The words of deceit and not

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary bring to mind the continuous battle between good and evil and between deceit and truth. The award winning movie "Of Gods and Men" (English title) portrays the decision of a group of Christian monks to remain in service of the Muslim village near their monastery in spite of acts from terrorists who claim to know the Koran yet practice none of the principles of love, peace and truth which are identified with those in relationship with the Divine. In the Gospel of John, Jesus calls Nathanael, who is pronounced as being without deceit. This gift to someone must certainly bring both peace and torment to his being. The ability to lie to self about what we experience does provide some false relief from the need to stand up and be counted. The text of Revelation today and the praise of the psalmist proclaim the power of the Truth in the Word of God against evil. The strength to persist in living the Truth, as witnessed by the French monks, and proclaimed in the psalm come when "On the day I called, you answered me, you increased my strength of soul. " (Psalms 138).