The Way To Salvation
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Jesus came to show us the Way to Salvation. It is not a book of rules, a certain routine to adopt, or even a list of things we need to accept and try to do. Jesus says to us “I am the way, the truth, and the life, None come to the Father except by me.” (John 14:6.) Christianity is not a code or philosophy, it is a relationship between you and Jesus that involves your whole life. Jesus is not simply one of many ways, He is The Way, the only way worth following. “None come to the Father except by me.” How do we follow this way? The answer has always been this: by being his disciples. The word “Disciple” means “One who sits at the feet of a teacher.” Jesus is the Truth, and he came to teach us about Himself. We Christians are not called to read a book about Jesus who is far away and pretend to be like Him, hoping we are doing it right. We are called to come close to him, to sit right next to Him at His feet. We are called to listen and be attentive to the greatest Teacher. And like any real relationship, and any real study, it will not be easy. Real relationships require time, communication, and love. Real study requires time, commitment, and reflection. Is your study of Jesus real study? Is your relationship with Jesus a real relationship?
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During the third week of Lent, and the Feast of the Transfiguration, the Church offers us God The Father’s words spoken over Jesus, “This is my Beloved son in whom I am will pleased, listen to him.” What is it that Jesus has to say? How do we listen to Him? We study Him. We get to know Him. We encounter Him in the Church He founded. Jesus has a lot to say, but it will take much time, struggle and effort to really begin to understand Him, and there is always more to know. It is no coincidence that these readings of the Transfiguration occur in the middle of Lent and the middle of Ordinary time. During the middle seasons of life, when busy-ness and confusion sometimes reign, the Father’s words remind us that Christ must stand in the center of our lives, teaching, governing, and sanctifying us through His Church. Jesus, I want to listen to you, I want to get to know you better, but there are so many things in my life that distract me from You. Give me the gift of quiet, and the grace to listen.
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When Pontius Pilate interrogated Jesus, attempting to discover who he is and what he is about, Jesus replied, “I came into the world, that I should give testimony to the Truth. Everyone who is of the Truth hears my voice.” (John 18:37.) “If you continue in my word…you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8: 31-32.) And Pilate famously responds “What is truth?”. Perhaps out of mockery, perhaps out of frustration. But Christ does not answer this question with words. Standing there, He is the answer to that question. But Pilate does not take the time to let this sink in, he rushes off and speaks to the High Priests. Perhaps if he would have taken the time to listen to Jesus, he could have been innocent of Christ’s death. Jesus is the very Word of God, made flesh, that we can behold as He dwells among us in His Church. I encourage you, ask Jesus that same question, “What is Truth?” but wait for the answer. Search for the answer. Go to Mass and see Jesus, then spend time after you receive Him. Learn the answer at His feet. Is this hard to do? Yes. Like Pilate, I want to rush out from seeing Jesus and back into the world. Resist that urge. Spend more time with Him. We can succeed where Pilate failed.
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The teachings of Jesus do not consist in mere human words. His words written and revealed for His followers are contained in the Scripture and Tradition He left, and taught infallibly in His Church. All that we need in order to know Christ has been safeguarded and preserved in a living whole. But if this is the case, why doesn’t everyone know Jesus? There are three reasons; enemies which seek to undermine our trust in our Teacher and His Church.
These enemies? The world, the flesh and the Devil. The world is an enemy because our society neither know Christ nor seeks him. The business and anxiety it causes distract us from Him. The flesh is an enemy because our disordered passions blind us from the truth and bind us to actions that prevent us from encountering God. The comforts we are offered make us lethargic and unable to encounter Him. The devil is an enemy because he is a liar from the beginning, and he seeks to destroy man and his relationship with God. The Catechism states in #37, “…there are many obstacles which prevent reason from the effective and fruitful use of the inborn faculty (of attaining the truth about God.) For the truths that concern the relations between God and man wholly transcend the visible order of things… So it happens that men easily persuade themselves that what they would not like to be true is false.” Jesus, I am stuck in my routine, and I find it hard to remember the invisible realities of the world. Only you can save me from myself. Grant me the strength to persevere on my path to seek you.
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Where do we go to find truth? Our world has stopped searching for truth. Partially because of our own laziness, but partially because the truth is dissected and commoditized for the sake of profit or indoctrination. Whether its “the news”, magazines, pulp feel good and self help books, our world knows that using partial truths, and then adding in what you want is a great way to look good and sell things. But the Truth still exists, whole, living and unsellable. Our world has replaced teaching with indoctrination, but the Teacher still waits for us to sit at His feet. Perhaps you have heard the phrase “What would Jesus do?” It is a good phrase, but we should answer that question first and foremost by looking at what Jesus did. If you want to encounter the truth, if you want to have an experience of life without any of the hogwash the world is trying to teach and sell, read the gospels. I know we make a lot of recommendations on this rosary podcast. How many sounded like a good idea? How many have you actually implemented in your life? Well, begin today. Make a commitment to read the gospel of the day’s Mass every morning. The Truth is waiting for you to study, the Teacher is waiting for you to learn at His feet. Will you come study with Him?