Friday, 8 November, 2002

From " Self Deception and Autobiography" by Stanley Hauerwas



Hauerwas notes that the argument within this essay...show how our ability to know what we are up to and live authentically depends on our capacity to avoid self-deception. We cannot hope to avoid an inveterate tendency to self-deception, however, unless we work at developing the skills required to articulate the shape of our individual social engagements, or forms of life. At the heart of such skills lies a practiced eye and ear for the basic images and stories that provide our actions with direction and our lives with a sense.



As Christians, we have stories that guide us and lead us. It is necessary, though, that we have an eye and an ear for such stories as we hear them and as they are brought to life within the lives of the people around us. Everything about the story of the cross and death and resurrection of Jesus resists self-deception. But it is a story we must be able to carry with us within the very heart of our being. Otherwise, we will do all we can to fit in and do whatever we must do...even the small things of the day...to shape our character in one way or another. The story of our faith, gives us a way to shape our own stories and be authentic people as we engage our world. Then again, the story means nothing to the shaping of our lives if we cannot keep that story before us as we move through the day. That is, as Hauerwas might say, a skill that must be used and brought into play so that we can resist that powerful temptation to deceive ourselves. Maybe that is why the church is always a community and not merely an individual. We need more people who know the story to help us hear and see it for our own living.



Connection: We all linger in the world of self-deception too long and too often. That is why in everything we do we must seek out others who will be for us a mirror and a storyteller for us. One helps us see ourselves. The other reminds us of the way of authentic life that is available to us. Find some people who will help you on the journey of faithfulness.



Almighty God, you pull us forward with the vision of your risen Son, Jesus. As your body of Christ in the world, keep us united to one another that we may all walk into the light of that vision as a beloved community of saints. Amen.