Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life (Easter 5 Readings)

 This claim to absolute truth was made Two Thousand years ago. Every moment of every day we make choices between this claim and what other voices around us say. Other voices question the truth of this claim by presenting good works, secularism, multi-culturalism and religious pluralism as alternative ways. There is a real conflict between respecting the right of other people to believe in these other ways; and our Baptismal promise to proclaim Jesus as the way, the truth and the life. The cost of silence is our failure to proclaim the Good News of Jesus and the proclamation that other ways are valid. On the surface our silence appears loving. In reality it is unloving. By not proclaiming the Good News of forgiveness and salvation in Jesus we fail to love our neighbors enough to share the Good News and abandon them to ignorance and spiritual death.

 1. Jesus claimed to be" the way" (John 14.6)

In fact the early Christians were known as the people of the Way. What do we mean by "the Way"? It is a short version of way to salvation through belief in the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus. Christians believe their way to salvation or eternal spiritual life is through Jesus Christ. Last Sunday we talked about Jesus being like a gate that people had to go through in order to be saved or to receive eternal spiritual life.

Priests of the Caribbean: Reflections by Rev. John and Mrs Lucille Gishler

We arrived in our Companion Diocese of the Windward Islands in November and stayed until Easter. The Diocese includes three main Islands which are also independent states, running from about 100 miles Northwest of Venezuela in an arc that reaches toward Cuba – Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Lucia. Advent began with a huge gathering (1,200+) of the eight parishes on St Vincent (diameter 26 miles) in an outdoor stadium – I am fourth from the Left.

The Bishop was very interested in the Alpha Course and Cursillo and asked each of the eight parishes on St. Vincent to send two people for training and another four to take the course. You can see the joy after the Alpha Weekend in the picture. We left the training video, Leaders Guide and Alpha Course DVD with the Diocese so they can roll out Alpha in each parish.