Sunday, she went up to the new priest and said, “I have to tell you Father, your sermons are a wonder to behold. Sure, we didn’t know what sin was till you came to the parish!”
Closing Prayer:
Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
