Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Lectionary: 125

He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls. Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.

Among the many epidemics and several pandemics that sweep the earth today is the conviction that there is no truth. Our minds are continually assailed by someone trying to sell us something, whether it be toothpaste or totalitarianism. Desperate to survive in the competitive marketplaces of products and ideas, merchants cannot be bothered with a straightforward account of their products' advantages and disadvantages. To cover their moral backsides they simply declare, "Caveat emptor." (Let the buyer beware.)  Nor do consumers much care whether they're buying trash or treasure; they prefer convenience and savings over salvation. 

The philosopher Nietzsche foresaw this kind of world. He believed in power. If truth exists, it is not important. Neither to him nor to those who follow him. "Might makes right." And those clever enough to survive will amass power even as they avoid its savage ruthlessness. 

Ancient Roman politicians would have recognized Nietzsche's teaching; they ascended to positions of unchallenged authority or suffered beheading. The great orator Cicero managed to destroy his nemesis Cataline before he was murdered by Marc Antony. They took their politics seriously in those days; there were no second acts. 

Today's gospel can only be familiar to us today, as people argue through op eds, blogs, and social media. In the heat of an argument, no one cares about discovering the truth, their goal is to overcome opposition. When reason fails there are innumerable strategies to victory. We might wonder these twenty centuries later why Pharisees would quibble over the "purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds," but they would wonder why anyone would hesitate to accept immunity from a virulent epidemic. In their saner moments, they might agree that "winning isn't the most important thing; it's the only thing." 

Catholics love the truth regardless of winning; especially as the Truth lives among us: 

And the Word became flesh

and made his dwelling among us,

and we saw his glory,

the glory as of the Father’s only Son,

full of grace and truth.

 

Because we believe in the truth we have less need to argue about it. We understand how people lose contact with the truth, and how they must pursue the false idols of power, winning, and success. We understand their fear of loss, failure, and death. 

We understand because our eyes are fixed on Someone who is beautiful, and worthy of our devotion. Jesus, the Son of Mary, has overpowered power by renouncing it. When it destroyed him he came back to invite us to go with him. He showed us that, although death is certainly real, frightening, and unavoidable, it has no power over him or his people. 

Abiding in this world, Catholics retain our sense of humor amid this world's controversies. It doesn't really matter who wins or who is right, for there is only one Truth and he has the whole world in his hands.