“What is truth?” asks Pontius Pilate Jesus before the verdict of crucifixion. This simple yet fundamental question comes out of the brief dialogue between them. As Jesus answers Pilate’s politically loaded question on his identity as a Jewish king, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate picks up the word “truth” in Jesus’ answer that it appears twice.
In today’s lesson from the First Epistle of John, just like Pilate, we hear the word “truth” twice: “Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us” And we might ask, “What is this truth to which we’re supposed to belong in order to listen to Jesus?” If we look at our modern English dictionary, we won’t get any satisfying answer. It’s either “the state or quality of being true” or “the real facts about a situation, event, or person.” It doesn’t sound relevant at all to what both Jesus and John mean by truth. The truth that Jesus talks about is obviously that of God yet we still want to make sure to understand this “truth” correctly. So we go back to its original Greek term, aletheia (ἀληθείᾳ). This Greek word isn’t something we’ve never heard of. It shows up in the verses with which we are quite familiar in John’s gospel. In the dialogue between Jesus and Pilate, the focus is on the truth. What about the way in which Jesus would like us to worship? “...the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23) (Yes, it’s the same aletheia.) And again In today’s lesson, we hear it twice that we are to love in truth and action and that we are from the truth. It must be John’s favorite word! Let’s dissect the word “aletheia.” Following Jean-Yves Leloup’s redefining effort of the word, the prefix “A-” in aletheia means “not” whereas letheia means “forgetting” or “forgetfulness.” (“Compassion and Meditation,” Jean-Yves Leloup, p. 14) Its literal meaning can be “not forgetting” or “unforgetfulness” or more appropriately “awakening.” This definition of aletheia as awakening is quite far from its conventional definition as truth. Then we once again ask the question, “What is awakening?” This state of being awakened happens when all our thoughts and feelings are suspended. Metaphorically, it is the time and space when thoughts and feelings have not yet occurred. Our feelings and thoughts are often experienced as who we are as they capture our lives. Rene Descartes’ saying, “I think, therefore I am (Cogito, ergo sum).” reflects this general understanding of self that depends on thinking. Who I am appears upon cognition but God the Great I Am disappears in turn as we become full of ourselves. Awakening in a spiritual sense is to cease this activity of cognition, in which God the Great I Am appears as who I am is embraced in union with God. This in other words is nothing but to “lay down our lives for one another” which is to love as John in today’s lesson tells us, “We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us-- and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.” This awakening is the way to lay down our lives and to love others. We can show compassion and loving-kindness when we’re not occupied with ourselves that no “cogito” takes place. We can also say this is when we’re emotionally, physically, and spiritually available to others. We’re truly present with others and their needs. This wisdom from today’s lesson then teaches us how to actually love. It’s not forcing ourselves to do something sacrificial for others in the name of love but first to be awakened, laying down our thoughts and feelings, ourselves, and our lives before others. After entering into the state of awakening, we can sincerely love in truth/awakening and action. No self-interest or personal agenda gets in the way. To love someone is only possible to those who are from this awakening in Christ. In this sense, I’m not so sure if we can easily tell ourselves and others to love each other as though love is something we can always do without this spiritual practice and discipline of awakening or pausing our thoughts and feelings. The cross is the spiritual symbol that directs us not only to lay down our thoughts and feelings but also to be in oneness with God from which our sincere love and compassion flow to others as well as to ourselves. The cross is the way of and to love. This love is mysteriously manifested in the resurrection which we celebrate every Sunday. Is this truth in us? To let go of a sense of possession, particularly in our time, is a scary thought to have. This entire idea of giving up possessions is countercultural. It can also easily and immediately trigger shadows of socialism and communism. (Some might argue Marx got his idea from the Book of Acts!) Today’s lesson gives us so much to talk about and to react to.
Before we go there, let’s remain curious and see what actually inspired the whole group of people in the lesson to sell their lands and houses. It didn’t just happen automatically on their own. That they listened to the apostles’ testimony to the resurrection was the beginning but it was really “great grace” that was upon them all united them of “one heart and soul.” This great grace which comes from the resurrection of Christ transforms people. It doesn’t let people stay who they used to be but changes their whole being to the point they do something wild. This transformation is both personal and communal, which is to say it’s not one person’s ideology that can be imposed on others. Personal and communal transformations take place together in one heart and soul. Now, I would like us to reflect on what it means to cling to possessions. Our desire to possess in its very nature is self-protective (overprotective!). Facing changes in all things produces anxiety about our own existence because we know we change as we age. What do we hold onto material things? We need security, safety, and comfort for our being. What becomes problematic is when we let our existence depend on these material things that are also changing. These are necessary for life but we cling to them as if our lives depend on them. We become attached to material things as if they can sustain our existence. Let’s not be mistaken that the object of our clinging is only limited to material things. What we cling onto out of existential anxiety is our superficial identities such as race, gender, class, age, and sexual orientation as if these categories define who we really are. These are informative of our historical backgrounds but do not accurately inform us who we are in relation to others. When we are so attached to these superficial labels, we become so protective of them that we deny anything that is different and diverse from them. Because X is diverse from Ys, X is rejected and scapegoated. This X can be anyone and anything who is small in numbers. This exclusion of X somehow tricks Ys as if in doing so their identity becomes more complete and secure. But in reality, it becomes toxic, unhealthy, and self-destructive because those superficial identities eventually disappear and another outlier Z appears when we really get to know each other and build a personal relationship. What makes us authentically human is our ability to see through the superficial identities that we possess. That “great grace” of the resurrection gives us this ability to see through our own superficial identities we have been clinging to. It liberates us from our attachment to who we think we are. The resurrection which always takes place after the death of our old selves frees us from all this clinging and attachment. Material things as well as superficial labels neither renew or protect our existence. Only in the mystery of the resurrection, we find rest and peace. Only in our union with God, our existential anxiety ceases as St Augustine says, “...our heart is restless until it rests in you.” (Confessions, I.i.(1)) Two spiritual practices that can awaken our resurrected nature which we received in baptism: 1) Empty our belongings day by day. We can either chuck it or give it to someone in need. Empty our closets, bookcases, storages, and garages. It’s like spiritual distancing from our attachment to material things. 2) Find similarities in people who are superficially diverse from us. In other words, we empty our superficial identities to be filled with our resurrected nature. When we keep these spiritual practices in our daily lives, we can then envision God’s beloved community. |
Paul"...life up your love to that cloud [of unknowing]...let God draw your love up to that cloud...through the help of his grace, to forget every other thing." Archives
January 2025
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