Living the Word

by Pastor Ken Miller Rieman

You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.
Jesus, in John 8.32

Inner freedom is not guided by our efforts; it comes from seeing what is true.
Buddha

It has been said that God’s business is transformation.  Our recent leadership retreat, ‘Team-building for church growth’ identified four core processes in ministry:  Welcoming, Connecting, Transforming, and Sending.

When Gail, our facilitator, described them in detail, then asked us to identify the place that we needed most to grow, it was nearly unanimous.  Transforming is the part of ministry we find difficult.

Too seldom do we feel that our worship service is a place of transformation.  Too seldom do we experience transformation in ourselves, through the course of our most common interactions in the church.  Too seldom do we sense that God is using us to transform the lives of those outside of our church.

The Good News in this season of ‘Epiphany’ is that, in Jesus, we discover the divine reality, ‘the truth’ in a new and surprising way.  Epiphany, meaning ‘manifestation’ or ‘revealing,’ is the name given to the event of the world discovering the baby Jesus.  The event is marked by a journey toward a great star and the sharing of gifts with the one who marked the place and the occasion.  On that day, those journeying toward Jesus underwent a transformation.  These wisest of men, these counselors of court, these magicians and sages came to understand that God had given them a gift that they could only just begin to understand.  This gift would change their lives forever.

Two of my favorite authors on the subject of transformation, Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson, name seven tools by which people undergo spiritual change.  The first and most significant element is developing a love of truth.

Seeking the truth means being curious about what is going on in ourselves and around us, and not settling for the automatic answers that our personality feeds us.  If we observe ourselves, we will see that many of the stock explanations that we give ourselves for our behavior or for the actions of others are a form of resistance.  They are a way of avoiding seeing more deeply into our current state (The Wisdom of the Enneagram, p. 345).

People who know me well know that I love adventure.  I tell people that I love maps because I like to go places I’ve never been before.  People who sit with me in conversation sometimes wonder why I offer so many seemingly random thoughts.

I used to tell myself that these aspects of my personality arose from my innate curiosity and love of fun.  I’ve since learned that my love of all things new and fun has much to do with my desire to avoid the parts of life that are difficult, painful, and anxiety producing.  So it turns out that I’m far more ruled by anxiety than almost anyone can imagine.

Discovering the truth that lay beneath a ‘common sense’ explanation for my behavior was troubling, but it also opened a door to my personal growth.  Like someone stumbling around a dark room, many obstacles to my growth and happiness would catch me by surprise.  Turning on the light revealed a room full of obstacles, but it also revealed a path through them.  Now I am able to recognize feelings and situations that are unpleasant and, rather than looking for a way out of the room, I’m able to stay present in my discomfort long enough to understand its source. That helps me to deal with the source in a much more competent and lasting way than does simple avoidance.  In seeking the truth of a situation, I discover the path of growth and transformation.

Do you find that our church community helps you to gain glimpses of the truth that lies hidden beneath the ‘stock answers’ our world offers to the really difficult questions in life?  In glimpsing that truth, do you find the support you need to grow or change?

Do you hunger for a depth of purpose or meaning in your life that you’ve not yet discovered?  Do you wish that you could experience more growth in your life and faith than you experience now?  In what ways do you sense God nudging you to grow?  In what ways do you see God encouraging you to help others grow?

I pray that the season of Epiphany will bring the light of truth to your journey of transformation so that your light and your growth can become a part of our own.

This is the work to which God has called us.  May those of us with the courage to really see keep on the lookout for growth in our midst.  And may those of us with the courage to speak of our own transformation find our voices welcomed in this body of faith.  Amen.