Layers of Truth

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LAYERS OF TRUTH Matthew 5:4
 

You may have heard this quote that has been widely attributed to Dr. Seuss: “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.” 

Please be aware, though, it’s not in any of his books so it may not be his quote. And really I don’t think it is from Dr. Seuss, because it’s not good advice to stuff or deny your feelings. If you need to cry because it’s over, go ahead and cry! 

Just remember you can do both. You can also smile because it happened, even while you’re crying. Two things can be happening at the same time that seem contradictory. There can be layers of truth in a situation that may at first appear to be opposite.

Right now, for instance, many of us here feel sorrow and grief at the news that our pastor has been reassigned and will be moving to Baton Rouge. Let’s give ourselves time to process that change. 

In the weeks and months ahead we’ll make plans to rally ’round, supporting Pastor Jay and Karrie as they prepare to move and doing everything we can to make Pastor Marissa’s return smooth and welcoming. But for now, allow yourself to grieve. Acknowledge your feelings honestly, at least to yourself and to your Lord. Let yourself move through whatever stages of grief are pertinent for you. And then, when you’re ready, you can lift up your head and move on.

I think this is why Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”  Remember -- There are layers of truth in each situation, levels of understanding which are all valid. 

I'm going to tell you about three pictures to consider as we look for layers of truth. (If you'd like to see the actual pictures, just send me an email: Mary.Brown@SilenceBrokenNow.org.) Here’s the first: It shows a rustic gazebo on a little hill, with a bit of blue sky and a whole lot of fog. I took it myself, in New Orleans at a park called The Fly. Because of the fog it looks like there's just nothing but more grass beyond the gazebo. But if I’d taken that photo just 20 minutes later you would see there’s a big old river right there; the gazebo is on a levee. The fog was hiding it but the Mississippi was rolling along as it has for thousands of years. Although the fog was true, the river is truer. Or should I say it’s a more permanent truth, longer-lasting. 

For the second picture, we need a little background. There are thousands upon thousands of Filipino people who leave their homes to go work in other countries because their country is desperately poor. This photo was taken for a 2017 photo essay by Liang Yingfei. It shows a weary woman in the foreground, eyes shut. Her right hand is cupped over her cheek and her left arm is draped over her head, so she's cradling her face with her hands. The woman is a Filipina domestic worker in Hong Kong who works very hard for six days a week, away from her family, stuck in a sparse dormitory with many other women. On Sundays, their only day off, they gather in a park for community and a bit of fellowship. Some of them dance, expressing their grief and isolation in movement. 

At first glance we might just see a sad, poor woman. But she's dancing and if we look more closely we see a strong, resilient, determined woman who has learned the power of respecting and honoring herself, of being gentle with herself in her time of great deprivation. She’s showing extraordinary compassion and tenderness for herself. There’s no one else to do that for her so she’s comforting herself. In the layers of this photo, her strength is the truer truth. 

And the last picture, taken by Ja'corie Maxwell, is just a simple rough wooden cross against a harsh, empty sky. 

The surface truth here is that it reflects defeat, agony, suffering, death, the victory of evil over good. But that is a transient truth. We know that the cross also shows us the ultimate power of God to triumph over all evil. The first truth is valid but it does not last; the second truth, the truer truth, is eternal.  

There are many situations in life where we need to remember that there are layers of truth. In our ministry at Silence Broken, with adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, we have to understand that there are layers of truth. It is certainly true that horrible things are done to little children; I am a survivor of abuse too. This is a reality. 

It is also true, also real, that God’s grace is greater than any evil and that God is in the process of transforming and creating greater good for every single one of us. That’s the permanent truth.

Why did Jesus say that those who mourn are blessed? Those who grieve will be happy? Because when we grieve, we’re being honest. We’re acknowledging pain, loss, separation, sorrow…woundings, disappointments, failures, rejections. 

We’re acknowledging the fact that we’re human, we’re imperfect, and we live among other humans who are also imperfect. We’re limited and frail and created from the dust of the earth. 

When we mourn honestly we remember that we are created in God’s image, so that must mean that God grieves too, and God understands our sorrow. 

And it means that we eventually will realize the deeper truth. We’ll see the layer of permanent truth.

This may take a very long time, depending on the loss. We may not fully see it till we make it to glory. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that the truer truth actually exists. Maybe, for long years, we live with and walk in the parts of certain truths that are painful. This is real, it’s valid, and we can’t afford to ignore it.

But I want to plant a seed in our hearts today, or nurture it if it’s already there. Think now about your deepest sorrow, your most persistent grief. And hear the word of the Lord: There is a greater truth that overcomes all the evil of sin. It’s the truth that says the cross is not the end. The truth that says death will not have the last word. The truth that says grace and glory are greater than any evil, and one day—in this world or the next—we will walk in eternal victory, in everlasting peace.  

Please join me in prayer: Loving and compassionate God, we ask you to help us remember that you are always with us, in joy and in sorrow. Please gently remind us that there is great truth which we do not yet see, and grant us the strength which lives in hope so that we can carry on. Amen.