Gospel Reflection 2021/2022

Jesus before Pontius Pilate. [cf. Jn 18: 33: 38]

When Pilate approached Jesus and questioned Him whether He was a king, Jesus did not deny but declared that:

“It is you who say that I am a king.

I was born for this,

I came into the world for this, to bear witness to the Truth;

and all who are on the side of Truth listen to My voice.

In reply, Pilate asked, …

“Truth? What is that?” [Jn 18: 38]

In his General Audience on 25 May 2022, Pope Francis warns that, “Amid scientific progress, wisdom is stalled.”

Pope Francis further explains that, “It is no coincidence that ours is the age of fake news, collective superstitions and pseudo-scientific truths. It’s curious: in this culture of knowledge, of knowing everything, even of the precision of knowledge, a lot of witchcraft has spread, but cultured witchcraft.”

Indeed, living in a post-truth world is akin to trying to stay afloat in the middle of a sea of information and misinformation – every single day, we find ourselves being bombarded and overwhelmed by tonnes of untruths, half-truths, and even fabricated and distorted truths. Eventually, we become exhausted and indifferent to the objective truth, lose our energy for objective truth, and give up the search for objective truth. This is the ‘cultured witchcraft’ of our age that Pope Francis is warning us about: the rejection of the objective truth; and the rise of fake news, collective superstitions and pseudo-scientific truths!

Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. [Jn 14: 6]

In John Chapter 14, Jesus declared, “I AM THE TRUTH.” He did not say, “I will show you the Truth,” because He is the living personification of Truth [Jn 14: 6]: the source and summit of the Ultimate Truth.

Since our Lord Jesus is Truth personified, our Christian faith is founded on Truth, built upon Truth and fortified with Truth. As the faithful followers of Jesus, we are called to be the disciples of this Truth: we are to constantly know Him, embrace Him, love Him and proclaim Him.

The Eighth Commandment “Thou shalt not bear false witness” is the summary of this belief: it is an injunction against lying (from small white lies to serious perjuries), gossips without basis, character assassinations, as well as all forms of dishonesties, hypocrisies, deceits and falsehoods. Since our Lord Jesus is Truth personified, the creation and spread of rumours, misinformation, untruths, half-truths, fabricated and distorted truths are brutal attacks on Jesus Himself.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth.

In Jesus’ name, the Father sends the Holy Spirit, Who will lead us into all the Truth [Jn 16: 13].

✝️ “The Holy Spirit is the Soul of the Church. He gives life, He brings forth different charisms which enrich and empower the people of God and, above all, He creates unity (communion) among believers: from the many He makes one body, the Body of Christ.” [Pope Francis] And under the powerful guidance of the Holy Spirit, ‘the Household of God, the Church of the living God, is the pillar and bulwark of the Truth’ [1 Tm 3: 15].

✝️ At the personal level, the Holy Spirit dwells in the deep recesses of our hearts and makes us receptive to God and aware of God’s abiding presence in our daily lives. He helps us to be constant in prayer, firm in faith, unwavering in hope and active in love. In the light of the Gospel of Jesus and guided by the Holy Spirit, we will have the clarity of mind and calmness of heart to navigate – as one Church – through the treacherous sea of truths, untruths, half-truths, fabricated truths and distorted truths to arrive safely at Jesus the Ultimate Truth.

Truth matters.

Pilate set his own eyes on Jesus the Truth, yet his mind could not perceive Him. Pilate heard with his own ears the words from Jesus the Truth, yet his heart could not comprehend Him.

For us Catholics, Truth matters because:

✝️ Jesus is Truth personified.

✝️ The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth.

✝️ The Church is the pillar and bulwark of the Truth.

✝️ We are called to be the disciples of Truth.

Pope Francis has shown us what it means to be a courageous disciple of Jesus: to stand up, show up and speak up for the Truth. He has consistently criticised and condemned the Russian aggression in Ukraine, calling it an assault on humanity.

✝️ Pope Francis has not once but continuously called for an end to the Russian invasion [Vatican News | 27 Feb 2022], “Silence all weapons. Those who wage war forget humanity!” and he reminds the world that, “God is with the peacemakers, not with those who use violence!”

✝️ During a video conference call on 16 Mar 2022 [Herald Malaysia | 5 May 2022], Patriarch Kirill of Moscow was reading from a piece of paper all the reasons to justify the Russian invasion. To that, Pope Francis told Patriarch Kirill:

"I don’t understand any of this.

Brother, we are not state clerics, we shouldn’t speak the language of politics, but rather the language of Jesus. We are shepherds of the same holy flock of God.

For this reason, we must look for a path to peace, we must stop the fighting. A patriarch can’t lower himself to become Putin’s altar boy."

The Holy Spirit and the Church.

On Pentecost Sunday, we are also celebrating the Birthday of the Catholic Church. With the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Church was born; and this same Spirit will guide the Church into all the Truth [Jn 16: 13].

By the power of the same Spirit, may we be always consecrated to Jesus the Truth personified: to always seek to know Him, embrace Him, love Him and proclaim Him.

Let our fervent prayer be:

“Come, Holy Spirit. Lead me to Jesus.”

Let us also pray with and pray for Ukraine that:

“The weapons of war be silenced, the evil of the aggressors be stopped, and those who hold the fate of the world in their hands may spare us from the horror and madness of war.”