The Way Of The Christian

I Am the Way: Danny Hahlbohm

Back in the early days of my return to my faith, my friend who was largely responsible for that return asked me one day: If I were to sum up my faith in one or two sentences, what would I say? I remember my answer to him, and I remember that it came almost without a split second's thought. I responded with the line from today's Gospel (John 14:1~6) where Jesus tells us that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life...
If you had asked me then why I had responded that way, I am not sure I would have been able to answer, but after almost ten years, I have seen the answer revealed by Jesus ever so slowly and gently (although not always easily). He has shown me that the only way to peace, true freedom and real joy is His Way; the only Truth is He Himself and it is an absolute Truth, and if we follow His Way and believe in Him as Truth, then we are led to the only life that matters~ Life in and with Christ.
In his homily at Mass today, the priest posed the question as to whether Jesus said these words to Thomas as a matter of fact, or as a means of trying to convince the Apostles. My thoughts on that are that in reading the Gospels, it is clear that Jesus never minced words, and He did not need to convince anyone of anything. So while I see His words as definitely a matter of fact, I also see them as an invitation. He invites us to Himself and ultimately to the Father by telling us that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
A line from today's meditation in Magnificat sums this up quite nicely: "The Christian life is a journey in communion with others in Jesus Christ." (Fr. P. Dalmazio Mongillo, O.P.)
We can accept Jesus' invitation or not, but if we do we will find that He is there, along with our other Christian brothers and sisters, walking the journey with us.