Tuesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
One of my favorite things about being Catholic is the sense of timelessness it gives me. As a member of this church, I feel closely connected to thousands of years of salvation history, and all the human sinfulness that comes along with it. The tendency of humanity to make up fake information and package it in a way that is believable to many is, unfortunately, not new. In Paul’s time, people were making up some crazy ideas about the end times, and trying to pass these ideas off as truth. It continues today; the medium has changed, but the goal is the same. Considering the truth that the Church teaches, it can be difficult for people to discern between what is actually true, and what a wack-job with a facebook or twitter account spouts off without any authority or credential whatsoever. Thankfully, this situation and those like it have been a part of our history for thousands of years, along with the remedy.
Paul first warns of the effects of these fake sources, and it sounds a lot like the clickbait that’s all over social media and search engines today: “We ask you… not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed…” Bad news sells. News that makes you angry sells. Information that packages itself as special, unique, and limited to a few ‘smart’ people is often over-blown and contains an ulterior motive. We do not need to be swayed by it, either to the left or the right. Our hope is in Jesus, not the politics of the day. It is in Him that we stand firm.
We in the Catholic Church are blessed with a structure for knowing the difference between religious truth and the fake ‘good news’ that is too often for sale. There are those to the left and the right, ultra-conservative and ultra-progressive who wish to claim they hold the truth about Jesus’s and the Church’s teaching. As Paul has said, do not be swayed or upset by them! Instead, hold fast to what you learn not from an un-verified source, but from legitimate ministers of the church. We have real people in our parish who are particularly empowered as ministers by our pastor and bishop to teach the truth. When we come across something reminiscent of St. Paul’s warning, the best action is to talk with them about it. This structure of authoritative teaching is verifiable up through our bishop to the pope, and across time back to Jesus Christ. By talking with our local ministers and Pastor, we are seeking truth in the context of a real, charitable relationship instead of a sterile internet search or book. This love and encouragement will strengthen us for every good word and deed. May we approach all the information available today with humility, seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit present in our hearts and the ministerial presence God gives to us through our parish. Amen!
-Chris Nieport