Reflection - Truth

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/092418.cfm
Proverbs 3:27-34
Luke 8:16-18

It hardly seems fair that the gospel reading offers only three verses for our consideration. But then, maybe the message contained therein is too important to risk minimizing by surrounding it with matters of lesser consequence.

Using the image of the lamp on the lamp stand, Jesus cautions his listeners to seek truth in all their words and actions. “For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.” St Paul uses the image as a note of encouragement when writing to the Romans. “Let us”, he says, “cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” (Romans 13:12) Shakespeare would express the motivational aspect of the teaching even more bluntly in The Merchant of Venice: “Truth will out,” he said.

Truth has been a problem for mankind ever since God asked Adam about littering the garden trail with an apple core. Further, the Old Testament does not refrain from informing us of incidents that unfold different from their expected course because of this common human folly, and — truth is still an issue when we get to the New Testament. Pilate responds cynically when Jesus refers to truth. “What is truth?” He says.

Jesus makes several references to truth, most often by interconnecting truth with himself. He said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." (John 8:31-32)— Now there’s an unexpected, but worthy consequence. — Before Pilate he insists that truth is the purpose of his presence among us: “For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth." (John 18:37) And he further insists that there is a profound connection between himself and truth: “Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.” (Jn 18:37), clearly implying that truth is of divine origin, since he only "speaks thus as the Father taught me.” (John 8:28) He even goes so far as to claim, “I am the truth.” Is it any wonder, then, that Satan is known as the ‘father of lies,’ for who could be further from the truth?

Truth has been a major casualty of our times. You cannot always trust what you see; and you definitely cannot comfortably trust what you read or hear. We always seem to be left with more questions; and sometimes it seems we have far surpassed the novel 1984 where War was Peace, Freedom was Slavery and Ignorance was Strength. Was Saddam Hussein brought down by his own success at lying about weapons of mass destruction which he did or didn’t actually have? Did Comey of the FBI actually favor one political candidate over another? Modern politics has made a sham of speaking truth and the ‘father of lies’ seems well entrenched in the current matter of US Senators consenting to a nominee for Supreme Court Justice. Not even the church is exempt from a readiness to dabble in deception. Is Archbishop Vigano manipulating facts for his own agenda? Or is Pope Francis guilty of a poor memory? O what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive. 

Some days this cultural juggernaut seems both totally useless and broadly overwhelming. The struggle to known the truth of things,

The struggle to live only in the light, casting off the innuendo of darkness,

The struggle to cleanly hear the voice of Christ without the static of a world so deluded it sometimes seems willing to pull the wool over its own eyes — this very struggle becomes the distraction, exactly as ‘the father of lies’ intended that it be.

In a sense it would seem appropriate that Jesus design a new poster for our time — maybe with his own mug shot instead of that of Alfred E Neumann. Above the selfie he could put the original Mad Magazine words: “What? Me Worry?” After all, he tells us “there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.” It would indeed be comforting to know that true illumination waits for us just around the corner — maybe in tomorrow’s headlines — and not just at some point in eternity’s non-existent time. But it is doubtful that that will come to pass.

So — where do I stand in the midst of this extravagant game that Satan and humanity are playing? Where do I go when lies and deceits are flooding the world around me? What do I do when drowning in a sea of deception? Well, the simple and obvious first thing to do is to get out of the water. After all, in God’s good time, all that is secret will be made known. Second, I need to examine myself closely to find out how many lies are leaching the life out of me. This is seldom an easy thing to do, for the deceits of the past, which we have conned ourselves into believing as truths about ourselves, are probably more than we can imagine. It is only the genuine truth which can set us free. And finally, it would seem that we must open ourselves to the truth which is Jesus.

The truth which says I always have and always will love you no matter what may come. The truth which says I will send the Spirit and he will teach you all things.

The truth which says YOU will hear my voice.

The truth which says I can do all things in him who strengthens me.

The truth which says “even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it will be done.” (Matthew 21:21)

These are some of the truths which the ‘father of lies’ would have us discard as lies. Let’s not wait for eternity’s non-existent time to have these truths illuminated and revealed.