Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
In our house we just finished reading the Last Battle, the final book of the Chronicles of Narnia. Narnia is a magical land where many of the animals talk and it is ruled by just royalty. C. S. Lewis created this world to invite people to more deeply understand Christianity.
To understand Narnia one must know the Christ figure a lion named Aslan. Like Christ Aslan laid down his life for his people and rose again. In “The Last Battle” Aslan has been gone for a while, and when a fake one shows, up many believe he is the real thing. The trouble is the fake Aslan gives orders that are contrary to the true Aslan. When true believers realize and try to reveal the phony, a strange phenomenon occurs. Instead of digging deeper to understand the real truth, many just abandon everything they ever believed.
False prophets have always been with us. They come in many shapes and forms. Many false claims of truth are easy to discern. For instance, a carbonated beverage can make your life fun, or a diet drink can help you lose weight. But sometimes false claims of truth are difficult to recognize. This is why they are so unsettling when they are discovered, like a spy who gave away secrets. We get blindsided. Thus claims to preserve or protect truth sometimes veil darker realities and hidden agendas that stray from the real thing. Today’s scriptures then remind us to be alert for false prophets, for their motivations may be less than pure.
There are impure motivations and there are those that are poorly formed. When we do something because we have always done it this way is an example of a poorly formed motivation. Maybe we have forgotten why we do or believe something, we just know that’s what we are supposed to believe. Or perhaps we are nostalgic and like our way of doing things. When the truth comes, we face difficult choices. Either way, we must decide for ourselves and live with the consequences.
In Second Kings, the high priest discovers the book of law in the temple. The law is read aloud to the king. In hearing the law, the king is confronted by the truth and his reaction seems one of total conversion. The king immediately makes a covenant with the Lord, that he and all the people of Judah will revive the original terms of the covenant. What is our reaction when we are confronted by the truth?
Lord, Your truth is often hidden from the wise. Help us to discern the real truth and to change our life accordingly. We also lift up those who would lead us astray. Change their hearts and minds, so that like King Josiah, they will find real freedom in You alone. We ask this through Jesus the Christ, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life! Amen.
-Michael Montgomery