Last Monday, the Meyer
family adopted a three-month old shelter puppy named Homer after the ancient
Greek poet-author of The Iliad and The Odyssey. Like Homer the poet, Homer, the puppy, is
blind. It’s been a fascinating week
watching Homer adapt to his new life and surroundings. To find his way, Homer relies on his acute senses
of hearing and smell, and he feels his way around obstacles with his paws. As amazingly independent as he is, Homer can quickly
become disoriented and frightened when the cacophony of new sounds and smells overwhelms
him. That’s when he needs us to help him
find his way. Like Homer, the puppy, all
of us need help finding our way every once in a while. Today’s readings teach us how.
Our readings this evening remind us that as disciples,
we’re called to be watchmen – to guard the truth, proclaim it and correct those
who stray from it. Being a watchman, we learn,
involves speaking the truth in love. But
to speak the truth in love, we have to know what the truth is in the first
place. “The ability to see the truth and
give witness to it is a gift from God and not something we have earned.”[1] It’s up to us, then, to receive that gift, open
it up and ground ourselves in God’s truth.
How do we do that? Our readings offer
three suggestions.
First, our Psalm calls us to “listen to the voice of
the Lord.” Disciples have to be able to
listen and live by God’s word. Where do we
find it? Let’s start with Scripture. The Bible, as we know, is the world’s
best-selling and most widely-distributed book, but how many of us have a Bible
and never crack it open? To understand
the truth, we need to immerse ourselves in Scripture. We need to dust off our Bible, read it, study
it, contemplate how God’s Word applies to our daily lives and listen to it.
We also find God’s Word in our conscience. Our conscience is our most secret core and
sanctuary where we’re alone with God whose voice echoes in our depths.[2] To hear God’s voice in our conscience, we
have to slow down, be present to ourselves and pay attention. We need a sense of interiority – all the more
so today as our busy lives often deny us opportunities for reflection,
self-examination or introspection. As Saint
Augustine reminds us, “Return to your conscience, question it . . .. Turn
inward . . ., and in everything you do, see God as your witness.”[3]
Harden not your hearts. Listen to God’s Word, and you’ll find the truth.
Another way to ground ourselves in the truth is to
turn to trusted advisers. Our Gospel
offers a road map for resolving disputes peaceably, telling us to turn to friends
and to the Church when disputes escalate and can’t be resolved. “Among their fellow people of God, aggrieved
parties had their best chance of sympathy; among people they trusted, they
could be vulnerable and open to correction.”[4] We all need trusted advisers, wise people we
can turn to when we can’t find our way.
We often seek out trusted advisers among our family, friends and
mentors, but we can’t forget the Church.
The Church, as the guardian of God’s Word, offers us millennia of
consistent reflection upon and interpretation of the truth. The Church is also our community of friends,
our companions on the journey to the truth, and as Homer, the poet, said, “A
companion’s words of persuasion are effective.”[5]
Lastly, we ground ourselves in the truth by grounding
ourselves in love. Saint Paul teaches us
in our second reading that “love is the fulfillment of the law.” When we love, we act the way God wants us to
act; we act in truth. “If love is the
motivation within the heart, if a person’s whole life is dominated by love for
God and love for other people, that person needs no other law.”[6] If you’re looking for a simple way to find
the truth, to find your way in the Odyssey of life, follow St. Paul’s advice: when in doubt, love.
When Homer, the puppy,
becomes overwhelmed and frightened, he spins around frantically in
circles. Unfortunately, I see this
reaction in a lot of people these days, particularly in our youth and young
adults. In a world where truth is viewed
as relative and human interactions are relegated to Snapchats and 148-character
Tweets, we’re losing touch with each other, with the truth, and with God. The result is a dramatic increase in anxiety
and depression among people under twenty-five[7]
because they’re spinning in circles. They
can’t find their way. When Homer, the
puppy, can’t find his way, we hold him, speak soft words to him and love
him. Through words, community and love, Homer
finds his way in this confusing and scary world. We can, too.
[1]
Jude Winkler, New St. Joseph’s Handbook
for Proclaimers of the Word, Liturgical Year A 2017 (New Jersey, Catholic
Book Publishing Corp., 2016) at 303.
[2]
Catechism of the Catholic Church at
1776.
[3]
Saint Augustine, In Evangelium Johannis
Tractatus, 8, 9.
[4]
Michael Simone, “The Power of the Church at Work,” America, vol. 217, no. 5 (September 4, 2017) at 52.
[5]
Homer, The Iliad, XI, I.793.
[6]
William Barclay, The Letter to the Romans
(Louisville, Westminster John Knox Press, 2002) at 208.
[7]
Dr. David Volpi, “Heavy Technology Use Linked to Fatigue, Stress and Depression
in Young Adults,” Huff Post, October
2, 2012, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-volpi-md-pc-facs/technology-depression_b_1723625.html.
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