Again he said to them: I am going away; you will look for me and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come. So the Jews said to one another, ‘Is he going to kill himself, that he says, “Where I am going, you cannot come?” ' Jesus went on: You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I have told you already: You will die in your sins. Yes, if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. So they said to him, ‘Who are you?' Jesus answered: What I have told you from the outset. About you I have much to say and much to judge; but the one who sent me is true, and what I declare to the world I have learnt from him. They did not recognise that he was talking to them about the Father. So Jesus said: When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am He and that I do nothing of my own accord. What I say is what the Father has taught me; he who sent me is with me, and has not left me to myself, for I always do what pleases him. As he was saying this, many came to believe in him. To the Jews who believed in him Jesus said: If you make my word your home you will indeed be my disciples; you will come to know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:21-32 NJB)
Often we hear it remarked that "the truth will set you free". Much less often do we hear that the freedom promised by the truth is conditional. We need to really listen to everything that Jesus says here. "IF you make my word your home you will indeed be my disciples; you will come to know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Being set free by the truth is first contigient upon making Jesus' word our home and being truly His disciples. And even then, even after we have made His word our home, this is not some instantaneous occurance like St Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus. What Jesus tells us is that once we are really his disciples that we will come to know the truth. No light bulb going off. No "Eureka" moment. Rather it is a process of growing, developing, learning, and maturing into the truth. As we are more given over to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, as we are more closely conformed to the image (icon) of Jesus, as we more fully and completely put on "the mind that was in Christ Jesus" the truth that gives freedom will become clearer and more a living reality in our lives. It's akin to wandering in the desert for forty years. Where on the journey are we today?
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