Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Today’s first reading presents us with a well-known Bible story from the book of Daniel – the three friends in the fiery furnace. I’m struck by Shadrach’s, Meshach’s, and Abednego’s unwavering commitment to the truth and their heroic obedience to God. They did the right thing against all odds. I think it’s fair to say, they had well-formed consciences. In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us a vision of true discipleship and what it means to be formed in the truth. To be well-formed, we must move beyond simply being acquainted with the truth to having intimate knowledge of the Truth Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus says, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” True discipleship is anchored in God’s word. We grow as disciples as we remain, abide, in the scriptures. As we plant ourselves in God’s word and grow deep roots, we come to know the truth. We gain intellectual knowledge of what is true, and we come to know Jesus, the Truth. Jesus beckons us beyond mere “head knowledge” of his word and woos us to know Him intimately, the living, literal Word of God, the Incarnate Logos. The Spanish language has two different words for “to know” – saber and conocer. Saber is used for knowing information; conocer is used to describe knowing someone personally. We can know about Jesus (saber) without knowing Him (conocer). Jesus is the real, true embodiment of truth. We know the truth when we know Jesus in an intimate, personal relationship.
Knowing Truth Himself sets us free! Jesus sets us free so that we’re no longer slaves to sin. When we’re enslaved to sin, we develop attachments to specific sins. Those attachments hinder us from choosing the truth, choosing to do right. We may have head, or intellectual, knowledge of the truth (saber) but choose to act in opposition to it. I believe lack of intimacy (conocer) with Jesus the Truth contributes to our dysfunction. As I grow in intimate knowledge of Jesus the Truth, I am set free to walk in truth. If all I have is rational knowledge of the truth, I’m vulnerable to choosing sin when the going gets tough and temptations are high or if I’m just weary of doing right. When I have a personal relationship with Truth, I don’t want to offend, deny, or betray Him. This level of truth-dwelling goes far beyond just knowing right from wrong and sets us free to act in truth.
As Catholics, we are taught to develop a well-formed conscience. I think it’s possible to have a well-INformed conscience – knowing (saber) right from wrong and knowing intellectually what the bible and the Church teaches. That well-informed conscience isn’t much help to us when we form attachments to sin and become vulnerable to enticements and temptations. It’s only a well-formed conscience, one that knows AND knows – saber and conocer that is a mark of a true disciple. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had well-formed consciences. They not only knew what was true and right, they could act on it even when their very lives were in danger. They knew the truth and lived as men set free.
Abiding in the scriptures helps us to break attachments to sin and to recognize our temptations because the word is like a mirror and a light. It shines into our darkness, exposes it, and shows us who we are and Whose we are. The word is living and active – it works on us and in us. Abiding in the word helps us to be more receptive to the Holy Spirit’s formative and transformative work. Abiding in the word reveals the depth of God’s love for us and woos us into an even deeper love relationship with the Lord. As we remain in Christ, we become better able, like our three brothers in the fiery furnace, to choose Christ, choose truth, and have our heads and hearts aligned.
As we wind down our Lenten journey, let us examine our consciences and ask the Lord to give us the graces to move beyond information of the truth to a deeper formation in the truth. May our consciences become more authentically formed this day. Let us seek today to fall even more deeply in love with Truth himself and to be transformed more and more into His image.
Elizabeth Wells