THE CREDIBLE WITNESS

“The spiritual life is first of all a life. It is not merely something to be known and studied, it is to be lived.” – Thomas Merton

My friend Father Mike is a good and faithful servant of God.  He values his interior life, yet like all of us, he lives in the world.  He uses his practice of silence, solitude, discernment and contemplation, not as an end, but as a means to an end.  His ministry takes many shapes, but is grounded in his commitment to be a credible witness.

I believe that Thomas Merton was a clergyman like Father Mike, in that he knew God and wanted to carry Him to those who did not know Him, or perhaps did not know His relevance to their lives.  Merton, like Father Mike, resisted substituting thinking about life for living life:

“A purely mental life may be destructive if it leads us to substitute thought for life and ideas for actions… unless we live what we know, we do not even know it. It is only by making our knowledge part of ourselves, through action, that we enter into the reality that is signified by our concepts.”

We know that in a court of law, a credible witness is one whose knowledge and experience make his testimony unimpeachable.  He testifies among a series of witnesses whose statements may lack credibility, or substantiation.  And in life, as we face day-to-day challenges, we are witnesses as we bring to those encounters whatever measure of credibility we can offer.

So what makes a credible witness?  Is it mere knowledge or experience?  Or is it what we have learned from where we have been, who we have met, and what has revealed itself to us?

When the prophets of the times Before the Common Era or Before Christ (BCE or BC) and after the dawn of the Common Era or after Christ (CE or AD) wrote of their revelations, their writings had to be proven to be credible in order to be included in official scripture of the time. In the monotheistic religions, the Bible, as it is known in the Jewish religion, or the Old Testament, as it is known in the Christian religion, contains many books which were originally contested for their credibility. There was no question that the writers of these books had received revelation, but whether it was inspired by God and therefore part of Canon, or acceptable standard, was the question. Some were considered non-inspired by God, and therefore apocryphal. We must therefore imagine, if we can, that these great men and women of faith who were deemed prophets still needed to be judged for acceptance as credible witnesses.

Do we attach the same type judgment on modern day clergy, spiritual leaders, and philosophers? And what is our basis of consideration? Is it that they have lived perfect lives?

I would argue that it is in those lives which are not perfect that we see ourselves. Therefore it would follow that “credible witness” is a term defined as much by imperfection as by perfection.

Rumi‘s quote “the wound is the place where the Light enters you” is often paraphrased as “God’s Light (or “Enlightenment”) shines through the cracks of your pain.” Perhaps so it is with those we deem credible.

Let’s consider some biblical figures known to us because God’s work in them and through them produced great results.

Abraham was old.

Jeremiah was young.

Elijah was suicidal.

Joseph was abused.

Job went bankrupt.

Moses had a speech problem.

Samson was a womanizer.

Rahab was a prostitute.

Noah was a drunk.

Jacob was a cheater.

David was a murderer.

Jonah ran from God.

Peter denied Christ 3 times

Paul persecuted Christians before becoming one.

The Disciples fell asleep while praying.

I challenge you to look around you at the women and men whom you have considered credible witnesses throughout your life. You can probably count them on one hand, or maybe two if you’re lucky. Because for you to call them “credible,” you will put them to a test of worthiness... a test of your own shaping. It may involve assessments against personality platitudes (was he kind, and compassionate?) or standards of excellence (was she smart and articulate?) or even life achievements (did he contribute to his community... did she create or oversee advancements in technology, business, or the arts?)

I went through this exercise, and I found the magnitude of expectation I placed around this term interesting. Then I narrowed my criteria down to one word, describing the person whom I’ve known as a spiritual mentor. What word did I choose?

What word would you choose?