Bread of Life – November
I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.
In these words, spoken to St. Thomas, Jesus assures us that He has come to guide us in every way that we need: to guide our hands and our feet, to guide our minds and our hearts, to guide us to the Father. Let us examine each component of His words.
First, Christ is the way. Christ shows us the way to live. The model of Christ’s life provides us with concrete actions to imitate – actions that orient us, that draw us out of sin, confusion, and indecision, and that form us in ever deeper friendship with Him. By offering to us His own life for our imitation, Christ has set firm ground beneath our feet. No matter how far we have strayed, the path by which we imitate Him lies before us – He is our way.
Second, Christ is the truth. Christ answers our deepest questions of why God has created the world and of what we are to make of its brokenness. He demonstrates the love of God. In Him we discover the logic of creation – the very mind of God – that God has loved us and has come to dwell among us and to raise us up to be like Him. This truth baffles us and yet opens us up to a new understanding of all things through faith, so that we may see as God sees – He is our truth.
Third, Christ is the life. Christ does not only direct our actions and enlighten our minds – He moves our hearts. That is, He transforms us, for we become like what we love. He wins our love in a manner simultaneously irresistible and liberating, and inspires in us a new way of being, a way of giving of ourselves without limit. By loving Him, we partake in His divine nature. This is life in His Spirit – He is our life.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me”
John 14:6
Finally, Christ tells us that He alone leads us to the Father. Why is His revelation unique? Do not many other religions also recognize God as Father? Jesus teaches us that God is not merely a father, in a metaphorical sense,to us His creatures. God is Father in His divinity, in a pre-eminent sense: He is a Father Who confers upon His Son His Holy Spirit.
Consider the paternal blessing. How awesomeit is when a good father can say to his son, “You are like myself – not in flesh alone but in spirit. In you I rejoice.”Christ alone guides us to become like the Father, not to remain creaturely and childish, but to stand before Him transformed, and to share in the paternal blessing – the Holy Spirit – eternally received by the Son.
We pray: Lord, direct our hands and feet in imitation of You. Enlighten our minds with the mystery of Your love. Transform our hearts with Your grace. And make of us sons and daughters pleasing to You forever.
“The Son of God became man so that we might become God.”
– St. Athanasius
Ben Martin
CiV co-ordinator of reflections
Ben, his wife Amelja, and their son Peter live in Tampa, FL, USA.