Word to the Wise
Friday, January 11, 2013 - Friday after Epiphany, or Jan. 11
[1 John 5:5-13 and Luke 5:12-16]The Spirit is the one who testifies, and the Spirit is truth. So there are three who testify, the Spirit, the water, and the Blood, and the three are of one accord. If we accept human testimony, the testimony of God is surely greater...
For many of us, I would suppose, the word "testimony" conjures up images of courtrooms or congressional hearings. An individual is called to "swear" and oath that what he or she is about to say will be "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God!" The last few words, "so help me God," may be disappearing from the formula nowadays, but it is essential to the person of faith who seeks to "give testimony" about the truth of what they believe! The Gospel and the Letters of John frequently speak of "testimony." The context is often a confrontational one, perhaps reflecting the religious climate of argument with those who would not or could not accept the preaching of the early community. In the scene in the Gospel of John between Jesus and Pilate, 18:37, Jesus says to Pilate: "For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth." Pilate's famous response, one that our culture today seems to repeat, is "What is truth?"
Pope Benedict XVI consistently bears witness to the confrontation between the truth of what we believe as Christians and the secular world which seeks to relativize anything that is lasting and makes demands on our moral choices. He should not have to stand alone in this. If we believe that the testimony of God is true, we should have no fear of the "human" testimony of the secular world. Often we will find that this secular testimony may reveal a hunger for the complete truth. There will be some confrontation, to be sure, but not always an unpleasant one! It will require that we know our faith and "speak the truth in love." This kind of testimony inspires belief "so help us God!" AMEN