THE TRUTH

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “The Truth!”

“Truth" is a key word in today’s gospel from John for this feast of Christ the King.  So a sermon on truth.

My presentation will be smorgasbord. I’ll put on the table various things about truth. If one thought grabs you - chew on it - digest it - and see how it fits into your life. Obviously - some of these thoughts are already part of your life as well.

A FOUNDATION STONE

For starters, truth is necessary for life together. We trust that the labels on the meat and the jars and the fish are telling the truth - as to the date - the ingredients - and what you see is what you get.

Husbands and wives - as well as children - make comments to each other  - where they are and what they are doing. If that breaks down - if words are twisted - if lies are told - then marriage and family can fall apart.

Life is built on truth and on trust - in business, in family, in society. The person walks to the front of the courtroom - puts her or his hand on the Bible and says, “I promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.”

How good is our word - on the day of marriage - and all through a marriage - and a life together?

We’ve seen lies in the highest places - slippery words - perjury - on a regular basis - and when it hits the papers - and the TV news - when it becomes story - we realize down deep we are weakened as well. It also tells us that we expect the truth - other wise it wouldn’t be news.

So for starters, the truth is a foundation stone of society, family, life.

For starters, the truth is expected - and when the opposite is served us, we don’t like its taste.

GETS US ANGRY

I noticed in thinking about the truth - and in reading up on truth - for this homily, people at times say that the truth can get us angry or mad or sad.

I’m sure we all have heard the saying, “The truth will set us free, but first it will hurt.”

A Salada Tea Bag had on the tag, “The truth doesn’t hurt unless it ought to.”

The truth hurts when we have to face the music - or reality - or each other - and the music is off key. Sometimes we have to say, “I didn’t prepare.” or “I did it.” or “I’m broke.” or “I lied.” or “I’m stuck.” and/or  “I need help!”

Sometimes we haven’t budgeted our time or our money or our life well.

Sometimes those we hurt or lied to or left hanging or kept waiting get angry at us.

Communication calls for talking to each other - talking turkey - talking the  truth  to one another. So sometimes an angry conversation is necessary.

Arnold Glasow put it this way: “The truth will ouch.”

We need to say to each other up front, “Honesty is the best policy.” We need to say things like, “For the sake of transparency I’m not sure we’re going to make ends meet. I’m over my head. We’re spending too much money or time doing stupid things. Let’s be honest, we can’t fake this any longer.” This can be in big things as well as simple things, like the ability to say, “I think we’re lost.”  That can refer to while driving a car together - or while letting a marriage drift.

LYING TO OURSELVES

Sometimes the person we lie to the most is ourselves. I read a long time ago a tiny comment by some poet that said a lot. It might have been Ted Hughes. It went something like this, “Oh the lies I’ve told my energies.”  In other words, “I was lazy!” or “I was hiding!” or “I was being dishonest.”  Some people can hide out on their jobs for years.

We need to get angry at ourselves - feel the hurt we cause ourselves or others - and then get moving with the life talents and gifts we have to make life sweeter for each other. That’s the struggle. That’s the difficult part and it doesn’t get easy - if we’ve gotten into bad habits.

This flows into the issue of lying.

The best comment about not lying is that it calls for too much memory to lie - unless one is a very good liar. Eventually the truth happens.

In my first assignment as a priest, I was at Most Holy Redeemer Church on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, On Wednesday evenings, I used to work BINGO with a lady named Tessie. She once said to me: “Andrew! Wherever there is money, there is trouble.”  She worked in the money collection department for The New York Daily Mirror . Money - cash - coins and bills - came across all the desks in her division. She said on a regular basis a group of suits would come in - go up to a person at a desk - tap the person on their shoulder - whisper in their ear - and they would empty out their desk - never to be seen again.

The truth is often blurred - murdered - forgotten -  when it comes to money, sex, food, booze, drugs, use of time - living life in the state of sloppiness.

That’s why it’s good to look in the mirror daily - to look into our own eyes - and tell the truth to ourselves.

I am a diabetic. I don’t cheat on desserts - but I do with carbs. Bummer. But I’ve noticed diabetics talk to each other - and we notice each other cheating. Bummer. Liar. Liar. Liar.

ENOUGH ON THAT - SOMETHING ON JESUS AS THE TRUTH

That message on truth is relatively clear. We get that.

It’s the challenge to be honest, to be transparent, to tell the truth to ourselves and to each other - day by day.

Let me move onto some thoughts about Jesus as the Truth. To be perfectly honest this last part about Jesus Christ as Truth - is difficult to grab and grasp - to pronounce and proclaim.

Jesus in the Gospel of John says that he is the way, the truth and the life.

