“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? |
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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