The Joyful, Unending Quest
A Monk of the Eastern Church
Jesus is the truth. In Him is all truth. In so far as the truth which is in Jesus is discovered, all truth is discovered. This can be applied to the science, art and culture of men. We must see the world with the Saviour’s eyes.
The Saviour gives no direct answer, either affirmative or negative, to John’s disciples who questioned Him about His mission. He tells them to report to John what they have seen (St Matthew 11:4). Jesus charged Peter, who gave a sound answer and confessed the Messias, not to reveal the mystery publicly (St Matthew 16:20). Every man has to discover for himself the secret of Jesus. And even if we learn from others who Jesus is, and even if the others are commissioned to teach this to us, it is only by an intensely personal experience that we shall come to know what Jesus is.
In fact, of the many souls who believed all they must believe, and who led a just and pious life, we may wonder: did this soul know the Saviour? Did he know Him intimately, as one can know one’s closest friend, as a man and woman who love each other can know each other, as alone He can be known who is more spiritual than ourselves? A number of acquired notions (and also true ones) concerning the Saviour are often substituted for a personal and intense knowledge of the Saviour. It can be a hindrance just like a screen between Jesus and us. Lord, do I really know You, or do I only know what I have read about You, what I have heard about You?
Jesus does not want the soul to be fastened onto the vision granted momentarily and to be limited by it. Nathaniel saw Jesus and he believed. But Jesus said to him: “Greater things than these shalt thou see” (St John 1:50). The joy of the vision must not interrupt its drive. It must stimulate its continuance. We must keep on perpetually seeking Jesus. “Seek, and you shall find” (St Matthew 7:7). Yes. But also: because you have found, you will seek further. We shall cease to look for Jesus only at the end of time.
The discovery of Jesus will not exhaust our search for Him as long as we have not obtained the final vision. St. Augustine says it: Omeramus inventum, let us search after Him who has been found.
(A Monk of the Eastern Church. Jesus: A Dialogue with the Saviour. New York: Desclée Company, 1963.)