There is one feeling in particular that holds us back; taking many forms and being at the root of other apparently un-associated feelings, attitudes, actions and inactivity. More than anything else, it is fear that makes us withhold the truth and shy away from others who may dare to reveal it for us; it is fear that leads us away to hide from aspects of reality, and once hidden, it is fear that keeps us from altering our way of seeing those things from which we hide.
I am brought back, once again, to the truth expressed in that same passage from John Henry Newman’s sermon, ‘Christian Sympathy’. ‘...we dare not trust each other with the secret of our hearts. We have each the same secret, and we keep it to ourselves, and we fear that, as a cause of estrangement, which really would be a bond of union.’
In the same text, we are reminded that ‘... the one has within him in tendency, what the other has brought out into actual existence ... They understand each other far more than might at first have been supposed. ...They have common ground; ...they have one and the same circle of temptations, and one and the same confession. ... we fear that others should know what we are really ...’
I am unable to read through those words without being taken back to the situation recorded in chapter eight of John’s gospel: the woman about to be stoned for committing adultery. (verses 3-11)
“Let the one among you who is guiltless be the first to throw a stone at her.” says Jesus to the men gathered round her. ‘They went away one by one, beginning with the eldest, until the last one had gone and Jesus was left alone with the woman.’
Here was a time when, in spite of the Old Testament Law which told them to stone a woman in such circumstances, the men present – Sadducees and Pharisees – appeared to act according to the teachings of Jesus. In response to His words, they found themselves unable to avoid weighing their own inclinations and weaknesses, and perhaps their own transgressions, against the discovered act of the woman before them. (But where was the man?). They appeared to acknowledge that ‘the one has within him in tendency, what the other has brought out into actual existence’, and walked away rather than pass final judgement. The eldest leaving first, points to both time’s persistence in its attempts to make us succumb to our weaknesses, and to its granting of wisdom through the experience of constant or repeated temptation, and through the making of our mistakes.
I am brought back, once again, to the truth expressed in that same passage from John Henry Newman’s sermon, ‘Christian Sympathy’. ‘...we dare not trust each other with the secret of our hearts. We have each the same secret, and we keep it to ourselves, and we fear that, as a cause of estrangement, which really would be a bond of union.’
In the same text, we are reminded that ‘... the one has within him in tendency, what the other has brought out into actual existence ... They understand each other far more than might at first have been supposed. ...They have common ground; ...they have one and the same circle of temptations, and one and the same confession. ... we fear that others should know what we are really ...’
I am unable to read through those words without being taken back to the situation recorded in chapter eight of John’s gospel: the woman about to be stoned for committing adultery. (verses 3-11)
“Let the one among you who is guiltless be the first to throw a stone at her.” says Jesus to the men gathered round her. ‘They went away one by one, beginning with the eldest, until the last one had gone and Jesus was left alone with the woman.’
Here was a time when, in spite of the Old Testament Law which told them to stone a woman in such circumstances, the men present – Sadducees and Pharisees – appeared to act according to the teachings of Jesus. In response to His words, they found themselves unable to avoid weighing their own inclinations and weaknesses, and perhaps their own transgressions, against the discovered act of the woman before them. (But where was the man?). They appeared to acknowledge that ‘the one has within him in tendency, what the other has brought out into actual existence’, and walked away rather than pass final judgement. The eldest leaving first, points to both time’s persistence in its attempts to make us succumb to our weaknesses, and to its granting of wisdom through the experience of constant or repeated temptation, and through the making of our mistakes.
Temptation and transgression both contribute to an awareness that, deep down, each of us differs little from another.
