11 – 5 – 18 To “know” the Truth ( < 2 minutes)

The Gospel Acclamation for today is John 8:31-32


“If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples,
and you will know the truth, says the Lord.”

Which is a nice promise. That’s the kind of reward we hope for from following Christ. But there’s something to be gained from looking at a slightly different version of this acclamation.

“Si se mantienen fieles a mi palabra, dice el Señor,
serán verdaderamente discípulos míos
y conocerán la verdad.”

The practice of looking at biblical verses in a foreign language is pretty common in sermons and homilies, though people usually seem to look at the Greek or Hebrew as they’re closer to the original Gospels in terms of number of translations.
I’m looking at Spanish because I don’t speak Greek, Hebrew, or Latin, but also because I think there’s always something to be gained by observing scripture through a slightly different prism. One thing that shines through this passage is the verb “to know.”
In English we have no differentiation between: “I know Kaitlyn” and “I know differential equations” though they’re (probably, hopefully) meant in extremely different senses. The first would be relational or intuitive knowledge, and the second to be more factual, empirical, or procedural.
Spanish makes a distinction, with saber meaning “to know” in this first sense while conocer means “to know” in the second.
So notice the choice the preparers of the lectionary have made here. The disciples, us, who “remain in the word” will not necessarily factually know all the Church’s laws and regulations. The emphasis here is not on knowing the truth in the sense of being right, or through academic study.
What is implied by the use of conocer is relationship with the Truth, that Truth being Christ.
As someone who is frequently overly analytical I’ll be the last one to say that study will not bring us closer to God. One of my favorite forms of prayer is reading religious books. But this loss in translation really stuck out to me, and I think it’s something to consider as we make decisions and interact with others throughout our days.
Not to know the Truth, but to be in relationship with the Truth is what Christ calls us to in this passage.

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