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Posts Tagged ‘truth’

Incremental Truths

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , on August 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 12:16
“I have still many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear them or to take them upon you or to grasp them now.” [Amplified]

The whole truth and nothing but the truth?… it’s not going to happen. Even though the Holy Spirit (Spirit of Truth/Counselor) is here with us, is even within us, still we are unable to handle the whole truth. Nothing much has changed on that score.

Is the Bible truth? Yes, but no one has the inside track on the meanings, interpretations, inspiration, implications of that collection of writings. Truth may be absolute, but our world is not. We are limited in our ability to understand truth and apply it to our world, to our culture, to our daily lives.

Like the story about Corrie Ten Boom whose father showed her by example that she could not carry the heavy suitcase off the train until she was older/stronger. The father would give her the suitcase suitable for her size and ability.

The Holy Spirit, through Christ Jesus, gives us the truth we can bear and understand.

Sometimes, we fight these truths. I have heard myself say, “Don’t tell me, I don’t want to know…” to my teenagers. There is a perceived safety in ignorance. But that is foolish.

Today, I open my heart and mind to the truth God is willing to give and I ask forgiveness for the truth I have turned away. Grace and mercy can only abound where truth lives.

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The Counselor is Here

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 22, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 15:26
“When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.”

The Counselor is the Spirit of Truth. This Counselor was promised by Jesus and sent out from the Father. The Counselor is not human but Spirit. This Counselor is still here.

In human terms, how does a counselor operate? A counselor is a listener. He/she is paid to listen, or if not paid, it’s a clear-cut part of the unwritten contract between the counselor and the client. A counselor cares about the client. A counselor is focused on the client and is interested in the progress of the client. A counselor is committed to the client.

A counselor is a mirror and assists the client in seeing him or herself more clearly. The counselor asks questions to help the client dig deeper. The counselor is an observer. The counselor is available and non-judgmental. The counselor is a truth-teller.

As believers, we have access to a Holy Counselor. But we tend to wait too long before we enter into dialogue with this counselor.

Instead, we tend to look to upon our triune God as a fixer. We act and when/if we act in error, we cry out for help. We are “reactive” and not “proactive” [that is, in the language of our current culture].

And it’s just like in “real life,” when we need the assistance of a human counselor, we must step away from our regular lives and schedule. We must commit to the time and energy and honesty it takes to look within. The counselor is a type of integrator but the process requires our trust and desire to move forward.

We must choose to enter into this relationship on the long term. The Holy Counselor is not into the quick fix. The Holy Counselor is in it with us for the long haul.

Holy Counselor, let us begin anew.

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Head in the Sand

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , on August 14, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Luke 9:45
“But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.”

I often accuse my son of putting his head in the sand. He has responsibilities and chores and tasks that should be accomplished, but he procrastinates. Whatever is happening in the moment trumps these more mundane concerns. But, as the mother, these are important matters. They are small but they add up, everything from taking out the trash, feeding the animals, or washing his clothes to getting his driver’s license and paying his bills. He still doesn’t seem to “get it.”

The disciples, apparently, weren’t doing much better. Jesus told them he was going to be betrayed and they didn’t understand. I cannot help but wonder why. This was not the first time Jesus had mentioned it.

Granted, some things were purposefully hidden from the disciples as well as the crowds, but they could have pursued this train of thought. They chose not to and basically, I think they “didn’t want to know.” This is the essence of putting our heads in the sand. We don’t want to know or hear the truth.

Am I really that much different from them … or my kids? It’s just different sand.

As parents, we are often saying to our teens, “don’t tell me, I don’t want to know.” Somehow, we fear that the knowing will bring painful responsibility or will place huge demands upon us. If we “know,” then we may have to act, we may have to choose, we may have to confront ourselves and those around us. We may have to do something we don’t want to do.

Why do we assume that the truth of a situation will always be a bad thing? It’s equally possible that by procrastinating or ignoring a situation, we are missing the good stuff too.

I want to be present today. I’m taking my own head out of the sand and taking a good look around. It’s time. It’s time to start asking questions, to clarify, to understand. It’s time to see what’s really happening.

As Julian of Norwich said, “All will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of things will be well.”

