Is there a negative truth in your life that you are still hiding? What’s keeping you from letting it out? - Daily Reflections August 27,2013

ACCEPT THE TRUTH TO CHANGE

 

We continue the Gospel yesterday. Jesus now delivers the next two “woes”against the teachers and the Pharisees. Here, He points out their stress on the material (offerings of mint, anise and cummin seeds) than the spiritual (justice, mercy and faith); on what is deceptively good (offers out of crimes) than the truly and essentially good. The teachers and Pharisees must have felt threatened by the truth that Jesus was revealing. It was a moment of decision for them.

       Yes, that had always been the case with Jesus. There is no middle ground. You either leave your evil ways or be continuously hounded by His Spirit. Desperate moves would only worsen things. As what happened,  they plotted Jesus’ death. Rather than admit their iniquities, they elected to hide them and tried to eliminate their accuser. But they were mistaken. The truth continues to prevail and will continue to destroy its enemies. The Marcos-Ninoy issue comes to mind. Ninoy Aquino was a very staunch critic of Marcos. In the process, he was killed on the airport tarmac, which now bears his name. The rest is history. The message is clear: You cannot silence the truth by killing its spokesperson.

       Accept the truth! That has always been Jesus’ challenge and offer to the Pharisees and to the Jewish people. Pilate must have known it, or was completely ignorant of it, when he himself did not get an answer when he asked Jesus about what is truth. Jesus was the Truth staring him in his face. Pilate, not knowing what to do, washed his hands, and gave Jesus into the hands of the Pharisees. Later, Pilate will reveal his understanding of Jesus by putting atop Jesus’ head on the cross, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” And no one could influence him to remove that truth.

       Change for the truth! Peter, Magdalene, Zacchaeus, Matthew, Paul and all others who had once offended the Lord accepted Jesus and changed. The Pharisees were given all the chances to do so. They still could. Nicodemus did. We still can. Will we? May I ask right now, “Did we?” Fr. Benny Tuazon

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Is there a negative truth in your life that you are still hiding? What’s keeping you from letting it out?

 

Jesus, You showed us how the truth can change a person. Help me to always cling to Your truth, no matter what.