Truth or Consequences

Saturday of the 17^th Week in Ordinary Time

Jeremiah 26:11-16, 24; Matthew 14:1-12

Long ago, in a parish far, far away, I attended a meeting between some parishioners and our pastor. I don’t recall the circumstances, but there was some dispute between him and them. During the meeting, Father said, “I’m sorry you don’t like what I had to say, but first, stop and ask yourself if what I said is true. Maybe I could have said it more nicely, but the real question is: Even though you don’t like it, is it the truth?”

I thought about that while reading today’s Scriptures. The prophet’s job was not to be nice, but to speak the truth to whomever God wanted, whether they wanted to hear it or not. Sometimes it was soft and comforting; others, hard and unsettling. Either way, it wasn’t the prophet’s word, it was God’s – the plain, unvarnished truth – and meant to be taken as such.

As the readings show, the stakes for the prophet were the highest possible – his life – and that depended on the reaction of his judges. Jeremiah was spared because the people took their time and debated his case in light of previous prophets. John was not so lucky; his judge was Herod. As Matthew depicted him, we see how ignorance, lust for power, and pride blinded him to justice.

First, he tells us that Herod knew nothing about Jesus and didn’t care to learn. We know many things about him, but are we ever tempted to think we’ve learned enough, or to avoid learning things that challenge us to change our life? Remember, one of the spiritual works of mercy is to instruct the ignorant, and that includes ourselves; we are obliged to learn whatever we can about the faith, for Christ has entrusted it to us to live and bring to the world. How can we do that if we don’t know it?

Second, Matthew says that Herod feared not John but the people. As a tetrarch (“fourth-of-a-king”), he had little power compared to real kings like his father, and was desperate to hold onto what little he had. As for us, what are we desperate to hold onto? Maybe we’ve given everything to Christ except that one little thing, that one part of us, we dearly want to keep for ourselves. Committing to Christ means letting go of our desire for control and submitting entirely to him, as he committed himself entirely to us.

Third, human pride. Herod may have felt some distress at the idea of killing John, but that didn’t outweigh the distress of losing face to his guests. We haven’t killed people to preserve our pride, but maybe we have hurt someone’s reputation to save our own, or wounded others who have injured our pride. What can counteract this but the humility of Christ, who came to serve and not be served?

The readings today are a call to look for any trace of these warning signs lurking within us when our Lord challenges us to listen and respond to his Word. It is a daily battle, so let us pray for the strength to continue learning as much as we can about Christ and his Church, to let go of every attachment that keeps us from giving ourselves totally to him, and for the humility, not only to see the truth about ourselves, but to love it, for truth isn’t a thing, it’s a person – Jesus Christ.

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