Sacred Connections: Truth
Late last night I saw a text message from my nine-year old granddaughter, Elia. She’s in school in Utah, where some are attending virtually, and others are physically in the classroom. Daily lessons accommodate the different locations and give parents and grandparents an up-close glimpse of what is being shared. The message last night linked to a stream of Elia in face mask in her classroom holding up a book she had written and wanted to share. It contained her name, a self-portrait, a poem, and her answers to some questions to introduce herself to her class.
“My name is Elia. I am kind and funny. I wonder about the universe. I want to have a puppy. I worry about not going to school. I understand people can be sad. I say that people are nice. I dream of world peace. I hope that people are happy. I am kind and funny.” There’s a poignancy to young voices speaking their truth. A poignancy when their words contain worry about not going to school and empathy for others' sadness. A special poignancy when they’re wearing a face mask and needing to communicate to both those physically distanced in a classroom and those learning at home. And yet, in these very strange situations, we hear young people speaking their truth.
In the knitting group earlier this week, there was that joy of long cherished relationships, seeing faces available on Zoom that could not attend a physical gathering. Individuals shared their current knitting, crocheting and needlepoint projects, and talked of the church’s need for baby blankets, shawls, pocket crosses and bears. In the comfort of that circle, personal truths could be shared – concerns for loved ones, staying safe strategies during COVID, each individual testing their own risk tolerance and comfort zones.
Some truths are easier to discern, some seem more hidden by the extra layers of our current circumstance. Care decisions for those needing assistance have never been easy, but the layered concerns of quarantine, isolation, lack of family presence and involvement add even more complexity. We ask ourselves what is most safe and most loving for those entrusted to our care. And some of the truths feel almost unknowable, we’ve simply never been in situations quite like this before. There’s a poignancy to every situation, taking it even beyond the concerns we’ve previously had.
We’ve heard many words about truth in our country in the very significant areas of conflict and challenge in which we are embroiled. It is painful to watch the rhetoric purporting differing perceptions of truth be it in regard to our history, our culture, our political divides, the health and well-being of our people. And we are witnessing the measurable and immeasurable costs of truth denied. None of us has a lock on “truth”, but we have the ability to listen, learn and discern truth with each other. We have the capacity to act with good faith, love and compassion. We have the calling of our baptismal covenant, to strive for justice and peace and respect the dignity of every human being.
There’s a poignancy in all our lives right now, whether we feel as if we’re flourishing or floundering or someplace in between. Yet there is freedom in wrestling with the truth of our circumstances. We find freedom when we acknowledge our inner truths, when we share those truths with others and listen to theirs as well, when we speak our truth in prayer with God. In our true connectedness with our self, our neighbors, our world, and with God, we are free from carrying the weight alone. And we are free to celebrate the beauty still very present in our world, free to be fully ourselves and bear truthful witness to what we experience now.
Elia is kind and funny, wonders about the universe, wants a puppy, worries about missing school, understands people can be sad, dreams of world peace. What words speak truth for each of us today? What truth might we share with the sacred connections in our lives?
