I Am the Way

Maybe we can begin with a very simple perception:

Christ , the one who, in the beginning of creation, was already with God and was God.

Jesus , the man born of a woman.

About thirty years later, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, is the Anointed One of God: Christ Jesus.

After death and resurrection, this Jesus is exalted by God, made Lord and Christ: Jesus Christ.

Not as a formula capable of explaining every occurrence of these words, but as a possibility of listening more carefully to what is written.

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Christ

John begins before the birth of Jesus:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

Paul also speaks of the one who is before all things, in whom all things were created and in whom everything holds together.

It is on this horizon that we begin our reflection on Christ: before Bethlehem, before the man born of a woman.

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Jesus

Then something extraordinary happens:

"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us."

Paul says that God sent his Son, "born of a woman".

Jesus is born, grows, learns, is tempted, suffers and obeys.

Luke even says:

"Jesus grew in wisdom, in stature and in grace before God and men."

We are standing before a true man.

Jesus.

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Christ Jesus

At the Jordan something happens that deserves our attention.

The Holy Spirit comes down upon Jesus.

Right after that, Luke records:

"Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan…"

And, in the synagogue, Jesus himself reads:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me."

Anointed.

Christ means Anointed One.

This can help us hear in a new way the expression Christ Jesus:

Jesus full of the Holy Spirit, the Anointed One of God.

We do not need to turn this into a rule for every occurrence. We can simply keep the distinction and go on listening.

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Jesus Christ

Then come the cross, the death and the resurrection.

Peter makes an impressive statement:

"God made this Jesus, whom you crucified, Lord and Christ."

This Jesus.

And Paul describes the continuity:

"Therefore God exalted him to the highest position and gave him the name that is above every name…"

Until every tongue confesses:

"Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Jesus Christ.

The man Jesus, raised and exalted by God, made Lord and Christ.

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The way goes on

And then we can hear the words of Jesus again:

"I am the way."

He does not only talk about the way.

He shows the way.

That is why he also says:

"Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me."

Not just contemplate my cross.

Take up your cross and follow me.

And Paul shows that this way does not end in contemplating the exalted Jesus Christ.

It goes on in us:

"Christ in you, the hope of glory."

And also:

"Until Christ is formed in you."

Until we can say:

"It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me."

And so a way begins to appear before us:

Christ.
Jesus.
Christ Jesus.
Jesus Christ.
Christ in you.

And everything returns to the place Jesus always pointed to:

"to the glory of God the Father."

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Bible references

John 1:1,14
Colossians 1:15-17
Galatians 4:4
Luke 2:52
Luke 3:21-22
Luke 4:1,14,18
Acts 2:36
Philippians 2:9-11
John 14:6
Luke 9:23-24
Colossians 1:27
Galatians 4:19
Galatians 2:20