This interpretation may be inaccurate of course. The men may have drifted away due to the failure of their attempt to trap Jesus into saying something usable as evidence against Him; but here was a demonstration of the New Covenant in contrast with the rigid interpretation of comparatively black and white laws of the Old: Jesus telling those present, and us, in a way that clearly brought the message home in the individual consciences of His hearers: -
This interpretation may be inaccurate of course. The men may have drifted away due to the failure of their attempt to trap Jesus into saying something usable as evidence against Him; but here was a demonstration of the New Covenant in contrast with the rigid interpretation of comparatively black and white laws of the Old: Jesus telling those present, and us, in a way that clearly brought the message home in the individual consciences of His hearers: -
“You have heard how it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say this to you,
if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
(Matthew 5:27-28)
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This new way of approaching and understanding mankind – understanding ourselves, and of understanding God’s commandments and His requirement of us, coupled with our Lord’s instruction to forgive and thus to heal, opened up a whole new world: a potential for both unity and ‘sympathy’ within Christ’s Church. It is within this world that our facing each other has the power to heal. It is not possible to face each other for the first time without altering our relationship; without moving the relationship on in some way.
The Law, as laid out in the Old Testament, was not designed to hurt, but the interpretation of it, and the following of it, frequently left little room for understanding, mercy and forgiveness. In contrast with this, the whole ministry of Jesus was a coming face to face with mankind as a healing force. Our following of Him is expressed in our will to meet, to listen, to console, to forgive, to provide and to heal: in short, to love one another.
Those who have heard and understood Christ’s message, and have begun to act upon it, may find this comparatively easy with people from whom they are distant, but remarkably difficult with those they know well: their friends and family members. How is it that we can have a close and long-running friendship with someone and still find it so hard to ‘trust each other with the secret of our hearts’ ?
Everything points to the likelihood that daring to fully open our hearts and our consciences to each other would allow our long-maintained protective layers, and our pretence, to fall away. Beneath, would we not find that we are indispensable companions for each other’s journey, and, one by one, and two by two, that we are all made in such a way that we should all be sharing our journey together?
Could it be that this mutual honesty and openness is an essential without which we are unlikely ever to be empowered?
The Law, as laid out in the Old Testament, was not designed to hurt, but the interpretation of it, and the following of it, frequently left little room for understanding, mercy and forgiveness. In contrast with this, the whole ministry of Jesus was a coming face to face with mankind as a healing force. Our following of Him is expressed in our will to meet, to listen, to console, to forgive, to provide and to heal: in short, to love one another.
Those who have heard and understood Christ’s message, and have begun to act upon it, may find this comparatively easy with people from whom they are distant, but remarkably difficult with those they know well: their friends and family members. How is it that we can have a close and long-running friendship with someone and still find it so hard to ‘trust each other with the secret of our hearts’ ?
Everything points to the likelihood that daring to fully open our hearts and our consciences to each other would allow our long-maintained protective layers, and our pretence, to fall away. Beneath, would we not find that we are indispensable companions for each other’s journey, and, one by one, and two by two, that we are all made in such a way that we should all be sharing our journey together?
Could it be that this mutual honesty and openness is an essential without which we are unlikely ever to be empowered?
Are we unable to progress to the next stage with our imagined group of fellow travellers because our fear keeps us out of sight? – Because we do not allow our light to shine?
Love casts out all fear. Let us take the risk.
On the other side of our decision to face someone and to speak our truths to them, is a further awakening, and an enabling that will lead us closer to the certainties for which we long. Acting upon such a decision may be the key to our empowerment: the missing part of our surrender of self to our Lord’s will. I certainly sense this to be at least a part of the key to my own.
Love casts out all fear. Let us take the risk.
On the other side of our decision to face someone and to speak our truths to them, is a further awakening, and an enabling that will lead us closer to the certainties for which we long. Acting upon such a decision may be the key to our empowerment: the missing part of our surrender of self to our Lord’s will. I certainly sense this to be at least a part of the key to my own.
Without being empowered by the Spirit of God we shall remain unable to fulfil our potential; we shall remain less than the persons God has made us to be.
Let us crave a new dawn in our lives: an awakening from our sleep; an enabling that will empower us for all that God may ask of us. It begins and ends with us. The whole of creation has to do with us. And ‘us’ begins with you and me, our neighbours and our friends, each of us making that vital decision to meet face to face, heart to heart, and one to one.
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Let us crave a new dawn in our lives: an awakening from our sleep; an enabling that will empower us for all that God may ask of us. It begins and ends with us. The whole of creation has to do with us. And ‘us’ begins with you and me, our neighbours and our friends, each of us making that vital decision to meet face to face, heart to heart, and one to one.
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