Holy Spirit of God, sanctify me in the truth…

John 17:11-19

The Inuit artists I work with who spend so much time rubbing off the corners to bring out the image that is in the soapstone they are carving, show how our Father God shapes our lives to form our beings into the work he originally designed us to be. Sanctification can be defined as ‘purification’, a.k.a. rubbing off the corners  of our lives – and this was Jesus’ prayer for his disciples. Jesus prayed that they would be sanctified by the truth.  Each of us carries our own (version of the) ‘truth’, that is limited by language, experience, perception and knowledge – not to mention our own small share of wisdom! But it is not our own truth that can sanctify us, and rub off the edges and knobs of our beings. Rather it is the Truth, that is God’s perception and vision of Truth – the order of the universe, the collective consciousness of humanity, and the mystery of the Holy Spirit at the heart of all creation – that is able to work on our hearts, minds, souls and strength to sanctify and shape our beings.  Then we – I – can be shaped by God’s orderly and mysterious artistry.  Will I insist on my own truth and so be destroyed, or will I submit to the Truth of God, which is deep and eternal Love, and be shaped into the image of Creator God? Holy Spirit of God, sanctify me in the truth..   
 
Summon your might, O God; show your strength, O God, as you have done for us before.   (Psalm 68:28)
 
If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed
If you look within, you’ll be depressed.
If you look at God, you’ll be at rest.
Corrie Ten Boom  
 
Soli ad gloriam
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