I am the Way, the Truth and the Life

05-06-2020Weekly ReflectionDeacon Ed Wendt

My Dear Family,

When have so many people, everywhere, felt so uncertain, had so many unanswered and unanswerable questions all at the same time? When have so many plans been upended, suspended? When have so many guidelines been provisional, temporary, subject to revision? How long will this last? When will we get to attend Mass/go out/gather/travel/work normally/work at all/hug/feel safe again? Grief, illness, this unseen virus with its terrible tentacles that reach into our homes, churches, schools, hospitals, economy all leave us feeling adrift, even more than we often do as humans. We may feel suspended, floating (not in a good way), unable to get a foothold on something solid and dependable, concrete and unshakeable. It’s all up in the air.

Here is the message of our readings for today. Yes, the feeling of uncertainty is real. Yes, the feeling of being off course without our regular patterns and routine is real. Yes, the longing for something unmovable yet life-giving, solid yet sustaining, concrete yet creative is real. And yes, God gives us a way that is steadfast when all feels like quick sand, a truth that is certain when all feels slippery, a life that is assured when all is shifting. God gives us what we need for this moment and for all time because God gives us a person and makes us into a people. All of our lessons today bear witness to this assurance, to this pledge of security no matter what.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life,” says Jesus. With Jesus, we have sure footing. With Jesus, there is a way forward. We may not see the next step, but he does, and if we stay close, follow him, and depend on him, we can move forward undergirded by the unmovable, unshakeable, unshifting ground that supports us, the guide that won’t leave us, the God who won’t lose us.

Jesus assures us that if we know him, we know the one he calls Father, also. God is not aloof, or aloft beyond the troubles of this world. God is knowable because Jesus is knowable. What does this tell us about God? The God we know in Jesus Christ became flesh and dwelt among us. God is with us, even in our vulnerability, our uncertainty, our flailing and failing and fear. Reach out, here is God. Take a step forward on the way. Our footing is sure. The path holds. The way leads to life.

Keep going. Keep going and depend on the God who is our rock, a strong castle to keep us safe, our crag and our stronghold. This psalm was on the lips of Jesus and Stephen when they were letting go of their lives to hold firm to their faith: Into your hands, O God, I commend my spirit. When it all feels unstable, shifting, when we feel like we’ve come untethered, when it’s all up in the air, rely on the God who is our rock.

I Bid You Peace,
Deacon Ed