Where is the Way? What is the Truth? Which is the Life?
Imagine, for a moment, that you have to traverse on foot through forests and mountains, and across lakes and rivers to go find a land of milk and honey – somewhere out there.
Your guide gives you a staff and points you in the general direction. There’s a problem: you’ve become blind because your guide has tutored you – over many years – within a dark cave lacking light. You start your journey with the hope that your eyes will open so that you’ll be able see your way through.
As you walk, you stumble on a rock, you bump into a tree branch, and you fall down a slope. You have scratches and bruises and notice you are bleeding.
That’s why you cry out for help to the others; to the people who were in the cave before, and who are also unable to see, just like you. They hear you and call out to you to come their way. You recognize their voices. There’s another problem: their voices are coming from all different directions.
There is one voice, however, which you don’t recognize, coming from a stranger who says: “Come with me. I can see clearly enough to make our way.”
The familiar voices answer to the stranger: “What do you mean you can see clearly? Are you saying you’re a better traveler than us? Even so, where would you lead us? How can we trust that you would guide us to a place better than what we can find ourselves? Maybe the place you want to go, is not the place we want to go.”
To which the seeing stranger answers: “You seem trapped and unable to find your way. There are brambles, cliffs and crags, and deep-flowing rivers. You may suffer terrible wounds or even die.”
The others declare: “We’ve survived so far. We’re in this together. We’ll take our chances and find our own way.” Then you hear them swing their staffs in the air to strike the stranger.
As the stranger starts to leave, you decide to follow. As you get further away, you hear shrill voices quarreling over who gets the last few clusters of wild berries.
About this allegory: What are we, and our schools, teaching our young people today? A common set of morals and vision? Yes and no. On the one hand, teachers tell their students that people are free to have different values and beliefs. So far so good. On the other hand, they tell students that some beliefs and values are more “correct” than others, and that these cannot be challenged. In the past, these more “correct” values and beliefs were based on our Christian heritage. Not anymore. The “correct” moralities of today have different rights and wrongs.
As a result, we see much disagreement and debate about the meaning and purpose of life, laws and customs, war and peace, the rich and the poor, order and good government, the privileged and the marginalized. And so today we have people divided into groups, opposing each other, hating each other, not uniting together in faith, hope and love.*
The division and disorder are also reflected in the messages of our culture. Just review the songs, TV shows, films, web content and communication to see where we’re at. We’re forsaking the Way, the Truth, the Life.
May the words of Christ speak to us today.
“If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand” (St. Mark 3:24).
“The light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil” (St. John 3:19).
“And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit” (St. Matthew 15:14).
“I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness” (St. John 12:46).
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (St. John 14:6).
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (St. John 8:32).
“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (St. John 15:13).
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (St. John 13:34-35).
“Christ opened the book [of Isaiah] and found the place where it was written,
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed’” (St. Luke 4:17-18).
Let us pray:
In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
We repent and seek your will and truth O LORD. Send us your peace and grace at this troubled time. We pray the division and destruction and pain and violence stop, and that our hearts be filled with your mercy and love. We pray that whatever the enemy is trying to do in this moment comes to nothing by your power, and that You enlighten us and our leaders to bring about order and understanding and compassion, seeking Your will. Amen.
*“There is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all” (Colossians 3:11) “…there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).