Scripture: John 8:32 – “And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (NRSV)
What is the greatest impediment toward humanity reaching its fullest potential? Christians would answer sin, Muslims might say faithlessness, but Hindus and Buddhist would probably say ignorance. While we do not see ignorance as a positive, it is certainly not the worst problem in the world. Selfishness is the problem. Cruelty is the problem. Some might argue that ignorance is bliss, and that the more we know or think about a problem, the more likely we are to be miserable.
However, many theologians and philosophers, and not just Hindus and Buddhists, see ignorance as the core of these problems. We are selfish because we do not understand. We are sinful because we do not understand. This is expressed especially by Jesus. Reading the Gospel, we are amazed at the wisdom and love that Jesus shows. But we are also amazed at how obtuse the people are to his message, even his disciples. Of course, two thousand years of folly on the part of Christians is testament that we do not always understand it fully ourselves.
Jesus is patient, but even he got exasperated sometimes. One such example comes from the Gospel according to John. Jesus has arrived in Jerusalem for the fall festival of Sukkot or Booths, which happens to be this week. Jesus gets into several debates with Jewish leaders, who repeatedly misconstrue Jesus’ words, treating his metaphors literally and digging in mentally to their opposition to him. However, while many are hostile to him, other believe. Jesus says to them, “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They are confused as they are not slaves. Jesus says that they are slaves to sin, but if they trust in his truth, he will free them from ignorance and selfishness and allow them to be as God always intended them to be.
In actuality, sin, faithlessness, and ignorance all reinforce each other. We do not understand why we do the things we do, so we fall into the sins of letting fear and anger get in the way of our good intentions. By letting our worst impulses get the better of us, we see a world that either caters to our whims or cannot possibly be changed. Thus, we have no faith in anything greater than ourselves. And without a faith that gets us beyond our own limitations, we never understand how messed up our lives truly are. Thus, we need something or someone to break the cycle, to forgives our sins, to teach us the truth, and to engender our trust through love and sacrifice. I think you know who this is.
So, let Jesus into your life. You might need to see God’s mercy, to feel God’s forgiveness, or to learn a liberating truth. For however you may be faltering, Jesus will set you free.
Prayer: Jesus, find me in my blindness and sorrow and help me to understand your love. Amen.
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