From " Self Deception and Autobiography" by Stanley Hauerwas
Our protective deceits become destructive when they begin to serve our need to shape a world consistent with our illusions. The power of fabrication makes it that much harder to uncover our deceptions by masking them with sufficient plausibility to render them acceptable. Occasionally we are fortunate enough to be forced to face our deceptions, but ironically the very same imaginative and intellectual skills that lead us to discriminate falsity from truth also empower us to create those webs of illusion that lend plausibility to our original deceptive policy.
You may be wondering why I am spending this time on self-deception. Well, as I am working my way through the book of the prophet Jeremiah with our Tuesday Bible study, self-deception (individually and corporately) is one of the dynamics at work at the center of the break between Judah and Israel and their God. I often call on us to be connected to others to stay honest and to be nurtured in our call to be followers of Jesus, and yet, I know that even a group of people can lead one another into a pit of self-deception. The Nazi regime in Germany is at least one case from the last century...and we can, if we are honest with ourselves, point to the way we as a people deceive ourselves as to the place and power and direction of our own country...and others nations of our day. This is all the more reason for us to not merely be a community of people. We are a community of the followers of Jesus. We are to define ourselves from the story we know in him and the story from all of scripture that points to a trust in our God who from the beginning declares that God is for us...on our side...ready to make us a light...a new people...a holy people where justice, mercy, loving kindness, reconciliation and forgiveness are at the very core of our engagements in the world.
Connection: Scripture is not about a story far away. It is about a story that is very close to us...a commentary on how people turn from the power of new life in order to stay with the stories we choose for ourselves. One way the Spirit of God keeps us honest with ourselves and one another is to encourage the conversations that keep asking questions and seeking the character of the reign of God among us.
Lord of all the colors of this season, you bring together images of life and death and you invite us to live boldly no matter what we see before us. Guide us in the way of your beloved, Jesus, so that we may enter this day with a sense of anticipation and hope and joy in your presence. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment