What is Truth?

You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

 

Jesus brings the biblical tradition to a climax when he defines truth itself as person rather than conceptual.  He says, "I am the truth" (Jn. 14:6), and then immediately defines himself as one who is in absolute relationship with his father and the Spirit who is in relationship to both (14:16-18). This rearranges the world of religion from arguments over ideas and concepts into a world of encounter, relationship, and presence to the face of the other.  That changes everything (Rohr: Things Hidden, 61).

 



Richard Rohr's description of "encounter, relationship, and presence to the face of the other" took my breath away, because it described what happened to me in 1977 following the prayer of my doctor in his office, when he asked for the anointing of the Holy Spirit on my life.  Six weeks later, a young girl in the hospital again prayed for me to receive the Holy Spirit.  Both events changed my life forever.

 

My "religion" almost overnight went from a belief system to a living relationship with a "real" God Who loved me and Who took a personal and sustaining interest in all the affairs of my existence.  Before this, I had had "moments" of relationship throughout my life, even as a young child.  But, as in the Parable of the Sower, the "cares and worries of this world choked out the growth" of this relationship.  The seed had not yet fallen on good ground.  But with the anointing and the constant watering brought by the Holy Spirit, my life began to change.  My religion was no longer about a belief system, or what I did;  it was now about daily encounter with the Risen Jesus, surrender, trust, and an inner experience of presence and power (Rohr, 63).

 

Look at it this way:  for most of the history of the world, there was no written "Bible" as such.  Even after the invention of the printing press, most people could not read, and books -- much less Bibles -- were extremely scarce.  I have a book printed in 1691 that, according to the appraiser, could have been afforded only by royalty or the church; even the paper on each page was made by hand.

 

If truth were dependent on reason and conceptual knowledge, it would be only after the 15th century that men and women in general would have had access to Truth.  But Jesus said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free."  St. Bonaventure said that a cleaning person can know God better than a doctor in theology.

 

The Holy Spirit is not dependent upon what we know, thank God!  Biblical "knowing" is not learning or book knowledge, but face-to-face presence with the living God.  In fact, "knowing" in the biblical texts is actually the word for 'carnal knowledge" or sexual intimacy.  With the exception of Mary and Jesus, there are no "Greek heroes" in Scripture.  All are transformed sinners, flawed, wounded individuals transformed by the presence and power of God in their lives.

 

In some Hindu temples in India, worshippers are told, "You come here not to gaze at God but to let God gaze at you."  When we allow ourselves to be naked before God, with all our flaws, when we know His complete acceptance of us, just as we are today, our lives are changed.  We are no longer afraid of ourselves or of others -- the Truth has set us free!  Then we can be present to others just as we are, without pretense.

 

There is a way of knowing the Truth that does not depend on our thought processes, our education, or even our own energy.  It is not a matter of being "correct," but of being "connected."  St. Paul wrote about a matter of doctrine, "If anyone thinks differently about this, God Himself will teach you all things."  That is why Jesus could tell us with confidence that the Spirit will lead us into all truth.

 

Richard Rohr tells about visiting a jail in Albuquerque on Christmas Day.  Talking to a Hispanic man in his cell, Rohr commented that it must feel very lonely to be in jail on Christmas Day.  The Hispanic man answered him: "Father, if you agree to be with Him, He always agrees to be with you."  Rohr was astounded by the man's answer; he said that the man did not need sophisticated theology classes; he already knew who he was -- he had a "face," and he allowed God to have a face also.

 

Many people want to argue whether we should call God "He," "She," or It.  Because God is so personal to me, I could never consent to calling Him "It."  It would be akin to calling my own husband and children "It."  If we have been wounded by men, there is no problem addressing God as "She," for both 'he' and 'she' as we know it have their origin and source in the Divine Being.  The important language is not our 3rd-person label for God, but our 2nd-person name for Him. 

 

In a relationship where one feels loved, where one's being is mirrored back as "good," the most important name is "Thou," or "You."  As long as our name for God is an endearment, we "know" Him; we are intimate with Him.  We know the truth, and we are free to be ourselves with Him.  Once we know ourselves to be the Beloved, we have many choices of names and titles for God:  Elohim, Yahweh, El Shaddai (the warm-breasted One), Lord, Sophia, Lord of Hosts.

 

The nicknames we call those we love are a clue to the special relationship we have with them.  One of my children was always called "Keeks" (for Kathleen) by her next-door friend.  No one would insist that she be called by her "proper" name instead of her "love name."  It is the same with God; whatever we call Him, we know that He has seen us naked and He still calls us His "Beloved."  Then, at last, we know the Truth about ourselves -- who we are -- and about Him.  And we are free from all other labels we and others have tried to pin on us all our lives.