Fr. Michael Williams

Our Lord’s declaration that he is “the way, the truth and the life” and that “no one can come to the Father except through him” reveals to us the unique nature of who Jesus Christ is. There have been many good men and women throughout human history, but Jesus, the Lord, is unique. Only Jesus can prepare a place for us in heaven.

Jesus is the way: the way that leads to the Father’s house. He is the way because he came down from heaven, so that he could raise us up to heaven. In some sense Jesus is like a bridge that allows humanity to reach God the Father’s house of “many rooms”. Our new Pope has said, “The shepherd takes the lost sheep onto his shoulders and carries it home”. We, the sheep had gone astray, but Jesus the Good Shepherd wants to take us in his arms and bring us to the Father.

In the Old Testament the people built a tower, known as the tower of Babel, so as to reach heaven, but they failed. Today humanity tries many different means to reach immortality without success, that is because only Jesus is the only way that leads to the Father’s house and eternal life. Humanity on its own cannot reach God’s heavenly kingdom, only Jesus Christ can take us to that place. Jesus alone- no one else and nothing else- can prepare a place for us with our heavenly Father.

The life of Jesus is the life of the Good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. Jesus endures pain and death on the cross so that we, the sheep, can know true life and true liberation from the forces of darkness that only seek to destroy. Jesus is the truth because he seeks to bring us out of the ignorance of the false ideologies of humanism, secularism, atheism and materialism, which only lead to destruction, not life.

Jesus “is the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God”. He is the foundation stone that we need to build our lives upon, His teachings, which are not always easy to follow in our modern world, are like a compass that points to the truth that leads to life.

At the beginning of today’s gospel Jesus tells us not to be afraid: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God still, and trust in me”. Jesus is the one we need to place our trust in, rather than the false promises of this world. The Holy Father at his inauguration Mass today said, “With great strength and conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and He gives you everything. When we give ourselves to Him, we receive a hundred fold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ- and you will find true life. Amen.”