January 2001

These words of Scripture are being proposed for the reflection of Christians during the week of prayer for Christian unity, which is being celebrated this month in many nations.
This, perhaps, is the highest and most complete description that Jesus gives of him-self in the Gospels, a description which sums up his mission and his identity. And he ad-dresses it to us so that we may find the surest and only way to the Father. In fact, this verse concludes with the words: no one comes to the Father but through me”.
With these words of his Jesus reveals to us who he truly is, and who he is for every man and woman in this world.

«I am the way, and the truth, and the life».

In what way does Jesus reveal himself as the truth? He does so by bearing witness to it with his life and teaching.
“The reason I was born, the reason why I came into the world, is to testify to the truth” (Lk 3:4). The truth, which Jesus attributes to himself, signifies his person, his word, his work.
We live according to the truth, we are truth in the measure in which we are word of Jesus. But if Jesus is the way in the sense that he is the truth, he is also the way because he is life for us. “I came that they might have life and have it to the full” (Mt 18:20). By nourishing ourselves with him, who became bread in the Eucharist, and also with his word, Christ will grow in us.
On our part, we must communicate this life within us, lest it would die, by using the one and only means that Jesus taught us: that of giving it as a gift to our neighbours.

«I am the way, and the truth, and the life».

“Make ready the way of the Lord” (Mt 18:19), John the Baptist cried out in the desert of Judea, re-echoing the prophet Isaiah. Here, then, is the one who presents himself as the Lord-the Way, God who became man so that, through his humanity, we could go to the Father.
But which way did Jesus take?
The Son of God, who is Love, came on earth out of love. He lived out of love, spreading love, giving the gift of love, bringing the law of love, and he died out of love. Then he rose up and ascended to heaven, fulfilling his plan of love. We can say that the way Jesus took has just one name: love. And in order to follow him, we too must walk along this way: the way of love.
But the love that Jesus lived and brought is a special, unique kind of love. It is not philantrophy, or simply solidarity and kindness; nor is it only friendship or affection; and neither is it only non-violence. It is something extraordinary, divine: it is the same love that burns in God. Jesus gave us a flame of that infinite fire, a ray of that immense sun: divine love, which is lit up in our hearts through Baptism and through our faith, a faith nourished by the other sacraments. This divine love is a gift of God which, however, demands that we do our part, that we correspond.
We must make this love bear fruit. How? By loving. We are not fully Christians if we do not assure this contribution of ours. By loving we will follow Jesus, the Way, and like Him, we too will be the way to the Father for many brothers and sisters.
We Christians will be more credible if we live together this commandment of love that Jesus gave us.
Although there is not yet full unity among us, followers of Jesus, we can bear witness to mutual love through our life. Doing this gives us the possibility of seeing one of Jesus' promises come true: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst” .
We Christians can already enjoy this gift of the presence of Jesus, for example be-tween a Catholic and an Anglican, between an Orthodox and a Methodist, between a Walden-sian and an Armenian. Jesus in the midst of his people! In this way, he himself will tell those who do not yet know him: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”.
During this month we realize even more that the unity of Christians is first of all a grace and therefore we need to ask for this gift. Let us count on our praying together because Jesus said: “If two of you join your voices on earth to pray for anything whatever, it shall be granted you by my Father in heaven”.

Chiara Lubich