Where is the truth?

04Oct

Who do you believe? What do you believe? Where are the margins today between acceptance and rejection, credibility and insincerity, reality and rubbish? Where is the plain truth? What has happened to certainty, legitimacy, integrity, fidelity and sincerity? 

Has the truth changed sides or just gone into hiding? As it turns out, no. The truth is always there, only in these uniquely daunting and disheartening times, maybe just a bit harder to uncover. Here are some places where I have returned to find the truth in words that – well – just never lie.

Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for the moment. - Proverbs 12:19

An honest witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies. - Proverbs 14:5

Don’t you just love Proverbs? These statements just cut right to the truth with such conviction, sureness and certainty. I know there are just particular people in life who I will accept always as honest and authentic, even as the larger world around me may seem filled increasingly with charlatans and pretenders. (And then there’s AI…)

Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! - Psalm 43:3

Sometimes the truth is plain hard to untangle or translate. The truth is in a complex place and hard to understand, much less begin to accept. I try to make sense of it, but nothing adds up. Then a light turns on and shines on some new revelation and possibility, and it all comes together. A timely Sunday sermon in Church. A comment by a student in class. A reassurance or a joke from an old friend. The laughter and smiling face or voice of a grandchild. That is God’s light and truth at work. 

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. - John 3:14

Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and truth. - John 3:18

I am a true believer in the circle of life, that unending wheel of birth, life and death –an idea that spans across numerous religions and philosophies. The circle is a universal symbol that embodies wholeness, totality, infinity and eternity. At its very center, the child understands only what is needed to survive, endure and thrive. There’s no requirement or time for anything else. If you seek the truth, talk to a young child!

There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known. - Luke 12:2

The truth always comes out. It may become revealed in a moment, or in history, but the truth will prevail eventually. And in that certainty, I find immeasurable solace and relief. 

Where is the truth? In the Bible, in family and friendships, in nature, in history, in tomorrow. 

“If we fix our eyes only on what is seen, what we will see is only temporary, but if we gaze upon what is unseen, we are looking upon what is eternal. “ (Corinthians)

Musical Reflection - Anthem - Paul Halley

Be praised, my Lord, for Sister Earth, our Mother, who nourishes us and sustains us, bringing forth fruits and vegetables of many kinds and flowers of many colours. Be praised, my Lord, for those who forgive for love of you; and for those who bear sickness and weakness in peace and patience - you will grant them a crown. Be praised, my Lord, for our Sister Death, whom we must all face. I praise and bless you, Lord, and I give thanks to you, and I will serve you in all humility. Amen.
- from Canticle of Creation, St. Francis of Asissi
Bible Study
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