The Acts of Love of a Faithful God

Bruno Forte writes, "If truth for the Greeks is an objective and timeless reality, for the world of the Bible it is an interpersonal relationship, which is experienced in the course of a history. For the Greeks the opposite is error or falsehood; for the Semitic people it is the breaking of a bond of trust which lasted in time" (Jesus of Nazareth, History of God, God of History, Ed. Paoline, 1981, p. 317).

It is necessary to clarify right from the beginning the fact, that we have a very Greek concept of the truth. For us truth signifies conformity to an idea, a thought. To the degree that a thing, a fact or a person is related to the idea which makes them be, we say that they are true or false. It would be enough to have the time and the capability for a research of the world of ideas, typical of the philosophy of Plato, in order to discover the close relationship (almost identity) between idea (=truth) and divinity.

The Hebrew meaning of the word truth ( 'emeth) is very different. The "Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament" (Botterweck-Ringgren, Michigan 2977, vol. 1), says of the word 'emeth: "When a Hebrew listened to the various words which derive from the root 'aman, the basic idea which came to mind was faithfulness. If it referred to things, it had the meaning of continuity; if to persons, trustworthiness. The derivatives could have particular meanings based on the context. Thus the participle (in qal) acquires the meaning of someone that one takes care of; the niphal means to last (endure), the participle, lasting (if referring to things), stable, trustworthy, if referring to persons; niphal signifies to become stable, to acquire stability, and is used for a person or for his word: to build firmly on (someone, something), to count on his/her word. From stability, through trustworthiness, 'emeth acquires the meaning of truth; in its turn, emunah gives more the idea of a type of conduct that is formed from trustworthiness, that is, fidelity. Finally amen takes its meaning from its specific function. In consideration of this, all the forms are prevalently personal, that is, they are used in relation to humankind and to God. And while they have a negative connotation when used and applied to the person, they are used in the absolute sense of God. God is and possesses fidelity (trustworthiness, truth). God acts from the fact that God is trustworthy; God's word is faithful, and therefore requires us to become trustworthy, faithful."

This long, rather technical citation was necessary in order to place ourselves in the biblical context and to understand, in this context, statements which otherwise would sound very harsh, such as that of Jeremiah (17:5): "I will condemn the person.who puts his trust in man." The human person is not trustworthy in him/herself; to place one's trust in a person means to place one's feet on something slippery or unstable.

I don't know if you have any experience of mountain climbing. When you climb a slope or a rocky ledge, you have absolute need of solidity. At times you try, you look for the foothold, and you see that, as you rest the weight of your body on it a bit, it gives way. It is a terrible experience of emptiness, of insecurity, of loss.

This support, this shadow that passes, this breath that disappears, etc. (one can find scores of citations, especially in the psalms) is the human being. If we approach the pages of the Bible, this mentality, with the categories of Greek thought, we can tranquilly fall into a negative anthropology, into scorn for "man the creature." If instead we read them from the Hebrew point of view, they can reveal the way of God, the presence of God. Humankind is then, in relation to God, "stable-with-God;" persons are "trustworthy-with-God," that is, stable, trustworthy, true, to the degree to which they place their feet on the rock, on the one who does not fail: God-Amen.

An entire people, from within the events which make up its journey in history, has discovered the presence-action of this God-Amen. It is an immense surprise: in the face of its own infidelity, its own instability, Israel does not "invent" a God, but encounters the acts of love of this faithful God who makes himself the companion in Israel's journey, to the point of becoming their God. The fidelity-truth of God goes beyond the limits in forming a personal relationship with a people that becomes a witness to the faithful God, to the true God.

Why St. Paul | Getting to Know Paul the Apostle
Mary, as Mother, Teacher and Queen
Apostolic Spirituality and Holiness | Communicating Christ