The earliest followers of Jesus referred to themselves as “followers of The Way.”

This was before the word Christian would be associated with them—a word that was first used as a derogatory slur before it was claimed as a positive description.

Those first followers did not see themselves as merely people following the Messiah, but as living in the way that he set out for them. A way that was of a wholly different character from the way of the world around them.

Today we often treat the sacrament of baptism as an entrance right, but it is something more like an expression of participation, a reflection of something that happens on the inside, of turning toward The Way in faith and hope.

It is an expression that is in opposition to the norms of power, wealth, and war and in solidarity with the poor and disadvantaged knowing that we make this journey alongside others, making new friends in faith, hope, justice, and peace.

It is a way more than a set of rules. And it is a movement of people in solidarity more than an organization demanding control.