Christianity, in its first century, was not labeled as a religion or any sort of institution as we talk about it these days. Rather it was named as “the Way.”
The Living Faith
Christianity, in its first century, was not labeled as a religion or any sort of institution as we talk about it these days. Rather it was named as “the Way.” Early Christians were called “followers of the Way.” Hence with whatever catchy terms the modern communities or groups of Christians may be labeled, if they are the gatherings of Christ’s disciples, the relevant identity of them all is nothing but ‘the Way’. What do we understand by this term ‘the Way’? The primary meaning is the members of any of this auspicious Way-Communities are living and moving in Jesus who is the only Way of Truth and Life amidst many other earthbound pathways.
According to Jesus his Way is surely narrow and en route to ‘beyond this world’. He advises therefore to go beyond the present situation of our life. Nonetheless he too underlines that in our dealings with God we should not separate this present moment from the past. We read in the Gospels that the people, living in Jesus’ time, ignored the power and identity of Jesus behind the miracles they saw, asking him some more miracles to do so that they could believe him. They said to him: What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’
This is the mistake the old Israelites were doing in the desert. They were so much worried about today’s bread that they did not trust that their God, who had done wonderful things in their past, especially during their liberation-journey to the Promised Land, would do the same. They grumbled against God. (Ref. Ex. 16: 2-15) Jesus cautioned us not to behave that way. On our life journey in his Way would be filled with so many steps or phases being repented, changed, and renewed. And perhaps we may be engaged in many innovative programs of enrichment during the present stage of life. This sort of preoccupation should in no way make us forgetting the great things that the Lord has done throughout our past life-steps. Remembrance is a sign of gratitude. With renewed mind of Christ we should remind ourselves of the marvelous deeds of God in our past and connect this present situation to the past endeavors of God done in our lives out of his compassion and mercy.
Also, the Lord inspires us through his Scriptures to see the Giver beyond the gifts. Everything that is happening is simply a sign for us to reach out the God who is the Provider. We should never ask in ignorance “what is this?” as the old Israelites asked in the desert but any feeling we communicate in the public must be one of ‘awe’ that witnesses to the awesomeness of God and his unfathomable deals. Moses indicated that it was a food beyond natural and artificial; he explained to them, “This is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.” And the Lord God also pointed out to them: “So that you may know that I, the Lord, am your God.”
The Israelites were being called to accept the manna and the quail as gifts and to see beyond those gifts to the God who had brought them from Egypt and was guiding them to freedom and a new way of life. We notice the same ignorance and indifference of the people at Jesus’ time, unable to see what was beyond his miracles. (Ref. Jn. 6: 24-35) They ignored the power and identity of Jesus present behind the miracles and therefore asked him some more miracles to do so. Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God that you believe in the one he sent.”
Everything in this universe is the sign and symbol of the goodness, beauty and wisdom of the Creator. Any event that occurs, anything we handle, we see, we touch, we feel, we come in contact with and everyone whom we relate to are simply the outer signs of God, the Creator, the Provider, the Redeemer and the Judge. Therefore we have to go beyond these things and see what and who is beyond all these. This is the “new Way” that we follow with our renewed mind and heart in Jesus. Referring to this ‘new way’ Paul writes: “You should put away the old self of your former way of life and put on the new self, created in God’s way as you were taught in Christ” (Ref. Eph. 4: 17-24).
Indisputably to follow such ‘renewed Way’ is very hard. It offers us an intense challenge in daily life; however if we try to follow our Master’s directions, surely, as he promised, our yoke would be easy and burden would be light.
