Day 23: Words and Pictures: Truth

I have been thinking about our trip to Italy a few years back. It was a wonderful trip with the family. We spent about 4 days in Rome, staying at a local apartment in the Monti neighborhood, one of the oldest sections in Rome located a few blocks from the Colosseum. We did the “touristy” things as well as our own travel plans.

So when in Rome… we took a tour of the Vatican Museum and the Sistine chapel. The artwork was exquisite. I find that only now as I look at interpretations and explanations of what we saw, that I truly appreciate that which I saw.

The Stanza della Segnatura, a room once the papal library, contains frescoes by Raphael. Click here for a link about the room. As the video explains, the room depicts the four branches of human knowledge as classified during the Renaissance time. One wall is dedicated to philosophy and sciences. Across the room another wall is painted representing theology. Poetry and Justice “squaring” out the room on the remaining walls. All four areas complement each other.

I like the symbolism of that. No one discipline is higher over the other but through the balance of all, do humans discover the world around themselves. The theologian Karl Barth is purported to have said, “A preacher needs newspaper in one hand and a Bible in the other.” I like Barth’s symbolism of seeing, understanding and interpreting the world around you in light of one’s faith.

In light of the assault on our physical, emotional, financial and spiritual health this virus has taken, perhaps we need to revisit the way we view our human understanding, to look at the way we interpret the world through the eyes of all four branches of human knowledge: Perhaps we should have more faith in the sovereignty of a deity, in unanswered prayer and unexplained miracles and certainly we should have more faith in our scientists and medical personnel who follow-trends, look at data and conduct research. So too, we should have more faith in poetry, literature, art, music and the arts as these disciplines can decipher, explain, and transcend our time and space. Along with those three, perhaps we need more faith and commitment to justice for all. It is in our searching in these disciplines do we uncover Truth.

Over the course of human history we have seen when one discipline of human understanding dominates at the expense of the others. When that happens, we as humans become off-kilter. I think of the Inquisition (theology or rather religion gone totally off-kilter); Nazi Germany (justice dominated- or rather injustice due to the silence of the other disciplines); Fall of Roman Empire leading into the Middle ages (many different reasons but the change in social structure didn’t lend to scientific discoveries); The Lost Generation (putting faith and trust into intellectual creativity). For all of these examples, there was more of an emphasis on one area in decision making for the society than another. There wasn’t any balance of Truth which was deadly at the worst and caused disillusionment at the least.

When I enter the Stanza della Santura I think of God in the center of the ceiling- joining all four walls together. Because I believe that all the disciplines flow out of God’s hands. Human intellect and how we categorize our understanding of the world is one of the greatest gifts we have been given. When He is in the apex all other things are balanced around Him. Then, I think the disciplines can be properly aligned to search for meaning and to uncover the truth.

What about you? Have you ever had a trip that stayed with you? That had you think of life in a different way? Where was it or what was the circumstances? What did you discover? How has that shaped your world view?

Stumbling in the Dark

The other morning I was up early to drive a friend to the airport. I did not want to wake up my husband so I did not turn on any lights in the bedroom. As I was groping for my hairbrush I tried to visualize where things were placed on my dresser. When I reached for where I thought my brush was, I realized I was positioned incorrectly. It was off-putting to have my brain think I was one place and to find out that I wasn’t in the correct perspective and alignment.

It made me think of how most times in life we are (or perhaps I should say- I am) stumbling in the dark. We haven’t a clue on what is around us and we grab at things that we did not intend to touch. We can inadvertently grab something that may be harmful to us or to others. All because we do not want to put on a light and have some sort of illumination.

I think if we are really honest, some days we do not want to illuminate the truth of a situation and we hide within the shadows of ignorance and misunderstanding. We think that we have absolved ourselves of any responsibility because we did not “turn on the light”. We allow ourselves to be victims of a shadowy, unhealthy and potentially dangerous environment.

As I was pondering this analogy of light, it occurred to me: 1) even though our eyes may adjust to darkness, we need a light to quickly and efficiently find what we need. 2) short of that light, we need to be aligned in the right perspective so that when we feel our way round, we know what we are touching. 3) when we finally have proper light, we realize how far off-base we have been in our perspectives and in the reality of what the situation or area looks like. It is only in comparison with the proper light do we finally realize how enclosed in darkness we really are.

We need to be brave. While it can be considered bravery to enter dark spaces and try to navigate in that space, it is even more courageous to be willing to flip on a switch or light a match and shed light into the dark corners of our minds, our problems and our culture. It is willing to come face to face with whatever is lurking in the dark. Most often there are just shadows which are just figments that have no real substance.

When I need to be brave, I need to remind myself, “What is truth? What is Light?” and to hold on to that information. I need to embrace and seek the Light through others and through daily soaking of His Word: the Hebrew and Greek wisdom that illuminates God’s love for us through the stories and promises of and to His people.

What about you? Are you afraid of the dark? Have you ever stumbled in the dark? What kind of light do you like? Ambient? Bright florescent? Are there dark places in your home? Your life? Have you ever cast a light into that space? What did the light reveal? Have you ever tried to “function” without the light on in your home? What could you do and not do? When light finally revealed what you did, how close were you to functioning as if there were light? What helped you maintain (if you did) perspective?

For me to maintain perspective even in dark times, I need the alignment and light from the Light of the World. We are living in dark times: both in our culture and in the season of the year. Light provides warmth, growth, and clarity. Light illuminates the Truth.

There is a Light that shines in the darkness. One that guides us and keeps us from harm. Now, more than ever, we need that Light- as individuals, as a nation and as world beings.