There are a lot of experts out there. And those experts will be happy to give you their opinion. Really, there is no shortage of places these days from which you can get information. Television, print media, and especially the internet – God knows what we did before the days of Google! – all of these will gladly disgorge information on just about any topic, and so the days of searching high and low for information are pretty much long gone.
But one has to wonder about the quality of the information that we get. Just because it’s on the internet doesn’t make it true! We know that. And ask any teacher and they will probably tell you that they are sick of students quoting Wikipedia and their lot. Even if a site isn’t intentionally giving poor information, there’s almost no way to verify what they’re telling you, unless they have provided proper sources or footnoted their claims.
And the same is certainly true for those who would give us opinions on religion. I can hardly count the number of religious opinions I have been given that began with the words “In my opinion…” or “I think…” If you hear someone start a comment on religion or morality with those words, you have my permission to stop listening to them, because quite frankly, it’s very likely going to be a waste of your time. When it comes to matters of faith and morals, one’s opinions don’t really matter; what is important is what is truth.
In today’s Gospel, the people are astonished at what Jesus was teaching them. They couldn’t believe their ears. And what is striking about that is that they are astonished because Jesus was obviously preaching with authority, “and not as the scribes.” That’s a pretty sad condemnation of the scribes of the day, because the scribes were charged with copying the Scriptures and making sure the faith was taught to all people. If they couldn’t be trusted to speak the truth, well then, who could?
What is astonishing for them is that they finally found the One they could trust: the One who spoke with authority. Jesus didn’t give them some lame opinion or say “I think…” No, he gave them revealed truth, revealed in his words, and in his miracles, and ultimately in his sacrifice. The religious leaders of his day might not like what he was saying to them, but they certainly could not refute the Truth he preached.
And that Truth wasn’t just for that one time and place. That Truth is authoritative today. Against the widespread opinion that one can be “spiritual but not religious” – whatever that means; against those who think that human life is expendable, or that it can be manufactured for research, or that it can be regulated by government mandate; against those who think that matters of conscience and freedom of religion don’t matter when they become inconvenient; against those who think that any religion is just as good as another, or that religion should never tell people what is right and wrong – against all these lies, Jesus’ Truth stands eternal.
Today, our Candidates for Full Communion with the Church have joined us and we have welcomed them. We are one in Baptism, because our Creed proclaims one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. But they wish to draw nearer to Christ and to be one with us in the Eucharist, to be Confirmed in our faith. They will receive these sacraments soon, and today we pledge to journey with them. Together, we embrace the Truth our Christ reveals and we proclaim the truths that make us one Body, one Spirit in Christ.
Our Psalmist today reminds us that if today we hear God’s voice, we should not ever harden our hearts. As we continue our worship today, may we renew our commitment to seek the voice of God in every moment, embracing the Truth that is revealed to us. And may we be a people who open our hearts to that truth, and eagerly live it and proclaim it by the way we live our lives.