FATHER DAVID’S POST OF 10-15-2021 —
As followers of Jesus, we are called upon to tell the truth. In the 14th Chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus teaches his disciples: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
Father Law says the following in his book, Holy Currencies, about John 14:6: “I often wonder why Jesus put the words ‘the truth’ between ‘the way’ and ‘the life.’ If Jesus wanted to use a simple either-or interpretation of ‘the truth,’ wouldn’t saying, ‘I am the truth,’ be enough? Both ‘way’ and ‘life’ are multi-dimensional. A way is traveled through time; there is a direction, a movement from one place to another. A life is lived over a period in different places, and in relationships with different people. We do not take a moment in someone’s life and call that “a life’ A life involves a past, a present, and a future. Neither do we take one step of a journey and call that ‘the way’. The way also has a beginning, a movement through different environments and a destination. Perhaps the meaning of the ‘the truth’ being sandwiched in-between the multi-dimensional concepts of the ‘the way’ and ‘the life’ ought to be understood in a similar way.”
Truth then requires we know the beginning, the middle, and the end. We can’t rely on one feeling or one perspective and call it the truth. Truth telling according to Fr. Law is to be done more wholistically where many voices are heard before coming to a decision. This can often be messy because all of us have an idea of what is true for us based upon our life experience and no one shares the same experience. Therefore building relationships is important. When disagreements threaten the stability of an organization, people who know one another hopefully trust that the disagreement will resolve itself in the sharing of many voices.
Take a moment and reflect upon the story of the consolidation of SsAM twenty-five years ago. Many voices were heard and there were plenty of hard conversations that could have derailed the entire process. In the end folks from St. Andrews and St. Matthews came together because they were not afraid to tell the truth. That is powerful stuff.
Truth then is more than who is right and who is wrong, it is more than either-or thinking, the currency of truth invites us to see God at work through the gift of the Holy Spirit. It won’t be perfect, but it will be real and true.
Peace,
Fr. David+, OA
