Written by Paul Verderber…writing for Kelly Vardakas who was unavailable
John writes about Jesus in today’s Gospel as follows…. “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” This sure sounds reasonable and well thought out. It sounds like “How to get to Heaven” in only 25 words. It doesn’t say anything about the path being easy, however. This is a powerful few sentences, and I will focus on “truth and freedom” today.
This past Sunday, also from John’s Gospel, we heard of Jesus’ friend Lazarus being raised from the dead. Lazarus had followed the 25 words in my opening statement and was LITERALY set free. He was raised from the dead, and walked from his tomb after being dead for four days. That is freedom at its best, to be freed from death. But that was a long time ago, people say, so how does that apply to me?
We all have our own personal tombs, which are built by the sins we carry, how we live our lives, and the decisions we make. By following Jesus and our Church teachings, we too can be released from burial in our tombs, and move on to live another day, and to have a chance to live a more Christ-like life. We can walk right out from the darkness of our tombs, into the light, and see our friends and family. Jesus will be there waiting to greet us, even if it’s not as obvious as him literally standing next to Lazarus when he released him from his tomb.
The sacrament of Confession is the way to release ourselves from sins and gain freedom from them. By speaking the truth of our sins during a good confession, we are freed from them…forever. It is difficult to admit the truth sometimes, like in a confessional. The truth can hurt, but there are great benefits to living a truthful life, such as being released from that heavy burden of being deceitful or regaining our confidence in the Lord and his mercy.
I’m a fan of Martin Luther King Jr., and he famously used John’s words in this way…” I believe that freedom is the bonus you receive for telling the truth. Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free”.
Let’s go out and live the truth, and get the freedom that it affords…even if it’s difficult.
Remain Blessed.
[Readings: Dn 3: 14-20; 91-92, 95; Jn 8: 31-42]
