The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Lectionary: 161​

His dominion is an everlasting dominion

that shall not be taken away,

his kingship shall not be destroyed.

"I don't believe that God made the world in seven days!" the eighth grader boldly declared to his pastor from his seat in the classroom. 

How do you explain "the interpretation of scripture" to middle schoolers, a concept hotly debated and studied intensely? Should I introduce them to Divino Afflante Spiritu the encyclical by Pope Pius XII, issued in 1943? Or "The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church" (Presented by the Pontifical Biblical Commission to Pope John Paul II on April 23, 1993.) Two excellent resources but not gauged for middle school. 

But this predicament in which a classroom of Catholic students and I found ourselves represents precisely the problem of faith in our time. 

The boy has already been taught to believe that facts are true and reliable. Truth, to answer Pontius Pilate's question, is all the facts compiled, integrated into systems and working theories, comprehended by the cognoscenti, available to the masses, and technologically applicable. "Scientists" have cornered the market on what is known and scoff at any knowledge that cannot be defined, enumerated, contained and utilized.

That the Universe with its majestic complexity appeared out of the Big Bang is a useful fact with innumerable applications. That God made it in seven days is a story for children and people who don't pester the priest with hard questions. 

How do I explain to the class that facts are not all they're made out to be. "There are facts and there are facts." The facts that the tobacco industry tells us are not the same as the NIH (National Institutes of Health). Both have their own ax to grind, a particular slant on knowledge which they would have us believe. Neither are apt to explain in any detail where their facts were forged but they want us to accept their teachings on faith. 

Perhaps, as the boy continues to ask hard questions, he will become more skeptical of all human institutions, from the Church to the government to the entertainment industry to the counter-culture, and set out in pursuit of Truth. 

Jesus did not answer Pilate's question, but he did declare to the Apostle Thomas, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." 

The Truth is that which binds us together, giving our marriages, families, churches, and friendships substance, as in consubstantial and transubstantiation. It is not a fact, nor a set of facts. 

Some people say they believe in God, but their statement is no more than a polite way of avoiding the real question, "Do you trust God?" They "believe" in the sun, the moon and stars, too; and that there is a nation called China though they've never been there.

The truth can be hard to reveal. When a six year old child asks her mother why she is staying at the VA hospital, can the woman explain her addiction to methamphetamine and heroin? She must tell her the truth; the child deserves that; but it won't come in the same words she tells her brother or mother. Nor does it help to say, "You'll understand someday." The child needs to know the truth, the fundamental truth, that her mother loves her very much and is also aching to be with her. 

Pontius Pilate did not deserve to know the Truth about Jesus. His truth was power, naked aggression, enforced with violence and dressed in legalese. When his truth evaporated, he would vanish. 
As we celebrate the Solemnity of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, we pray that we might know, love and serve the Truth with all our hearts, souls, mind and strength. I just hope my sixth-grade friend meets that Truth before he starts smoking.