Son and Way

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today allow us to consider the preaching of Paul

Finding the way

in Acts to a Jewish audience not living in Jerusalem.

* [13:31] The theme of the Galilean witnesses is a major one in the Gospel of Luke and in Acts and is used to signify the continuity between the teachings of Jesus and the teachings of the church and to guarantee the fidelity of the church’s teachings to the words of Jesus.

We also contemplate the declaration of Jesus in the Gospel of John to be the Way, Truth and the Life as He concludes the Last Supper Discourse.

* [14:4] The way: here, of Jesus himself; also a designation of Christianity in Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22.
* [14:6] The truth: in John, the divinely revealed reality of the Father manifested in the person and works of Jesus. The possession of truth confers knowledge and liberation from sin (Jn 8:32).

Diane Jorgensen identifies that when we are confused, troubled and fearful we tend to want answers to provide clarity. We want the when, where, how all spelled out.

Today Jesus tells us our clarity, our security, our safety is only in relationship with him, and through him, with God. At these times we need to be still and listen for the voice of Jesus - whether in prayer or in the words of a faithful companion - reminding us, “hey, you know Jesus, you know the way, you know to whom you belong, so trust the process; trust that you will be led and given all you need.”

Don Schwager quotes Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D, to remind us that we walk by faith in the truth.

"Persevere now in walking by faith in the truth, that you may succeed in coming at a definite and due time to the sight of the same truth. For as the apostle says, 'While staying here in the body, we are away from the Lord. For we are walking by faith, not by sight' (2 Corinthians 5:6-7). We are led to the direct sight and vision of the Father by Christian faith. That is why the Lord says, 'No one comes to the Father except through me.'" (excerpt from SERMON 12.5)

David James critiques Brian D McLaren’s claims concerning John 14:6. “... a careful reading of the verse (“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”) shows that its most likely meaning is almost the opposite of the way it’s commonly used.

Friar Jude Winkler explains the audience that attends to Paul in the synagogue. The Way is the path to the Father through the Cross. The truth is the eternal Word of God and the Life embraces and fills us with vitality now that will eternally continue.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, notes modern culture’s preoccupation with the physical body and the exploitation of the body as soulless matter reflects the deep human disconnect from self, neighbor, earth, and God. Sister Ilia Delio, a Franciscan professor and theologian, has a wonderful way of making the brilliant writings of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) accessible.

The love between persons creates a thread of passionate energy that winds around the embrace of persons and enters into the heart of the cosmos, contributing to the energetic movement of universal convergence. Love is what “makes the world go ‘round.” It is fundamental to the forward movement of evolution and cosmic personalization. It is the whole of every whole, the open, dynamic field of energy that seeks greater wholeness within every star, leaf, plant, and galaxy.Love, sex, and cosmic evolution are intertwined in a field of integral wholeness; to deny, avoid, or negate any of them is to thwart the process of deepening life.

By the sheer power of its energy, love draws everything into an endless depth of greater wholeness.

References


(n.d.). Acts, chapter 13 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved April 27, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/acts/13:26

(n.d.). John, chapter 14 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved April 27, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/14

(n.d.). Creighton Online Ministries - Creighton University. Retrieved April 27, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/online.html

(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved April 27, 2018, from http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/ 

(2009, August 28). Does “I am the way…” Teach Universalism? – The Alliance for Biblical .... Retrieved April 27, 2018, from http://www.biblicalintegrity.org/2009/08/28/i-am-the-way-teaches-universalism/

(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archive - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved April 27, 2018, from https://cac.org/richard-rohr/daily-meditations/daily-meditations-archive/