"Do
not judge yourself," said a 4th-century Desert Father, "but
live with someone who knows how to live."
There are countless new methods today for analyzing
the self and searching for our deepest identity. Many of these have
proved very fruitful, and it is by their fruits that we know them. A
wise woman described them as "ways to the Way." While we Christians
can learn from them all and be helped by them, the words of Jesus remain
central for us: "I am the way and the truth and the life"
(Jn 14:6).
For eighteen years now the Bible Diary (& Daily
Gospel) has been putting the Word of God before us on a daily basis.
This Word is "alive and active, sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing until it divides the soul from the spirit, the joint from the
marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart"
(Heb 4:12). These are terrifying words, appearing to destroy the little
confidence we have and to expose all our frailties. But the Word of
God is not a word that destroys; it is a Word that builds up. It does
not shine a pitiless light into our inner anguished world, our miseries
and defeats; it is the hand of God's compassion reaching out to save
us. It is not ourselves judging ourselves; it is "a lamp shining
in a dark place" (2P 1:19). Jesus is himself the Word, and he is
truly present to us when we read the Scriptures with an open mind and
heart.
We pray that this Bible Diary (& Daily Gospel)
will help you to live each day with Jesus, the one who knows how to
live.