Spiritual Wisdom
Thursday of the Third Week of Lent
Daily Reading: Luke 11:14 – 23
Focus Passage:
Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. But some of them said, "By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons." Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.
Jesus knew their thoughts. . . . (Lk. 11:14 – 17a)
If we can separate ourselves for a moment from the content of this text, interesting as it may be, I think we’ll find a word from Jesus about the nature of spiritual teaching and the power of spiritual wisdom.
Authentic spirituality separates us from lies and illusions. It is the nature of the spiritual life to expose the false self, that is, the illusory ego-self that orders life around itself. This false self exists in human persons, in institutions, in social groups, and in larger national entities.
Sometimes for a social group, this falsity is manifested in faulty thinking about the nature of reality, the way things are in the world. The group misreads or misperceives what is true in the world. They miss something of the basic way the world operates. Their framework for life is skewed and off-kilter.
Spiritual teaching, that is, teaching which comes from a deeper inner core, exposes and confronts these misperceptions. Spiritual teaching imparts wisdom. Wisdom is not simply “sound teaching” or “good doctrine.” It is not gleaned from reading books or listening to good talks. Wisdom comes from the grit of life. It comes from living deeply connected to God through all the distractions and disturbances of daily life. Wisdom comes when one lives reflectively, so that life itself is experienced in all its fullness. Wisdom sees life deeply, down to the core; therefore, true wisdom is able to call falsity’s bluff!
In the passage, those who attributed Jesus’ healings to evil, demonic forces were completely out of touch with reality. Their perception was not even close to what was true. So Jesus spoke against the falsehood and attempted to shift their view of reality.
This is not merely an ancient story. In fact, we live within cultural systems where huge illusions influence us, where lies and falsehoods about reality are so ingrained in the nature of everyday life that we don’t even question them. We make assumptions about life based on skewed views of truth we’ve accepted from our culture. We don’t easily lose those misperceptions. (And this is to say nothing whatsoever of our current cultural challenges – among them, what some sociologists are calling a “post-truth world.”)
In order to see differently, we need someone rooted in God to expose the falsity in which we are immersed. We need a wise one to come into our world, someone willing to speak their life-wisdom and help shift our paradigms. Occasionally we’ll listen to those “prophets,” and often we “kill” them or carry them away and brand them as “crazy.”
In the story, when Jesus offered an alternative vision of reality, he said, “The kingdom of God has come upon you.” That is, a new way of ordering life, of perceiving what is true and good, and of loving in the world is in your midst.
Lent is a season for discovery, a time to re-order life in God, and an invitation to experience the truth that frees us for abundant living.
For Reflection:
Have you known one or two wise persons . . . wise in the ways described above?
As you think about the lives of those persons, what traits or qualities did they have?
As best you know, how did they gain wisdom? Were there certain life-experiences that were important in their own spiritual becoming?
How would you pray about spiritual wisdom today? Perhaps you would simply hear an invitation from God to see more clearly.
Daily Reading: Luke 11:14 – 23
Focus Passage:
Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. But some of them said, "By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons." Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.
Jesus knew their thoughts. . . . (Lk. 11:14 – 17a)
If we can separate ourselves for a moment from the content of this text, interesting as it may be, I think we’ll find a word from Jesus about the nature of spiritual teaching and the power of spiritual wisdom.
Authentic spirituality separates us from lies and illusions. It is the nature of the spiritual life to expose the false self, that is, the illusory ego-self that orders life around itself. This false self exists in human persons, in institutions, in social groups, and in larger national entities.
Sometimes for a social group, this falsity is manifested in faulty thinking about the nature of reality, the way things are in the world. The group misreads or misperceives what is true in the world. They miss something of the basic way the world operates. Their framework for life is skewed and off-kilter.
Spiritual teaching, that is, teaching which comes from a deeper inner core, exposes and confronts these misperceptions. Spiritual teaching imparts wisdom. Wisdom is not simply “sound teaching” or “good doctrine.” It is not gleaned from reading books or listening to good talks. Wisdom comes from the grit of life. It comes from living deeply connected to God through all the distractions and disturbances of daily life. Wisdom comes when one lives reflectively, so that life itself is experienced in all its fullness. Wisdom sees life deeply, down to the core; therefore, true wisdom is able to call falsity’s bluff!
In the passage, those who attributed Jesus’ healings to evil, demonic forces were completely out of touch with reality. Their perception was not even close to what was true. So Jesus spoke against the falsehood and attempted to shift their view of reality.
This is not merely an ancient story. In fact, we live within cultural systems where huge illusions influence us, where lies and falsehoods about reality are so ingrained in the nature of everyday life that we don’t even question them. We make assumptions about life based on skewed views of truth we’ve accepted from our culture. We don’t easily lose those misperceptions. (And this is to say nothing whatsoever of our current cultural challenges – among them, what some sociologists are calling a “post-truth world.”)
In order to see differently, we need someone rooted in God to expose the falsity in which we are immersed. We need a wise one to come into our world, someone willing to speak their life-wisdom and help shift our paradigms. Occasionally we’ll listen to those “prophets,” and often we “kill” them or carry them away and brand them as “crazy.”
In the story, when Jesus offered an alternative vision of reality, he said, “The kingdom of God has come upon you.” That is, a new way of ordering life, of perceiving what is true and good, and of loving in the world is in your midst.
Lent is a season for discovery, a time to re-order life in God, and an invitation to experience the truth that frees us for abundant living.
For Reflection:
Have you known one or two wise persons . . . wise in the ways described above?
As you think about the lives of those persons, what traits or qualities did they have?
As best you know, how did they gain wisdom? Were there certain life-experiences that were important in their own spiritual becoming?
How would you pray about spiritual wisdom today? Perhaps you would simply hear an invitation from God to see more clearly.
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