Does the truth even matter?

In Matthew chapter 9 one sides sees miracles, the other the work of Satan.

He drives out demons by the prince of demons

Each sides witnesses the same events, but sees what corresponds to their already fixed opinion of Jesus. Neither was at that point in Matthew's Gospel able to see the Truth. Jesus is God, but one was certainly closer to the truth than the other. 

By shear providence I and my high school government teacher both live here in the Richmond area and I still run into him from time to time. I  am reminded of the things I learned so long ago about our country and how it should work. In those days public schools taught not only government and history, but civics. Pittsylvania County School a very traditional curriculum. 

We were taught that one of the bedrock principles that set our country above others was the presumption of innocence:

In America, a person is presumed innocent until they are found guilty in a court of law. 

A person had to be judged on the law and the facts. 

Today that presumption no longer exists. If anything, it is reversed. A person is presumed guilty until proven innocent. In a world where anyone can self-publish on the internet, the so-called court of public opinion has replaced the legal system. 

How many people writing about Hilary Clinton today have seen the evidence or even taken the time to read and understand the relevant federal statutes and precedent in order to make a reasoned argument? I certainly have not. We read what our favorite news outlets tell us and we judge the person guilty or innocent long before the matter ever reaches a court of law. And even when a person is not found guilt, or a guilty verdict is overturned by a higher court, we don't care very much. We have made our personal determination and we will not be swayed. 

Like the two groups in the gospel we see what we want to see. If we like the person, they could not possibly have done it. If we don't like them, they are guilty. It is not about law and facts; its about which side posts the most.

When non-believers follow the culture down such a path it is bad. When Americans who are also Christians behave in the same way it is scandalous. For Christians words like truth and justice are supposed to mean something. We are supposed to love our enemies. We are supposed to be in the world and not of the world. As Americans, principles like the presumption of innocence should not be empty words. 

The next four and a half months are going to be a real test of the Christianity of us all. The hateful speech and accusations from both sides are going to only intensify as election day draws nearer. We will all be tempted to become the Pharisees, interpreting the actions of those we don't like in the most negative way possible.  We cannot stop the vitriol but we don't have to participate in it. 

Whether one supports Donald or Hillary, we should all be able to see the humanity in each of them. Let us truly be Christian and find something to love in each of them. God does.

Step Two

Today we celebrate the signing the Declaration of Independence. We Virginians feel particularly proud thinking of the role that Jefferson played in the writing and approval process.  But what we can forget is that the Declaration did not make us a country, nor did the subsequent war, all they did was separate us from England. It was a great first step.

The other date which every Amercian ought to know is June 21, 1788, the date that the US Constitution was ratified by New Hampshire and The Untied States of America, the nation, was born. Here another Virginian must be remembered, John Marshall. Marshall understood what many did not. As Chief Justice of the Supreme Court he understood that we could never be, as we say today, one nation under God, if each state could simply ignore those laws it did not like. He understood that without institutionalized unity there could. be no nation. It would take the better part of a century, a civil war, and the death of more than 600,000 Americans  to resolve this debate. 

For the Church that unity is also essential. That is why in the creed  one comes first even before holy. That is why in chapter 17 of John's Gospel Jesus prays "that they may be one, as we are one...that they may be brought to perfection as one"  In order to preserve her unity the Church also needed a constitution, not human words on paper, but a structure established by Christ himself. Jesus knew that  if the Church was going to survive it needed a structure that could survive the ages and assure the faithful transmission of His message. 

Most Catholics know we trace the role of bishops to the apostles, and the role of Pope to Peter. But many have never asked where the priests come in.  If you were at mass yesterday you heard how Jesus, in addition to the 12 chose another group, 70 or 72 (manuscripts vary).  This was in perfect continuity with what God did for Moses.  In the Book of Numbers we read how a warn out Moses, asked God for help in governing the complaining people, and God had Moeses choose 70 elders, on which God placed some of the Spirit he had given Moses. 

