Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent – March 18, 2010
John 5:31 – 47
"If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.
"You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.
"I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you possess eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
"I do not accept glory from human beings, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
"But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?"
In the Gospels Jesus knows the inner landscape of people. In fact, Jesus knows the inscape of persons better than they know themselves. He knows the purposes, loves, and motivations that lie at the heart of a person. “I know,” he says, “that you do not have the love of God in your hearts.”
He knows humans, that we are divided and that our lives are spent in many different pursuits.
He knows that we are distracted, that we easily turn aside from that which is most central in life in order to chase the mundane.
He knows that we are bored, that we live disconnected from a deep sense of meaning and purpose.
He also knows that humans “accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from God.” We are addicted to attention, hungry for someone to notice us, yearning for praise recognition. We love to be loved.
An attention-addiction can easily drive life out of control, so that we become persons who continually seek praise from others. We can then wear masks or create personas which will gain the attention for which we hunger. It is easy to see how we begin to live life with other people in mind, trying to manipulate our behavior in order to get recognition from someone else. Our lives, then, become externally driven rather than led on by the gentle nudging of God’s Spirit.
In spirituality, the name for this life of pleasing others and attention seeking is the “false self.” The false self is an illusory self, the mask that we wear in order to manipulate what we need from others. It is an ego-self that lives with the I-self at the center. It seeks its own profit, its own gain.
On the other hand, the true self – that is, the self God created us to be – orbits around God. God is the center. The life that orbits around God seeks the glory of God.
That Jesus knows you is not meant to intimidate, but rather to put you at ease. That Jesus you knows your purposes, your motives, and your deepest loves actually frees you for a more thorough connection with God. God knows everything about you, about your illusory self, about your failed attempts to live faithfully, and still reaches toward you.
God knows that not to condemn you, but in order to draw you more deeply into God’s heart.
"If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.
"You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.
"I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you possess eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
"I do not accept glory from human beings, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
"But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?"
In the Gospels Jesus knows the inner landscape of people. In fact, Jesus knows the inscape of persons better than they know themselves. He knows the purposes, loves, and motivations that lie at the heart of a person. “I know,” he says, “that you do not have the love of God in your hearts.”
He knows humans, that we are divided and that our lives are spent in many different pursuits.
He knows that we are distracted, that we easily turn aside from that which is most central in life in order to chase the mundane.
He knows that we are bored, that we live disconnected from a deep sense of meaning and purpose.
He also knows that humans “accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from God.” We are addicted to attention, hungry for someone to notice us, yearning for praise recognition. We love to be loved.
An attention-addiction can easily drive life out of control, so that we become persons who continually seek praise from others. We can then wear masks or create personas which will gain the attention for which we hunger. It is easy to see how we begin to live life with other people in mind, trying to manipulate our behavior in order to get recognition from someone else. Our lives, then, become externally driven rather than led on by the gentle nudging of God’s Spirit.
In spirituality, the name for this life of pleasing others and attention seeking is the “false self.” The false self is an illusory self, the mask that we wear in order to manipulate what we need from others. It is an ego-self that lives with the I-self at the center. It seeks its own profit, its own gain.
On the other hand, the true self – that is, the self God created us to be – orbits around God. God is the center. The life that orbits around God seeks the glory of God.
That Jesus knows you is not meant to intimidate, but rather to put you at ease. That Jesus you knows your purposes, your motives, and your deepest loves actually frees you for a more thorough connection with God. God knows everything about you, about your illusory self, about your failed attempts to live faithfully, and still reaches toward you.
God knows that not to condemn you, but in order to draw you more deeply into God’s heart.
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