In this homily I’m concentrating on truth.

Let me put where I now want to go this way: I’m noticing people - including family members - who are drifting away from the Catholic faith.  I sense we’re going to be dealing with this issue more and more big time in the next few years. Translation: with a steeper decline than the present average decline. 

Lately, I have been hearing the words, “The New Evangelization!” I’ve been hearing that word “evangelization” for the past 35 years - starting with Pope Paul VI’s December 8^th, 1975 encyclical, Evangelii Nuntiandi - the call of all Catholics to spread the Gospel to all. I never thought the word “evangelization” was a grabber.

The grabber is: Jesus Christ.

The Gospel is: Jesus Christ.

The Godspell - or Good News is: Jesus Christ.

I want to scream out that Catholics are Christians and we base our life on the truth that Jesus is the reason for the season. Jesus is the reason for all the seasons of the year: winter, spring, summer, fall. Jesus is the reason for all the seasons of life: childhood, school years, teenage years, dating years, marriage or single years, middle age, retirement, what have you years.

Jesus - being in communion with him this Sunday - this moment - is the reason why we are here right now - in this church. We’re here to  be a we in communion with Jesus Christ.

Today we’re celebrating the feast of Christ the King.

I think the words “Christ as King” has a lot more grab than the word, “evangelization”.

Whatever words are used - I want the name of Jesus as our proclamation - as our scream - as our shout-out.

Jesus is our truth. Jesus is the one we follow. Jesus is the Shepherd, King, Rock, center, Foundation, reason, season, connection.

I love Martin Buber’s words, “I-Thou”.  They have energy. He said that we have a basic choice in life to treat each other in “I-It” or “I-Thou” relationships.

As I read the gospels, I see Jesus seeing and experiencing each person as a “Thou” and never as an “It”.

Jesus came to bring us into an “I-Thou” experience with God and with each other.

The call is to have a personal experience - a one to one relationship with Jesus  - an  I-Thou relationship with Jesus - who then brings us into communion with all people - as persons - not as a bunch of “its” or an impersonal crowd.

That's the truth I want to preach about.

So I don’t know how to put all this together - but I’ll keep working on it.

CATHOLICISM IS ABOUT JESUS - NOT THE POPE

Let me go this way: I once heard a priest talk about what happened to him when he went to Rome for further studies. It hit him when Catholics came to Rome they came to see the Pope. “Fine,” he thought. But in time it dawned on him that Catholics can sometimes put the pope in the center of their faith - then make him the center of their faith -  and Jesus Christ is put in the back seat or back burner or back stage or background.

The pope he realized is an office - and it’s his office, his job to do what John the Baptist did, point people to Jesus.

In the history of the Church there have been great popes and not so great popes, saints and sinner popes.

Whatever he is like, he is still the pope. He is still the chosen leader.

Now, let me try to make a point here. Popes and bishops, priests and police, mayors and presidents, are all in offices and jobs - with titles. Hopefully, they serve us. But we’re not here to serve them - or center on them. Of course, if they come to town, we'll be there to wave to them - as part of the crowd. 

However, we are not following the person in these positions. We're following Jesus Christ. 

All of us have positions. We’re working together in the positions and offices we’re in: mom, dad, mechanic, doctor, lawyer, accountant, priest, waiter, waitress - with the hopes and expectations of the job or role we’re in.

Christ is called today: King of Kings - but preachers will stress he’s the king on the donkey who comes to town to challenge and change the town - whether it’s Annapolis or Rome - to serve one another - to love one another - to reach out to each other. He is a king who washed feet and reached out to the unwashed and unnoticed.

Christ is called: the Suffering Servant - coming out of that rich term in the Jewish Scriptures. The Pope is called the servant of the servants of God.

When all of us serve, great.

Jesus did that, great. We follow him. We go about doing what he did: being on the level with each other.

When we follow Jesus, expect the cross - expect rejection - not for the sake of rejection - but because people know more is expected of them - and we shoot down those expectations - by shooting down the messenger.

Of course we make mistakes. We lie at times. We’re lazy at times. We don’t face or tell the truth at times. We fail at times. We are not God. Even the neatest person in the world has that bottom drawer with the junk and the mess. It might be in the bedroom or it might be in our soul. What I love about Jesus is that he knows us - and loves us the sinner and dines with us - eats with us - has communion with us.

CONCLUSION

Jesus comes into our life like he comes into Pilate’s life in today’s gospel - Jesus the Alpha and the Omega - the beginning and the end - as we heard in today’s second reading - and asks us about the truth of our life. If it’s great good. If it’s a mess or has messy closets - great. He’s here for us. Amen.