God is unchanging and so with his new covenant in addition to Peter and the other apostles, Jesus who is God repeated the choosing of elders to assist the apostles. The Greek word for elder is presbyter, the title to which we are ordained even today. Common English uses the word priest as the translation.  

Because the hierarchical constitution of the Church was given by Christ not even the Pope can change it. He can tinker around the edges. He could allow Latin Rite priests to marry, women to be deacons; there is a biblical foundation for that. But no human can alter the fundamental structure of the Church. That constitution is not ours to amend. 

Independence from English rule is a wonderful thing to celebrate. But we should not confuse that with the self-centered notion of independence so rampant today. Even less should we think that this notion of freedom void of responsibility toward others is Christian. The first thing the Bible teaches us about humans is that we were created to be one. 

As we celebrate our freedom let us also call to mind our responsibility and let us pray as a Church and a nation for unity. 

Control that mouth

One of the most difficult commands in the Bible comes from Ephesians 4:29 where St. Paul commands us regarding speech.  He tells us what we are to say and what we are not to say.

On th positive side we are to say 

-good (Gk. agathos). 

-words for edification, words that build up

-words that a needed

On the negative side he tells us to never let go from our mouths words that are in Greek sapos. It comes from the verb sepo from which where we get words like septic, or sepsis. It means to putrefy, to rot.  

It is interesting that he doesn't use the verb speak, he uses the verb to let go or release. The image is that we have both kinds of words in our mouths. But we are only to let out the good ones, the ones that build up, the ones that people truly need. The rotten ones, the ones that tear down, the ones of no benefit to others. the ones no one needs to hear we should keep to ourselves. Just swallow them. Or better yet, don't let them form in your mouth. Stop them when they are just little thoughts. 

But St. Paul knows human nature, those septic words and thoughts are going to form at some point in all of us, first in the mind, then in the mouth. If we are Christians, we filter. We let out of our mouths only the good words, the ones needed to build up.  It takes incredible discipline. But there is no such thing as an undisciplined disciple. 

The truth about saints

Today we celebrate St. Junipero Serra y Ferrar, the Franciscan founder of the first of the Cakifornia missions who was canonized last year. Those who protested the canonization seem not to understand some basic truths of the faith. 

Firstly, moral sin, that sin which separates us from eternal life with God requires not only that the action be gravely wrong, but that the person knows it to be wrong, and freely chooses to do it. One could agree that his treatment of the native peoples was at times wrong, and simultaneously  say that it was probably not a sin because he did not understand it to be wrong. We should always be careful not to retroject 21st century standard onto persons of prior ages. In every generation we can only work with the information that we had. 

More importantly, we miss the point if we think that by declaring a person a saint, we are saying that they were without sin. Apart from Jesus and Mary (because of th unique gift given her) we are all sinners. Of course, Junipero Serra was a sinner and so are all of us, but we also hope to be saints like him one day. 

While we acknowledge his imperfection, today we celebrate not only the good that he did, but the good he has inspired and continues to inspire in others. We believe that by God's grace he stands with all the holy men and women around the throne of God, and we pray that we will have that same passion for spreading the Good News. 

Self-awareness

This week we read for our first reading key passages from the book of the Prophet Amos.  Like all prophets his goal is to call the people of Israel back to God. What is interesting is his initial approach. He opens with a fierce attack on 6 foreign peoples. Then he attacks the Southern Kingodm of Judah.

His audience would have cheered his rant against Moab, Aram, Philistia, Tyre and even their Jewish brothers and sisters in Judah, because this was during the divivded kingdom.  In a truly brilliant maneuver he gets his audience cheering for God to punish the sins of all those people. You can imagine the people cheering Amos: "yeah! You tell 'em." 

Then Amos turns to his main topic. With the same language he used against "those people" he turns his critique on his own people, the people of Israel.  And the rest of the Book is focused on the sin of his people, the Northern Kingdom, Israel.

