Saturday, January 28, 2023

"They will speak no lies" - Homily for the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2023

 

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time – “They will speak no lies”

 

The prophet Zephaniah in our first reading, speaking on behalf of God, says: “But I will leave as a remnant a people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD: and this remnant shall speak no lies”

 

Our American society rests on the idea that there is “truth” that does not change based on the culture or circumstances.  Every person who testifies in court promises to “tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

 

In order for America to flourish, we need to return to believing in a Truth that does not change based on the culture, and a Truth that does not change based on circumstances. 

 

At a sidebar to the trial of Jesus, Jesus claims to be the truth, and Pontius Pilate asks in a scoffing way “what is truth?”  And there really is no middle ground, either there is Truth that transcends cultures and circumstances, or there isn’t.

 

Our schools, our universities and the media feed all of us a lot of lies. May we have the courage to point out to others the lies that are being pushed on all of us.

 

Again, our first reading promises that there will be a remnant who will not tell lies.  Let us all be that remnant who commit to saying only true things, and not speaking anything, nor teaching anything that is a lie.


No comments:

Post a Comment