Today we get another powerful “I am” statement from Jesus. As we mentioned before, each time Jesus says “I am” in the Gospel of John, we should open our eyes very wide and pay close attention. These statements show us the profound realities of our Lord and his mission among us.
Jesus, by saying, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6), reveals to us that he is the way to the Father, but also, at the same time, the destination.
Aquinas comments on this verse, “Christ himself is the way, and therefore he says: ‘I am the way.’ This certainly is eminently right for through him we have access to the Father. Since this way is not separate from its end, but joined to it, he adds the truth and the life; thus he is himself at once both the way and the goal. In his human nature he is the way, and in his divine nature he is the goal. Therefore, speaking as man he says: I am the way; and speaking as God he adds: the truth and the life. These two words are an apt description of this goal.”
As you know, Jesus is true man and true God. As a man, Jesus is the way. Because he is fully human, he is the mediator between God and man. We go to the divinity through his sacred humanity.
As divine, Jesus is also the goal. He is truth itself since he is the Word, the second person of the Blessed Trinity. He is also life itself since “all things were created by him, and for him” (Col 1:16).
The logical conclusion of this is very simple, hold on to Christ. Aquinas tells us, “Therefore hold fast to Christ if you wish to be safe. You will not be able to go astray, because he is the way. He who remains with him does not wander in trackless places; he is on the right way. Moreover he cannot be deceived, because he is the truth, and he teaches every truth. And he says: ‘For this I was born and for this I have come, to bear witness to the truth.’ Nor can he be disturbed, because he is both life and the giver of life. For he says: ‘I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly’ (John 10:10).”
Let us notice the benefits of clinging to Christ. We will not go astray, wander aimlessly, be deceived, or be disturbed. Who does not want always to be secure, stay on the right path, never be entangled by lies, and always be at peace? We all desire truth and life and want to get there. There is only one answer: our Lord Jesus Christ.
St. Teresa of Avila teaches something similar when she says, “If Christ Jesus dwells in a man as his friend and noble leader, that man can endure all things, for Christ helps and strengthens us and never abandons us. He is a true friend. And I clearly see that if we expect to please him and receive an abundance of his graces, God desires that these graces must come to us from the hands of Christ, through his most sacred humanity, in which God takes delight.”
It is, then, the sacred humanity of Christ, the way to all graces. Only by Jesus dwelling in our hearts, loving him, and clinging to him will we attain the fullness of truth and life. Let us today cling to Jesus in holy communion, embrace his feet like the holy women in the Resurrection and never let go of him again.