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Truth is a Counselor

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , on August 10, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 14:16
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth…”

Why do we seek counsel? Isn’t it usually to determine some truth in a matter?

There are lots of opinions about truth and it gets particularly dicey when we add adjectives to the word. For instance: absolute truth, subjective truth, universal truth, relative truth, or objective truth (just to name the big ones). I have even seen truth parlayed with just an article or a preposition, like “the” truth, or “a” truth, or “some” truth.

If you want to read more about truth, just check out Wikipedia for an extensive list of “theories” about truth, written by an equally long list of philosophers.

I don’t think I can compete with any of these definitions or understandings. I am neither a theologian nor a philosopher. I just like the idea that truth is a counselor. When I am confused or conflicted, I am being promised here that truth will be help me sort things out. And according to Jesus, Truth lives with me and within me.

Truth asks the hard questions. Truth guides my thoughts. Truth is my mirror. Truth listens. Truth is playful. Truth is orderly. Truth accepts where I am today but hopes for a better tomorrow. Truth knows the worst of me and never turns away. Truth is in the revelation business and the “Aha!” moment: like now.

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Symbiosis

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on August 9, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 14:11a
“Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;…”

Here’s the definition of symbiosis: any interdependent or mutually beneficial relationship between two persons, groups, etc. Here are some synonyms: cooperation, collaboration, synergy, union, combined effort, alliance, harmony, unity.

This is one way of describing the relationship that Jesus had with the Father while He was on earth. This is the relationship that we can have as well.

What is preventing us from having this symbiotic experience? Probably it’s sin: control, self-motivation, personal preferences, personal power, self-interest, fear, distrust.

What does it take to experience symbiosis: trust, faith, risk, courage, confidence, love.

How many of us have “asked Jesus into our hearts,” or “asked Jesus to be the Lord of our lives” … [pick any one of these cliches]… and then we ask Jesus, the very Son of God who is in direct symbiosis with God the Father, we ask him to sit in a corner and wait until we really need him to ask him into the fray.

In a symbiotic relationship, both parties are working for a common purpose. They are still individual, but they are something new together as well. This is the “new creation.”

This is my mantra today: I am in Jesus and Jesus is in me. I am in the Father and the Father is in me. I am in the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is in me.

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Doing the Work

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , on August 3, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 5:17
Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”

When I was in acting school, we called acting as “doing the work.” It meant confronting the words (script) with intelligence and authenticity. It meant searching the heart and mind for truth. It meant “digging deeper.” It meant connecting with the words and others. It meant a serious application of oneself to the task at hand. It meant staying in the moment.

I find it interesting that this description is easily applied to walking in the way of Jesus each and every day. After all, what is God’s work? And if Christ Jesus is doing God’s work, what are we doing? Anything outside of Christ’s work is a hobby.

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Who Sent You?

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , on July 30, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 12:44-45
Then Jesus cried out, “When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me.”

We are all ambassadors for someone or something. We may not even realize it but it is true. People meet us or talk with us and sooner or later, they associate us with others. It could be that we end up representing our workplace, our nationality, our family, our religious affiliation, our political party, our church, our town, our state, our school, and so on. In the end, we do not enter any situation alone.

So, how are we doing? Are we good representatives? Are we authentic?

Jesus reminded people all the time that he was sent. He wanted them to see/hear/feel the One who sent him. He wanted people to remember. Do we? Or do we try to hide our affiliations (for whatever reason)?

My old friend, Tom, who ultimately introduced me to the things of God some 30 years ago, tried to hide his affiliation with Christ Jesus and all kinds of wrong assumptions were made about him. He hid his faith because he was afraid no one would like him. But they didn’t like him anyway… because he was hiding.

People around us can sense “hiding.” They may not know what we are hiding, but they know it’s something and it makes us seem untrustworthy and even suspect.

There is an old saying, “Don’t shoot the messenger.” But of course, we all know, in ancient times, that is exactly what happened. If the message was “bad news,” the messenger would suffer. Is our message “bad news” or is it our “telling” of the story (through words & behaviors) that distorts the truth? As a follower of Christ, we are asked to be true to the message and the One who sends it.

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