Worldly Word

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary continue the exploration of the nature of truth. The Book of Acts tells of the departure of Paul from Ephesus. He expresses concern that savage wolves will spring up to try to distort the message he has presented to them. They may be led away from the truth by these arguments. The fear of heresy is still present in the Christian community. This fear exists in tension with change and recognition of diversity. The psalmist helps with a test for true belief. We should ignore those who seek tribute or who clamour for war. The Gospel of John links truth to the communion of Father, Son and humanity through the Holy Spirit. The “Word is become flesh” is the truth which is presented through the intimate relationship of our indwelling Spirit with the Divine. This relationship is not “of the world” and we therefore, in pursuit of Truth, are moving in a Transcendent realm. The petition of Jesus to the Father is that those in this relationship will not be lost and will be on the path to truth. This relationship will indentify the ‘savage wolves’ and the heresies as directions to which we are not drawn by the Spirit.