Monday, January 15, 2018
583 - When Truth Showed Up
Spirituality Column #583
January 16, 2018
Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary
When Truth Showed Up
By Bob Walters
“And
the Word became flesh.” (John 1:14)
In ancient times, the Greeks were
pretty smart. But for all their
philosophy and politics they had no idea what the truth was that they were,
presumably, looking for.
Today in
Western culture, we enjoy unparalleled heights of education, technical
innovation, communication, mobility, and social opportunity. We can access previously unimagined troves of
facts and ideas; we have the science to unlock many of the universe’s secrets. But it seems hardly anyone is actually looking
for truth.
Therefore it seems worth noting
that between the ancient Greeks and today, Truth – in an objective, eternal and
Capital T kind of way – showed up.
By “ancient
Greeks” I mean the intellectual realm of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. They were the Big Three, the sages of Hellenic
thought generally regarded as the originators of what became Western Civilization. Their scholarship flourished during the
fourth and fifth centuries BC, early in the “intertestamental” era between the
end of the Hebrew writings of the Old Testament prophets and the incarnation of
Jesus, a Jew, the Messiah/Christ,
whose presence re-set and defined not merely our annual calendar but established
the anchor of all truth for all time.
I notice a couple of things
here. One, the ancient Greek
philosophers had faint knowledge of, and certainly no intellectual interest in
or dependence upon, the Hebrews or their God, scriptures, history, or culture. Though situated in the same general corner of
the world, Greek society knew little of the Jews; a nether-regions nation with a
much lower class of people and, as Paul tells us later, an “unknown” God (Acts
17:23).
Two, while the Greeks and then the
Romans set the early Western worldly standards of power, conquest, government, philosophy
and culture, it was out of the obscurity of Palestine that arose this unique Hebrew
God of truth, light, and life – Christ Jesus, the son of God, fully human,
fully God – to re-start the clock of history.
Jesus was the most unexpected,
unusual, unheard of, unwelcomed, and unimaginable power and personality the
world has ever known. He was clearly foreseen
by Hebrew prophets, but when He arrived, almost nobody grasped His mission or
appreciated his presence. To paraphrase
20th century monk Philemon of St. Macarius: “Jesus is God’s Word, His divine truth, in the flesh. By his incarnation our Lord contradicted
everything we imagined about God. He
revealed His utter humility, used His power to preach, to heal the sick, and to
restore the dead to life. His power was
patience and persuasion: patience for us to grow up and mature; persuasion
because coercion removes freedom, and without freedom there is no love.”
Philosophy is great at formulating points
of view and considering their validity, while untethered human ingenuity
provides vast ideas, technology, and comforts.
But it was Jesus who bestowed upon humanity
the Truth: His sacrificial, gracious divine love, delivered with mercy, forgiveness,
compassion, and utter trustworthiness.
Unless we are looking for Him,
truth will forever elude us.
Walters
(rlwcom@aol.com) thought it was a good week to discuss
truth.
0 comments:
Post a Comment