John Foulds

Today, as we continue to celebrate the Easter season, we think about the wonderful words of Jesus; ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life’.

In the reading from John’s Gospel that we just listened to, we learnt that when we choose to follow Jesus we also develop a closer relationship with our Heavenly Father.  We also heard Jesus telling the disciples that He was going to the Father, and, to quote from John’s Gospel again, He says, ‘if anyone steadfastly believes in me, he will be able to do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these, because I go to the Father.’

In these words the Risen Jesus is indicating that He will return to His Father in heaven and that the Holy Spirit will come to empower the disciples.  Jesus is therefore victorious over sin and death. He is now choosing to head home to His Father in Heaven. From there spiritual power will be released upon the believers who will then be enabled to declare to others that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and The Life.

We are then called to make the choice to believe in Jesus and to trust that all shall be well.  I believe this to be the very best Life Choice that we can make.

However, in these sophisticated times we are not used to making one choice and then sticking to it for the rest of our lives.  For example, you may well have a favourite restaurant and know just which dish you like best. You might even feel foolish in front of your friends or family for ordering the same thing every time. ‘Oh! You’re boring’ they cry, ‘Pick something different this time!’ So you do....and end up leaving three quarters of your Vindaloo on your plate, and wishing you had had the courage of your convictions to order your regular and delicious Korma!

Now, when I was a lad, ordering a cup of coffee in a cafe was a fairly straightforward matter. You were given a cup of the stuff and pointed in the direction of a bowl full of little plastic containers of milk and some packets of sugar. Nice and easy. Of course, things got marginally more complicated when those little pink sachets of ‘Sweet & Low’ were introduced and we had to wrestle with our consciences as to what to pick...but let’s not go there!

Oh, how I long for those simple days when I enter Starbucks and the like. The number of options available when ordering a coffee is mind –blowing today! I believe in keeping it simple and just ask for ‘a double decaffeinated cappuccino made with semi- skimmed milk with one shot of vanilla and some cinnamon sprinkles on the top and a biscotti on the side to be served ‘grande’ accompanied by an ice cream sundae spoon!’ ;-)  To take full advantage of the choices available in Starbucks I do recommend ensuring you always have with you an Italian dictionary and a small encyclopaedia!

Now, to return to today’s text, when Jesus says ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the life’, many people cannot settle with this because they are almost pre-programmed to making multiple choices and to getting things exactly how they want. Everything today is personalised and customised. You don’t nip down to Marks for your shopping anymore... you go to ‘Your M&S’. You may have taken a flight with ‘My Travel’ and if you have placed an order for a new car recently you will probably have been able to choose how you want it just like when you go for a coffee.

And you know what? When you don’t get offered those choices the likelihood is that you are going to feel quite grumpy and put out. We are actually very used to choosing exactly what we want...and getting it.

So when Jesus makes the bold statement, ‘I am the Way, The Truth and the Life’ modern thinkers are almost certain to want to weigh up their options.  What about other ‘Ways’ to follow? Political ideology or Philosophy, for example.  What about other ‘Truths’ to seek after? Communism, atheism, agnosticism, astrology, Islam, Buddhism...the list of choices goes on and on. Take your pick from the intellectual, the dogmatic, the human or the divine.

And what of other ways of ‘life’ to follow? Maybe we should all try to attain to the ‘celebrity’ lifestyle?

The reality is that the choice is down to you, as always. God has given us free will and so we make our own decisions.

But I do want to close with what Jesus’ words, ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life’ mean to me.  I believe His way makes sense. When we follow Jesus, we meet a person who leads by example in the ‘Way of Love’.  I believe He is the Truth because He connects the human and the divine in true togetherness.  And I believe He is the life because His compassion for us enables us time and again to pick up the broken pieces of our lives and continue on our journey.

I have looked at many options and life choices over the years. But I know that there is nothing to compare to walking the Way of the Risen Lord Jesus.  So, come...walk with Him too!
Amen.

(John Foulds)