If you have been to Manila any
time last year and this year, you would have discovered how desperately people
were trying to “find the way” – the way out of the eternal traffic that started
as early as November 2015. The roads are clogged by motorists. The MRT and LRT
were filled to overflowing. You will be among people who were patiently stuck
in the traffic for 3-5 hours just to get home at night. Yes, people want to
find the way, the way out of THE MESS.
Spiritually, we can say that
people desire to find the way. How do I go to God? How do I attain peace of
mind? How can I be sure of salvation? How can I acquire healing? Ano ba talaga
ang daan? And as if to answer this longing, nagsulputan ang mga sagot tungkol
sa daan.
Merong nagsasabi: “kami ang “dating daan!” And
people rushed to them because they promise answers to all questions under the
sun. But then there was a counterpoise, another group saying: kami ang “tamang daan!” And again, people turned to listen, to analyze,
to absorb their teaching.
But then people are even more
confused? Which way? Dating daan o tamang daan? Kaya tuloy, maraming
Kristiyano, bigyan mo ng “limang daan,”
kahit saan, dadaan!
The gospel of John tells us 14:6:
I am the way, and the truth and the life.
We know that Jesus is the way. It
is in the motto of many institutions. Even before that, we heard it in school
from when we were young. It is there in the Bible discussed in our church. It
is a truth of faith born more than 2000 years ago from the conviction of the
early apostles.
That “Jesus is the way” is the same as saying “Jesus is my Lord and Savior”, “Jesus
is the Rock of Salvation”, “Jesus is the Answer”. These are formulas of stock knowledge in the head, of easy
references in a book, of catch phrases we brandish about so that we can be
called Christians.
But the truth is, we are not
usually interested in the way. When life is easy, you are not preoccupied with
the way.
Kapag mahirap na ang buhay, diyan
tayo naghahanap ng daan. When problems come, we want a way out of the problem
(daan palabas sa gusot). When we fall down, we want a way to get up (daan para
makabangon muli). When our health suffers, we want a way to get well (daan para
gumaling agad). When we are broke
and sad, confused and depressed, we look for a way to recover our joy, our
peace, our dignity (daan para makabawi naman).
When life is easy… the way does
not really matter to us. The world provides us many ways, many roads, many
paths, to satisfy our desires and to fulfill our longings. As we travel the
roads mapped out for us by the world, we put our trust in them. We think we are
too safe. We believe that it is all that we need to be happy.
Some people in the world travel
the way of FINANCIAL SECURITY (investing here and there; buying here and there;
accumulating here and there). Some people are preoccupied with the way of HEALTH
AND WELLNESS, amazed at sculpted figures and strong muscles (dreaming to be
like Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach or Alden Richards). There is the assurance given us
through the way of EMOTIONAL SECURITY from the people who are nearest and
dearest (loved ones, girl/boyfriend). Who of us are not convinced that the way
of TECHNOLOGY will never let us down (latest cell phone, laptops, tablet). We
think that the earth will always furnish us the many ways that will provide for
us and that things will always continue as they are now. The way of the world cocoons us in these
comfort zones.
That is, until, we have to let go
of these things, of the ways offered to us by life on earth. Nobody expects
these but they happen: The money is lost or dwindles. There is an accident or
sudden illness we discover. The computer would not boot. Our love and trust is
betrayed by one we relied on. Nobody expects food shortages, climate change, or
the refusal of the computer to come to life in the morning.
Sometimes the way of our security
is even more subtle. It may be our faith or religion. We may for example
believe in the Bible as a rock we can rely on. Or perhaps believe in a
particular aspect of devotion or religious practice. But even believers in God,
even Christians of all shades, occasionally come up with turbulence in their
lives and discover that their faith is only head deep. Even faith or religion
can disappoint us, in this way.
I think that the way becomes
really important to us, when we do not know the way: the gospel verse is
preceded by Thomas saying: “Lord we do not know where you are going, how can we
know the way?”
God becomes the way when all the
other roads in life prove fruitless; when we travel aimlessly through life;
when what we need are not slogans or platitudes from the Bible or religion.
Jesus becomes the way when we want to experience him walking with us along the
path of our pain, sorrow, sadness, confusion and sin.
The Jews knew that God was the
way because God walked with them out of Egypt through the hunger and cold, the
perils and the risks of the desert and into the Promised Land. The two
disciples after the Resurrection learned that Jesus is the way because Jesus
joined them and listened to them, and consoled them as they were returning to
the town called Emmaus.
What am I saying? Well its
actually difficult to discuss this reading because we Catholic priests only
discuss this during funerals. And there’s no one dead here.
What I’m saying is this: Jesus is
the way, that’s for sure but he can only be discovered by people who desire a
companion in the journey of life to the Father. And at times it takes a blow or
a downfall or a painful incident to make that happen. When it happens, the way of Jesus is not anymore an empty
slogan but a real experience of God’s embrace, his protection, his love and his
power to save.
In silence, let us invite to
Jesus to walk with us, especially where we are hurting the most, where we are
needy the most, where we are in darkness the most… Glory to the Father and to
the Son and to the Holy Spirit… Amen.
