Today's readings [display_podcast]
There are two kinds of communication that are spoken of in today’s Gospel. The first is rumor, and the second is truth. The rumor in the Gospel came about as a result of a misinterpretation of the private conversation that Jesus and John were having. Jesus tells Peter basically that it’s none of his business what Jesus wanted for John; Peter’s business is to follow Jesus. But then even that got misinterpreted and a rumor started spreading that John would not die before Jesus returned. What a tangled web rumor can weave, can’t it?
But the second kind of communication is truth. And while it often might seem that truth is in short supply, John says that there’s more than enough to go around. If every bit of truth that Jesus said or gave witness to were written down, the world wouldn’t be able to contain the books to hold it. So we have to be the people to choose truth over rumor. There’s plenty of truth to tell, plenty of good news to share, plenty of gospel to which to bear witness. There’s so much truth out there, that even Paul’s prison couldn’t keep him from proclaiming it.
Blessed are those who proclaim the truth. As the Psalmist says of them, “The just will gaze on your face, O Lord.”