THE LIE

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 25^th Wednesday in Ordinary time is, “The Lie.”

This theme and issue of lying is expressed in both the first reading [Proverbs 30:5-9] as well as today’s Psalm [119:29, 104].

What I like to do for homilies is read the Mass readings of the day and see what questions they trigger - especially questions that I haven’t looked at in the past. I figure this is a good way to grow and to get stretched. So today’s readings triggered the thought: come up with some thoughts about, “The Lie.”

TWO KINDS OF LIES

There are two kinds of lies: the white lie and the bad lie.

In general - and following our conscience - telling a white lie can save time and energy and people. In general, ethics and moral theology allows for so called, “white lies” in some cases.

For example, you’re not going to tell the truth when your sister-in-law asks you how she looks in a certain dress. You know from experience that no matter what you say, that’s the dress she’s going to wear the wedding. And you know it’s going to make her look even fatter. Or someone wants to sit down and talk for 2 hours. You just spent two hours the other day with them. Today you have three important things to do. You know the person is going to feel rejected if you tell the truth. Reality: you just don’t have time for them today. So you lie. You say you have an important appointment at that time - and the important appointment is to just take a needed break - to catch up with some bills or what have you. Or you tell you’re kid to tell someone you’re not at home - when the truth is, you’re not home for them. It’s hard to explain …..

There are various drawbacks to white lies: sometimes they lead to slippage into bad lies by blurring; sometimes people feel they have to confess them - mixing them up with bad lies - or they feel guilty - because it’s not the truth; sometimes you get caught in a white lie. “Uh oh!”

That’s a few comments about white lies. By their nature, they can be slippery, but ….

LET ME TALK ABOUT REAL LIES - THE BAD LIES

Bad lies are bad lies.

There are degrees to bad lies. We can use words like big lies and small lies - and lies that lie in between big and little. We also use the words in Catholic circles, “venial” and “mortal”.

Bad lies have consequences - like white lies at times.

In a courtroom - having put hand on the Bible - we could be guilty of perjury.

In a marriage - lies can end a marriage - when they are part of a big time deception.

Bad lies could be part of our pretending to be someone I’m not - and that can do soul damage.

Bad lies can be planting falsehoods out there about others -for various reasons -  and that can destroy community and relationships and the common good.

Agur - have you ever heard of him before - don’t lie - is the author of today’s first reading here in Chapter 30 of Proverbs. He prays not to be a deceiver. He prays to God that God help him, “[Lord], put falsehood and lying far from me.”

I once read a comment by the poet, Theodore Roethke, “O the lies I tell my energies….” He said that in an article about teaching English to students. He wrote, “I’m beginning to feel the mould creep over the lineaments of the soul. O the lies I’ve told to my own energies trying to convince myself I was teaching you something. Twenty times a day I asked myself: are you really worth it?” [2]

Don’t we all have self doubts at times - about faith and marriage and relationships and work and raising kids, etc. “What am I doing here?”

We can be lazy. Theodore Roethke’s comment about the lies we’ve told our energies often hits me. I say things, “Enough already. Hide. Take a break.”

That line led me to think that the first place to look at lies is in oneself. What are the lies I tell myself?  I do it about work and breaks. I do it about eating and health and exercise.

Is it easy to spot lies in political advertising - by all sides. As a result I can’t wait till November 7^th.

Didn't Hitler say, "The broad mass of a nation ... will more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one." [3] 

It’s easier to spot lies people get off about themselves compared to the ones we tell ourselves. What I'm saying here is that the key area is to spot the lies I  tell myself.

Don’t we often lie by repeating comments about others - making suggestions about others that are not true - or hearsay? We judge. We have biases. We have baggage. We often contradict ourselves. We do sloppy reporting.

We spend our lives blaming God and others for our disasters. We repeat our comments or comments we have heard without filtering them - or studying them - or finding out if they are true.

As I reflected on all this, the big message that hit me is that we all have to push our own “mute” button. We need to push our own “pause” button. We need quiet to “mind” and “mint” our words.

CONCLUSION

In pondering this, we might even ask, “Can I ever speak?”

In pondering this, we might end up saying what is said in the Talmud: “Teach they tongue to say, I do not know.”

In pondering this, we hopefully end up realizing that the key motive and simple goal is to love one another as Christ loved us - and he gave us a call to be in communion with one another.

OOOOOOOO

NOTES

Painting on top: "The Lie" by Johan Lowie, Oil on woodboard,32"H x 44"W.

[1] Cf. Sissela Bok, Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life, Pantheon, 1978; Cf. Dan Ariely, The [Honest] truth about Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone - Especially Ourselves, HarperCollins, 2012

[2] Cf. p, 242 in Allan Seager, The Glass House, The Life of Theodore Roethke, N.Y. McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1968. This appeared in the May issue of College English, in a piece by Ted entitled, “Last Class”. He is writing about Bennington. (This appeared in Botteghe Oscure, 1950 - Roma - an anthology of new italian writers/ Edited by Marguerite Caetani and selected from the pages of the review Botteghe Oscure.

[3] Adolf Hitler, Die breite Masse eines Volkes ... einer grossen Luge leichter zum Opfer fallt als einer kleine." Mein Kamf (My Struggle, 1925) Volumn 1, chapter 10.