Orientation 2 - Where to make a beginning ...

Tuesday, July 13, 2010. Where are we getting the orientation which we need for our life? That is an interesting question!

We might think: we can judge things for ourselves. We do not need someone to tell us. Yes, it is good to use our own judgment. But still: what are the criteria we use? Is there some kind of measuring rod which we take? What do we take into account when we judge things?

Experiences can be helpful

Imagine someone several hundred years ago, who lived in a little village in continental Europe. For his whole life he did not leave this village. He grew up there, then he became a farmer. He worked in the fields day by day. He married there, raised his children … his horizon was determined by the boundaries of his village, and maybe by the news and stories which came in from outside.

Someone else lived in the same period. He started to travel at the age of 16. He first went to the big towns around, then to Munich and Vienna. He learned from the craftspeople in these towns, but also discovered that there were Universities. He attended some of the courses. But then he decided to travel on, he traveled to Rome, then north to Paris and to London. He worked for many different people. Finally, he settled down in the UK, in a thriving city which was leading an entire empire.

Are the experiences of this guy important for his decisions, for his life? I think we can say that additional experiences are important input for the personal orientation, for the way we look at things. It is good to get additional input. And human experiences can be very valuable to keep a balance in our judgment. But there are things which are even more important!

Light, bright light!

“12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8, 12)

Jesus is bringing a horizon into our life which is beyond what we can get from human experiences. We can travel to Munich, to Rome, to Paris, to London and on to New York, Tokyo, Beijing etc etc. The experiences will be diverse, yet they are similar as well. They are fully human. We can learn science and philosophy. That is all fine, but will be purely human.

But in Jesus there is another dimension. The bible confirms that he came from the eternal father, from the Lord. He knows God, he is linked to God in a special way. Perhaps we have some suspicion to accept that Jesus can have a particular role. Maybe we want to consider him as an ordinary human. That may be a starting point. But it is important that we start with Jesus. Then we can discover the dimensions of his life step by step and find the light in and with him. Are we ready to go? ... more texts