The Search for Knowledge

Jesus is reported to have said this during his ministry: “you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” This comes from the book of John, chapter 8, verse 32. He prefaces this by saying, “If you continue in my word…”

The question about the meaning of this…and of other sayings attributed to Jesus…is whether or not Jesus wanted us to take his sayings as “law” or as “process.” If we take his sayings as “law” then we must obey exactly what he says. But, this has its own problems.

When Jesus is ask by a Jewish lawyer, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds by asking the lawyer “What is written in the law?” The lawyer smartly replies that “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” This comes from the book of Luke, chapter 10, versus 25-28.

This is the law and Jesus commends him: “You have given the right answer…” but then he goes on, “do this, and you will live.”

Whoa! Here is the law. We are told what to do. But…there is a hitch…how do we act? How do we carry out the meaning of the law? Like, for instance, “And who is my neighbor?” the lawyer replies.

Good question.

What does the law mean? How should it be applied? And, to whom should it be applied?

The law is the law, but the application of the law…is interpretation.

I believe that we get some sense of how Jesus sees the law being applied in two incidents that are reported in Mark 2:23-3:6, Matthew 12:1-14, and Luke 6:1-11. The first incident occurs when Jesus and his disciples are going through a grain field. (Mark 2:23) The second takes place in a synagogue on the Sabbath. In both cases the “upholders of the law” take issue with what is being done. In the first case the issue is about doing work on the Sabbath…plucking heads of grain. In the second case the issue concerns Jesus healing the withered hand of a man.

Upon facing the claim that he or his disciples are “doing what is not lawful” (Mark 2:24) Jesus replies citing scripture. “Have you never read…” he responds to the Pharisees. Also, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?” (Mark 3:4)

He justifies the actions by saying “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath…” (Mark 2:27) and “I desire mercy and not sacrifice…” (Matthew 12:7) In other words, think about what the law is supposed to do. Is the law supposed to constrain man, limit him, and box him in? Or, is the law about freeing up man, opening up his possibilities, and providing liberation.

Did Moses liberate the Hebrews from bondage…or did he impose the law on them to bring them into a different kind of bondage?

I believe that what Jesus is saying is “think rightly.” What is this all about? The law is supposed to build up life…to create greater wholeness…to allow one to live more fully. You shouldn’t use the law to destroy life…or create division…or to smother the living. The law is supposed to help people live with God…to live with themselves…to live with others…and to live with creation.

The law is a guideline…but the law needs interpretation…the law requires knowledge and understanding. And, what does the law say? Well, Jesus says that the lawyer “gave the right answer.” The right answer is…“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

But, this answer opens up two issues that require definition. The first one, the lawyer goes for…”who is my neighbor?” Jesus doesn’t provide an answer to who the neighbor of the lawyer is. This is the story of the Good Samaritan and when Jesus finishes the story he asks…”Which of the these three was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” And this deals with the second issue…what does it mean to love you neighbor.

Not…who is my neighbor?...but who was a neighbor. And, the lawyer gives Jesus the right answer again, “The one who showed him mercy.” The one who loved.

Note, by providing the other with the response he or she needs…you are being a neighbor. YOU are the only one you can control. YOU are the only one that can carry out the commandment for YOU. And, you respond to the needs of others, which requires that you make the effort to know what the other needs…and this is not what YOU want to give to the other…it is what the other needs!

And, this gets me back to the quote at the beginning…”If you continue in my word…YOU will know the truth…and the truth will make YOU free.” That is, if you take the time and effort to learn what the other needs and give to the other what he or she or it needs then YOU will become free…become whole…become fully alive. It is not the responsibility of the neighbor or who the neighbor is.

So, loving requires knowing…and knowing requires effort on the part of the individual to learn. We don’t know what the answer is until we make the effort to learn. THE LAW DOES NOT GIVE US THE ANSWER…the law only guides us. We must “think rightly.’

To put this in another way, it seems to me that any one or any group or any organization that requires you to subscribe to something that is rigid, dogmatic, or imposed upon you violates the teachings of Jesus. Any one or any group or any organization that tells you what to believe or tells you what to do or tells you who you can associate with violates the teachings of Jesus. We should be immediately suspicious of any one, any group, or any organization that has the final word on things, that will not us allow us to test things out and make our own judgments.

Jesus says that if you open your heart and soul and mind and strength to love…to love God, yourself, others, and all of creation…you will know the truth and the truth will make you free. That is, we have to develop and trust the inherent abilities we have as human beings and problem solvers if we are to be fully human, fully whole, and fully alive. We must oppose those that try and constrain us, who allow us anything less.