Lambeth - Biblical Reflection by The Most Reverend Bernard Ntahoturi

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Lambeth Daily
A Biblical Reflection
Posted On : July 31, 2008 1:00 PM | Posted By : Webmaster
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Do not let your hearts be troubled: I am the way, the truth, and the life

A Biblical Reflection given by The Most Reverend 
Bernard Ntahoturi Archbishop of Burundi The Anglican Church of Burundi

Greetings from the Province of the Anglican Church of Burundi.

In any great venture there comes a time when the 
will to press ahead fails in the face of the 
enormity of what must be done. Leadership becomes 
frightened, sometimes paralysed, when confronted 
by risks that must be taken if momentum is to be 
maintained. This precisely describes what was 
happening to the disciples of Jesus as they faced 
the fact that Jesus was going to leave them. 
Their hearts were troubled but he called them to 
trust in God and to trust in him because He was going to the Father.

Since he has gone to the Father, we should not be 
troubled. He calls all those who trust in him to 
be firm even though the journey to the Father is 
not an easy one. It requires faith.

We should not let our hearts be troubled, because 
in our Father’s house there is a room for everyone who trusts and obeys.

During the situations when doubts prevail, when 
there is confusion and no focus or spirit of 
discernment, when there is no common vision for 
walking together towards the Father, the only 
hope left to the believers and disciples is to 
trust and obey. We trust and obey because we rely 
on the Father, the owner of the mansion, and on 
the love of Jesus, the one who is preparing the 
rooms. Jesus reassures his disciples that they do 
not need to worry, because he is the Way, the 
Truth and The Life. It is through him that we 
come to the Father. The “I am” statements are an 
assertion of his divinity, his oneness with the Father.

Jesus emphasises clearly that we can only reach 
the Father by believing in him. According to 
Jesus, “not all roads lead to Rome”, not all 
roads lead to Canterbury or Lambeth. Not all 
roads lead to the possession of eternal life. 
Jesus is the God-appointed way. Without Jesus we 
may have life, but it is not eternal life, life in the presence of the Father.

We have had troubled hearts in Burundi. We are 
coming out of 45 years of mistrust and 15 years 
of ethnic war. Refugees and internally displaced 
people have been part of our experience since 
1965. We have, and still are, experiencing 
political instability, absolute poverty, and the 
deterioration of the environment. Every day a 
mother or a child dies at child birth because 
there are no health services in the vicinity. In 
spite of our government’s policy to support 
education for all, many children are not able to 
attend primary education because there are not 
enough classrooms. At this point we would like to 
thank Lambeth Palace in partnership with CMS 
Ireland who has contributed immensely to the 
provision and improvement of classrooms in our Church schools.

In the midst of all this trouble, the church has 
heard the comforting voice, “Do not let your 
hearts be troubled
”.We have seen signs of God’s 
intervention through your prayers and your 
visits, including that of His Grace the 
Archbishop of Canterbury. Yes, the church has 
been troubled but never defeated. We are coming 
to understand the reality of the “I am”; the 
necessity of abiding in Jesus and he abiding in 
us. We are also learning to cherish relationships 
with our partners, believing that as we walk and 
serve together, we mutually encourage one another 
and give glory to the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Sprit.

Our experience has led us to recognise that the 
most fundamental challenge confronting the Church 
today is how to relate the Gospel message to an 
ever-changing society without blowing away the 
sense of continuity with the past that provides 
us with the roots of our identity. The Lord is 
most directly present and active whenever the 
Gospel is interacting with the most critical 
issues of the day and when the Church through its 
prophetic ministry is at the cutting edge of 
contemporary life and culture. It is then that we 
realise as never before that any constructive 
work for God is impossible without the call and power of the Holy Spirit.

This requires faith. A faith that is revived and 
reawakened by the Holy Spirit so that we are 
spiritually transformed in order that we make an 
impact on a society that is adrift and in danger, 
unable to find answers to the huge moral issues 
of life that fundamentally challenge who we are 
and what we believe. Such reawakened faith can 
give us the capacity to bring people together 
even across traditional boundaries and divisions.

This is always about what God can do through us. 
Only by accepting our inner brokenness, poverty, 
and powerlessness can we begin to discover the 
mystery of God’s all-powerful love and 
compassion. The “I am” becoming a reality. Faith 
will keep the fire, the passion, the strength, 
the perseverance and the hope alive, so that we 
continue to walk together towards the Father, 
whose Son is still with us through the power of 
the Holy Spirit as the Way, the Truth and the Life. Amen.