Centuries later, human nature remains the same. We are all comfortable critiquing foreigners. You can criticize any country in the Middle East, the Russians, the Germans, the French, or even the Brits, and you're safe.  But criticize America, and see how quickly people respond the way the people of Israel responded to Amos. Like the people of Israel in the time of Amos who believed that they were the chosen people, we just keep telling ourselves we are the greatest country in the world. Both statements are on some level true but it does not mean that we do not need to take a hard look at ourselves. 

This week as we read the Book of Amos, we need to remember that before we can remove the speck from someone else's eye, we must remove the plank from our own. This is not only true for individuals but for us as a people. Can we honestly look at our country/ our culture and be humble enough to admit where we are far from the path? Can we have the courage to hear the words of Amos addressed to us?

Unfit for service

The hardest course I have ever taken was not quantum mechanics, or differential equations. It was finger spelling at Gallaudet. It was not difficult to learn the alphabet or learn to spell. The hard part was watching. 

Whether we realize it or not during oral conversation our eyes move. We do not stare directly at the mouth of the person speaking.  When watching someone who is finger spelling entire sentences, you must stay focused. Cut your eyes away for a second and you just lost three letters. 

We Christians often talk about being "followers of Jesus" and today's gospel reminds us just how difficult that is. If we are followers, then Jesus is not walking beside us with his arm around us. He is ahead of us. And, if we are honest, Jesus is way ahead of us. And the road is filled with twists and turns. Most of all there are lots of side streets. If you have ever been to the Middle East or North Africa think of the souq, the overcrowded market. You get distracted by a vendor and the person you were following has disappeared. You took your eye off them for less than a minute, but now you are the one who is lost. 

Jesus delivers a harsh and hard message today.

No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God

To be a follower of Jesus is to keep our eyes fixed constantly on him and be constantly moving forward. It is the only direction that time moves. We are following Jesus through the souq of life, loud voices and shiny objects all around. And then there is our own innate tendency to look back over our shoulder at what was. And while we ruminate on the past, the present zips by and is gone. We took our eyes off Jesus, and suddenly we are standing there confused and lost because he is THE WAY. 

And of we are not really careful, we can go from ruminating to being absolutely stuck in the past. We declare some moment the golden age and we want to stay there. But if we are followers, we never stop.

Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head

Jesus isn't complaining; he's stating a fact. He is a man on a mission. He will rest when it is done. 

To be a follower we must also be constantly attentive to him. This does not mean constant busyness. Jesus is way ahead of any of us, and we are easily distracted. So we have to regularly stop and get our bearings, refocus on Jesus. 

It sounds really harsh for Jesus to declare that some people are unfit. But again he is simply stating a fact.  If we continue to look back we cannot move forward. 

The Sacrament of Penance (confession) is a great place for us to put the past to rest. Unfit need not be a permanent condition. We can turn around face forward, focus, and follow.

Not Seeing is believing

Sometimes we accept old sayings without actually thinking about them. Take for example "seeing is believing." It seems clear what it means, I'll believe it when I see it. But if you are a person of faith, it makes no sense to say it. For a person of faith, seeing is the opposite of believing. As the Letter of the Hebrews reminds us

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen 

Jesus goes even further when addressing St. Thomas,

Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed

Contrast St. Thomas with the unnamed centurion in today's gospel. Not only does the centurion believe so strongly that he does not need to see Jesus heal his servant, he does not need for Jesus to physically be present with the servant to heal. 

Lord, I am not worthy that you would enter under my roof, but only say the word and my servant will be healed.

This is absolute faith in the Word of God incarnate, Jesus the Christ. 

And every time we participate in the Eucharist we are called to make the words of the centurion our own. We are both the servant in need of healing, and the centurion expressing absolute faith. 

Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof but only say the word and my soul shall be healed

At the consecration do we see the host and wine become the body and blood of Christ. No, and it is a good thing we don't. If we could see it, we would be Thomas who came to believe only because he saw. 

The person of faith is the centurion. 

There are many moments in life when we cannot see or feel the presence of God in our lives, times when the only thing our senses and feelings register is a great big nothing, a divine absence. Our natural response is to think of this as a bad thing. In reality, these times are good for us. For it is in those moments that we are most truly people of faith.