What Is Truth?

5/16/2021

WHAT IS TRUTH?
The Seventh Sunday of Easter Year B

   Every so often during a pick up basketball game there is disagreement over the actual score. In one contest, a player argued the score was not true. A guy on the other team cried out, somewhat jokingly, “you can’t handle the truth!”
   This meme was heard in the 1992 movie “A Few Good Men.” LTJG Kaffee (Tom Cruise) pressed Colonel Jessup (Jack Nicholson) on whether Jessup ordered a Code Red. [1] “I want the truth,” Kaffee queried. Infuriated, Jessup angrily shouted back, “You can’t handle the truth.”
   In today’s gospel (John 17:11b-19) Jesus is praying to God to keep his disciples united, protect them from evil, give them strength to carry on. And don’t forget, Jesus adds, “consecrate them in truth.”
   To be consecrated is easy to understand. It means to be set apart for a purpose, to be dedicated, to have a strong commitment. Christians celebrate their prophetic and priestly voice in baptism. Their role in the world is strengthened by a holy Spirit. They are sustained in their vocation by celebrating the eucharist with others.
   However, the expression “in truth” is more difficult to interpret because there can be variable theories of truth. In a biblical context the word truth refers to the life of Jesus of Nazareth, his way, his light, his message, and his respect for all people. To be committed to that “truth” is to stand for what Jesus stood for — justice for everyone.
   The question “what is truth” is at the heart of many problems we are experiencing in this country and perhaps elsewhere on the global stage. The adherence to and promotion of falsehoods and outright lies serve to establish a collective feeling in a large segment of a population. When the lie is repeated over and over it no longer appears to some to be false but actually something they come to believe as true. The earth is flat … the earth is flat … the earth is flat ….
   The fabrication is designed to strengthen the ideologies of a sector of a social, political or religious establishment. Most often those who spread the falsehoods are threatened by what is proven to be true either by science or evidence. The escalation of falsehoods creates confusion and doubt among people who are simply searching for honest answers.
   Consider these few examples of where facts and truths are blurred or rejected because of the proliferation of misinformation, speculation, and conspiracy theories:
   The number of deaths actually caused by the virus. The effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccines. The validation of the 2020 presidential election. The cause of Middle East conflicts. Voters have rights. The implications of religious doctrines on public and private lives. The prevalence of racial bias.
   To lives as a disciple of Christ and his standards in these confusing times one discerns what must be done so that people do not suffer or die because of injustices — lack of money, food, water, decent housing, and health care. Lies and falsehoods that threaten these basic human rights must be stopped.
   When Jesus talked about the kingdom of God he was not referring to a romantic heavenly place. He understood his life’s mission was to create a peaceful, equitable place for everyone here on earth. If we continue his undertaking the world will be better not only for us and our families but also everyone else.
   Luke, the author of the first reading (Acts 1:15-17, 20a, 20c-26), was concerned about who would carry on the work of Jesus. The passage specifically tells of the selection of Matthias as an apostolic minister to replace Judas. A good questions for us is are we to be counted among the disciples?
   The first place for Christians to start is to make a commitment to spreading the gospel truth. Then we will link arms with those from other traditions dedicated to the same mission.
   Of course, when it comes to abiding by biblical shibboleths, there will be different interpretations and skepticism. One could argue because the scriptures are not history books but testimonies the stories could be fabrications.
   It seems clear, however, that the underlying long term message found in all of these texts is that, in order to create a world where justice and equity are experienced by everyone, truth must prevail. Lying and perpetuating falsehoods has no place in this narrative. How we handle truth and share it with others will make a huge difference in the future of the worlds we live in.
______
1. In the movie, In the film, the “Code Red” is used for a punishment or action taken against marines that is extrajudicial or, outside of existing military law.

diane marcil

5/16/2021 11:17:05 am

Politics: Week 1

Questioning Our Loyalties
Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Most religion is highly “legitimating religion.” It is used for social control and public order by the powers that be and individuals. This oppressive use of religion has allowed much of Christian history to fully cooperate in toxic and unjust societies—just as long as each person had “a personal relationship with Jesus.” This will not work anymore; in fact, it never did.

The American bishops, paraphrasing many recent papal statements, said that “social justice is an integral part of evangelization, a constitutive dimension of preaching the Gospel, and an essential part of the Church’s mission.” [1] Social critique is not an add-on, an option, a choice, or a unique vocation for a few. If we profess Jesus is indeed “the savior of the world” (John 4:42), we must not, we cannot, continue to think of salvation as merely a private matter. We are wasting our time trying to convert individuals without also challenging corporate, collective sin and fully institutionalized evil. (Corporate or social greed is called capitalism; individual greed was once called one of the seven “capital sins”—but no one believes it anymore.) Our morality is split in two! When we send momentarily changed people back into a corrupt system, people can think they are godly but it will never last for long or at any depth. As Jesus said, “the last state of the house is worse than the first” (Matthew 12:45).

Social justice is clearly God’s concern, starting with liberation of God’s people in the Exodus, yet it has taken Christians a long time to be able to see the Gospel in a fully historic, social, and political context. Truly transformed people organically change the world, while fundamentally unchanged people can only conform to the system and wholeheartedly cheer it on (see Romans 12:2). Culture will win out every time over the Gospel if it is not critiqued by the Gospel. That essential critique was much of the point of the evangelists’ writings. However, those politicians and priests who are concerned with their own privilege usually prefer an unaware and superficial populace. The people in the pews are so used to this arrangement that they usually resent any forays into their public morality. “Keep it private and personal, Father,” they say. We can no longer waste time this way in the name of a God “before whom the very nations count as nothingness and emptiness” (Isaiah 40:17).

Dorothy Day (1897-1980) was not afraid to say it strongly: “We need to change the system. We need to overthrow, not the government, . . . but this rotten, decadent, putrid industrial capitalist system which breeds such suffering. . . .” [2] As long as we unquestioningly buy into the egoic system, where the roots of our narcissism often lie hidden, we’re going to have problems. If we think we can say our private prayers and still genuflect before the self-perpetuating, unjust systems of this world, our conversion will not go very deep or aid in the unfolding of history. There is no one more radical than a real person of prayer because they are not beholden to any ideology or economic system; their identity and motivation is found only in God, not in the pay-offs of “mammon.” Both church and state are threatened by true mystics. Such enlightened people can’t be bought off or manipulated, because their rewards are always elsewhere.

Most of us need to have the status quo shaken now and then, leaving us off balance and askew, feeling alienated for a while from our usual unquestioned loyalties. In this uncomfortable space, we can finally recognize the much larger kingdom of God. Many churches don’t seem to understand this, even flying the national flag in sanctuaries while daring to talk about “one God before us” in the same space. After authentic conversion, our old “country” no longer holds any ultimate position. We can’t worship it any longer as we were once trained to do. Our national identity is okay, probably necessary, but very limited in its capacity for truth, much less universal truth.

Richard Rohr, July 11, 2018

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