Does this dress make me look fat? What do you think of this new recipe for brussels sprouts I found? What do you think of my new toupee from “Hair Are Us”? I just started taking Tuba lessons. Wanna hear?
I am guessing you all can come up with some additional questions people ask that you might not want to hear a true response to. Truth is a tricky thing, isn’t it? We all say we want to hear the truth but inevitably we sometimes prefer people maybe resort to a little white lie occasionally to spare our feelings. Or maybe the brutally honest response is the best policy? The thing about the truth is that it sometimes leads to division. We all SAY we want to hear the truth but do we really?
Quid est veritas? What is truth? That is the question Pontius Pilate asked of Jesus when Jesus told him that he came to speak the truth. We all like to think that Jesus came to unite us. To bring us all together under the truth of the Kingdom of God. Kind of create Kumbaya moments. But we see in Luke 12, Jesus talks plainly about why He has come:
“Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
As a matter of fact, I realized that in compiling this reflection, it is likely that I will offend some of you. But in doing so, it will help make the point of our two readings today. Let me get right to it.
A few years ago, in the state of Illinois, the governor signed into law legalizing same-sex marriage. However, the Catholic Church has always maintained that marriage is between a man and a woman and bases it partially on Jesus’ statement in this verse:
(Matthew 19:4-5) “He answered, ‘Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one’?”
At that time in Illinois, Catholic Charities would not adopt children to same sex couples. It went against the teachings of the Church. The state of Illinois threatened law suits against the Church in Illinois if they did not comply with the law. Catholic Charities elected to no longer handle adoptions to avoid compromising their position. To avoid compromising the truth. This truth has caused division between Catholics and Non-Catholics and also between Catholics. The truth may set you free but it can also cause conflict.
At our parish several years ago, our pastor gave a homily in which he summarized the Church’s position on In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). In short, the Church does not permit it because it 1) can involve the abortion of excessive fetuses in the uterus, 2) creates moral questions of what to do with unwanted frozen embryos, 3) bypasses God’s involvement in the process. As you may predict, a good percentage of the parish was not happy with this homily (many had children and grandchildren that were the products of IVF) and some left the church. Some were not aware of the Church’s stance on IVF and were glad to get this clarification.
And in Matthew 19:4 we see Jesus making a point about the truth of gender identity:
Jesus answered, “Surely you have read in the Scriptures: When God made the world, ‘he made them male and female.’
In today’s first reading, the prophet Jeremiah has been missioned by God to warn the people of Israel that the King of Babylon will be attacking and they have little chance of surviving. Rather than subject themselves to this destruction, they should surrender before the Babylonians. This was not a popular stance. To compound matters he was commissioned by God to warn the Hebrews of their sinful ways and in their breaking of the covenant with God. Also, did not make him a popular prophet. In fact he has become known as the “weeping prophet” because of his sadness with the behavior of the Hebrews toward God and toward himself.
And in today’s Gospel we see Jesus in Jerusalem during the festival of the Booths. He is teaching the people openly. Some are convinced that He is a prophet, while others say He is the Christ. The rest of the crowd are against Him. He cannot be the Messiah because He comes from Galilee, and the Messiah is said to come from Bethlehem. Of course, they are not aware of the birth story of Jesus. There was also division within the Pharisees over Jesus. The majority were looking at ways to kill him and ordered the temple guards to arrest Him. But the soldiers declined since they were spellbound by the wisdom that Jesus spoke. And Nicodemus stood up for Jesus in the Sanhedrin saying that their own laws could not condemn a man without giving him an opportunity to explain himself.
Jesus claimed the truth was His to proclaim as He was being interrogated by Pilate:
“You say that I am a king. Instead, in fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
And this truth led directly to the division of Jew and Greek, Jew and Jew, relative against relative. And we are called to speak this truth as well. He tells us that He is “The Way, the Truth and the Life” and if we are to follow Him, we are to follow His truth. And we are to speak this truth as we speak the Gospel.
So let the objections fly!! These are all difficult issues to speak of and I know opinions fall at least on two distinct sides of the arguments. After all, The Word of God divides like a two edged sword. Is there such a thing as absolute truth? I believe that Jesus was clear that there is absolute truth and it is His truth that we should absolutely follow. After all He did not say “I am A Way, A Truth and A Life“.
Oh yeah, one question. Does the lab coat in my profile picture make me look fat?
