Scripture
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”
John 14:6a NRSV
Spiritual Focus
“Love is the bridge between you and everything.” Rumi
Devotion
Have you ever been asked a question about your vision of some future event? You describe your thought, and your companion’s response indicates that he or she clearly does not understand your idea. For example, you might say, “I’d like to see more diversity in our schools,” and the person with whom you are in conversation responds, “I’m against quotas!” This is an example of jumping from one ditch to another, going from one extreme to the other and completely missing the point.
Our engagement with Jesus’ words in John 14:6a often suffers from the same kind of disconnect, and we too easily miss the point. When Jesus says “I Am the way, the truth and the life,” he is speaking about the way he has taught us to live. One of those ways—as radically divergent from the norm in his day as it is in ours—is to choose the path of peace. At the 15th-anniversary Ground Zero prayer service each of the major world religions was asked to prepare a meditation on peace. Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, B’ahi, Greek Orthodox, Christian—all came together and through their meditations jointly proclaimed a path of peace as the way we are to live. The prayer service closed with the song “Let There Be Peace on Earth”. This familiar hymn has the power to remind us of our own role in bringing peace to this world, the power to draw us out of the ditches into which we easily slip and get us back onto the path.
Let peace begin with us—on our mats, in our homes, on the job, and in the world. The way of peace Jesus taught calls on us to take the high road and avoid the ditches.
Breath Prayer
Inhale Let Peace
Exhale Begin with Me
Focus Pose: Bridge pose, Setu Bandha Sarvangasana, is often used as a transitional pose to realign the spine. This week practice Bridge pose with the shoulders FLAT on the mat, and press the feet into the mat as the hips are gently lifted. Relax the glutes, and notice that the strength of the grounded shoulders and feet allows the heart energy to rise—bridging over a ditch.
