A Magnificent Truth

It is really surprising how little Jesus is shocked by human failure and sin. In fact, it never appears that he is upset at sinners at all. He is only, and consistently, upset at people who do not think they are sinners. This momentous insight aligns him, in many ways, with modern psychology and right at the center of rare, but authentic, religion—so much so, that most of Christianity itself never notices or addresses this pattern. It is an inconvenient truth. Early stage religion is largely driven by ego needs: the need to be right, the need to feel morally superior, the need to be safe, and the need to project a positive image to others. At that point, religion has little to do with any real search for God. It is almost entirely a search for yourself, which is necessary—and which God surely understands—but you do this by trying to repress and deny your actual motivations and goals. These are pushed into the unconscious and called the shadow self. The shadow is not the bad self, but simply the denied or rejected self, which is totally operative but allowed to work in secret—and never called to accountability from that hidden place. In my many years as a priest, it has been clear to me that most people (not just religious people) focus on denying their shadow self—to keep feeling good about themselves—and their ego then enjoys a perpetual holiday. It is a massive misplacement of spiritual attention. You can be a prelate or priest in the church with a totally inflated ego, while all your energy goes into denying and covering up your shadow—which then gets projected everywhere else. What you don’t transform, you will transmit.” —Richard Rohr, Daily Meditations

I remember, years ago, hearing the Rev. Billy Graham say, “You can lie to others, you can even lie to yourself, but you cannot lie to God.” What he meant is that while it is possible to deceive other people or even deceive yourself about something, you cannot deceive God because He is all-knowing and aware of your true thoughts and actions. This makes lying to Him impossible. God always knows the truth about you, no matter what you try to hide. But today’s reading points out something often overlooked—Jesus never appears to be upset at sinners. He is only, and consistently, upset at people who don’t think of themselves as sinners. This is a magnificent truth as it welcomes us to come and be open and honest, knowing our brokenness and vulnerability won’t doom us, but will rather bring healing and restoration to our souls. Jesus invites us, “Come unto me you who are broken, burdened and weary!” Let us come in great confidence; He waits to receive us in love! —DH