What wonderful teachings Jesus presents to us today on this Solemn Feast of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Jesus assures us: telling the truth & testifying to the truth is a major reason Jesus came into the world, He underscores his message: Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." WOW! We know in faith that Jesus IS the truth-teller of God our Creator’s Love.
But our world, and yes, some members of our beloved United States of America, over the last six decades, have been telling us untruths in the public forum FOR ALL to hear. For example: there are still people each night, talking about photos & videotapes of the events that occurred on January 6 of this year in Washington, DC: some are calling it an attack, an insurrection, while others are calling it a protest of citizens. Jesus Christ knows the truth! Some citizens are still contesting the validity of last Presidential election, while the courts and some others say the counting’s done. Jesus Christ knows the truth!
Years back, we had a president who swore on national TV he had no marital relations with a certain woman, even as the woman was reciting her story that she & the president did so! But Jesus knows the truth! And even earlier, back in the 20th century, we had a president who was behind a conspiracy, featuring a break-in at Washington’s Watergate Hotel, while before and after he told us on television repeatedly: “I am not a crook!” There was SO much pressure flowing from the truth that he resigned the presidency but Jesus knows the truth! AND this year, in the truth crossfires between our former governor and the women who worked for him, the allegations & the pressure became so great that our governor recently resigned. And Jesus knows the truth of those situations!
All of this is to say that unless we are hearing the truth of Christ Jesus, we are less likely to know and tell the truth! For the only one telling the WHOLE truth all the time to everyone is our Savior & King, Jesus Christ. But that means that those who are NOT alive in the HS canNOT share Christ’s message, no matter how they insist in calling a certain truth “your truth” or “ “my truth, “an alternate truth” or an teeny-meanie Tuesday in July truth, there’s a HIGH chance that the message coming from a corrupted messenger can’t tell the kind of truth that has wholeness in it, the truth that honors the works of mercy in our Scriptures and our seven sacraments, the truth of who WE are and who Jesus Christ is, and our proper relationship together.
I saw a beautiful art installation in NYC last week: this production included portraits of the pictures on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. One of the good things for us viewers is that we didn’t have to suffer from neck strain, looking up at the ceiling: all these artworks were on the ground or slightly above it. One picture stays with me even now: in beautiful color, God was separating light from darkness and creating the world. In an instant, it registered SO clearly in my brain: I am NOT the Creator, Redeemer or Sanctifier of the Blessed Trinity. I, and all of us, am BLESSED creations, God’s works of art, missioned for service throughout the universe.
When we enter a chapel or church, we are crossing a threshold from one world to another. Inside, we say, “Jesus X is King of Kings, & Lord of Lords,” in the presence of many faith believers. Jesus is our all-the-time Savior. And it is from here that we must carry the truth of Christ’s message: into the world of competing voices, which at times endangers us with half-truths and outright lies. For the final truth, the reconciling truth, the cleansing and redeeming truth is available from Jesus Christ. Today, we finish our church year: next week, we begin the season of Holy Advent. With God’s grace, we will be given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity 2grow more deeply into the heart of God through Jesus, in this pre-Christmas season. Let us ask Jesus to help us to CHOOSE the reliable truth of ALL truths: for the other truths are of no lasting value. Christ promises us what no one else promises us: a Kingdom seat, with Him in glory: praised be Jesus Christ.