The Polish poet Anna Kamieńska wrote the very hopeful, haunting, and wonderfully expressive poem “A Prayer That Will Be Answered.”
A Prayer That Will Be Answerd
Lord let me suffer much
and then dieLet me walk through silence
and leave nothing behind not even fearMake the world continue
let the ocean kiss the sand just as beforeLet the grass stay green
so that the frogs can hide in itso that someone can bury his face in it
and sob out his loveMake the day rise brightly
as if there were no more painAnd let my poem stand clear as a windowpane
bumped by a bumblebee’s head
The last line of the poem expresses her hope for the poem. What a wonderful metaphor! When you read that line, you can’t help seeing a bright black and yellow bumblebee smashing headlong into a window. But that is not the intent of the word picture. It is not about the bumblebee. Like most poems, the intent goes beyond the words. Kamieńska is sharing with the reader her deep longing to be remembered and understood through her poem. Every poet desires their poems to outlive them and to communicate a clear picture of the world. But the pictures go deeper than just the world out there. They are pictures of the world inside us. Poets desire their poems to create a clear windowpane of life itself. Life is murky. Life is hazy and vague. The Apostle Paul knew this and wrote…
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. - 1 Corinthians 13:12 KJV
Through the words of a poem like “A Prayer That Will Be Answered,” the reader sees the truth through a clear windowpane. But as Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?” The bigger question is, “Do we really want to know the truth?” We are good at living in our own little fantasy worlds. Why? I think, like Pilate, we are afraid of the truth. We are afraid that if we have a clear windowpane to see the truth before us we will be like the bumblebee and smash headlong into it. And, as we know, smashing your head into an immovable object is quite painful.
Yet, according to Jesus, the truth actually frees us to enjoy life - “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32 NLT). We like freedom and are quick to quote and claim this verse. Most often, however, we do not include Jesus’ previous qualifying statement.
Jesus said to the people who believed in him, "You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32 NLT).
Notice what Jesus said before the promise that we will know the truth that sets us free. He said that it is dependent on our remaining his faithful followers. How do we know that we are faithful followers of Jesus? Our Lord gives us the answer. We are his faithful followers when we follow or obey his teachings. Jesus put it another way - “If you love me, obey my commandments” (John 14:15 NLT).
Maybe the reason we do not want to know the truth in our lives is that we do not really want to be faithful followers of Jesus. We want all the benefits without the responsibilities. But benefit always comes attached to responsibility. If we truly want to be free, we must know the truth. If we want to know the truth, we must be obedient, faithful followers of Jesus.
The truth that sets us free resides in the commandments of Jesus - what he taught and how he challenged us to live. But it is more than just information - knowing the truth. Anyone can read the Bible and know the teachings of Jesus. What Jesus is speaking about here is actually living out what he taught. This means we must move beyond “pious platitudes” of sharing Jesus’ words in our “holy huddles” and live the way Jesus taught. We must show love toward our enemies. We must pray for those who persecute us. We must walk a narrow, counter-cultural path that practically shows others the love of God. We must live like Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane. We must not only pray “not my will but yours,” we must live it!
Only when we become serious about being faithful followers of Jesus will we know the truth about ourselves and how we should live in this world. Only as we live out what Jesus taught can we become truly free. The truth will indeed set us free! But the only way we can lean into living free in the truth is to lean into being faithful, obedient followers of Jesu!