In the West we have come to see the term 'truth' as a set of intellectual propositions or a series of beliefs of certain statements. It is entirely a realm of the head and mind. As a result of such a notion of truth, we have attempted in various ways to enshrine truth in creedal statements, codes of law, and a series of dogmatic pronouncements and statements that demand adherence and acceptance.
But for Jesus truth has very little to do with these things. It is instead about living and acting in love. It is about living the beatitudes: showing mercy, poverty of spirit, meekness, thirst for justice, peacemaking, purity of heart, suffering persecution. It is about the works of mercy: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, housing the homeless, clothing the naked, caring for the sick and imprisoned, welcoming the strangers and outcasts.
When Jesus meets a person in the Gospels, he never asks them to recite a creed or series of dogmas. He invites them - he invites us - to follow him, to live and do as he lived and acted. He invites us to heal others as he healed, to feed others as he did, to set free those held bound as he did. This is truth in all its fullness.
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