I'M NOT MUCH OF A DRINKER, BUT WHEN I DO DRINK...

....WE ENGLISH AGREE 

SETTLING THE UNSETTLED & UNSETTLING THE SETTLED

 

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free” is from the Gospel of John 8:32. “The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable” is often credited to U.S. President John A. Garfield (1831-1881), but he never said it. Others credit  Mark Twain (1835-1910). Still others credit Gestalt therapist Barry Stevens (1902-1985) in 1977.

Prophets are sometimes presented to us as people able to predict the future. In fact, they are more known for telling the truth to people who do not want to hear it, which is why they are often killed. Truth demands change, so it is often assiduously avoided by people who are quite satisfied with the status quo.

The Truth Will Set You Free - The Truth Can Settle the Unsettled

This part of the quote highlights the power of truth to liberate us. When we face the truth—whether about ourselves, others or situations—we are no longer trapped by lies, denial, or confusion. Truth can free us from self-deception, guilt, fear, or even toxic situations. It allows for personal growth and healing, which ultimately leads to freedom. Think of it as the freedom that comes from no longer hiding from reality. It’s empowering and brings clarity.

But First It Will Make You Miserable - The Truth Can Unsettle the Settled

The second part of the quote acknowledges that facing the truth can be incredibly painful at first. Because it demands change, it is not gentle and and thereby destabilizes the establishment and its institutions. It may force us to confront uncomfortable realities about ourselves or the world around us. For example, we may have to face mistakes we’ve made, the consequences of our actions, or difficult situations that we’ve been avoiding. The “misery” comes from the emotional discomfort of confronting these hard truths. It may involve feelings of regret, guilt, sadness, or disappointment.

However, this initial discomfort is seen as a necessary part of the process. In order to move forward and be truly free, we must go through the difficult experience of acknowledging what is true, no matter how painful it may be.

In essence, The quote speaks to the paradox of truth. While the truth is ultimately a source of liberation, it often requires us to go through discomfort, challenge, or hardship before we can fully embrace it. The “miserable” phase is temporary, and once we have processed the truth, we can experience emotional freedom and growth. It’s an empowering reminder that facing difficult truths is essential for long-term healing and freedom, even though the journey may be tough at first.

 

A BREAKDOWN BEFORE A BREAKTHROUGH

 

They have taken the Lord from the tomb and

we don’t know where they put him.

John 20:9

Obviously, none of Jesus’ friends expected him to rise from the dead. In fact, they all assumed the grave had been robbed and the body had been snatched. Once the news gets out that the body was missing, everybody in today’s gospel runs around like chickens with their heads cut off! The word “ran” is used three times in this one story. It sounds like a typical Easter Sunday morning at our small house when I was growing up in a family of eight - chaos as far as the eye could see! If you are here with a bunch of kids you got ready for church today, you know what I mean! 

Mary Magdalen got there first, not because she expected Jesus to rise and wanted to be there when it happened, but because she wanted to do what was traditional to do after the burial of a loved one. It was customary to visit the tomb of loved ones for three days after the body had been laid to rest. It was believed that for three days the spirit of the dead person hovered around the tomb, but then it departed because the body had become unrecognizable through decay in that hot climate. 

Jesus had died on Friday. By religious law, Mary Magdalen would not have been allowed to travel on Saturday, the Sabbath. That meant she had to wait till Sunday morning before she could make her first visit. She couldn’t wait till the sun came up so she got there before dawn. When she arrived at the tomb, she was shocked to find that the stone had been rolled back and the body was missing! She concluded that the grave had been robbed so she ran back to town and got Peter and John out of bed. All three ran back to the tomb together. John, being younger, outran Peter and got there first, with Peter soon following out of breath.  Before Mary Magdalen could catch up with them on her way back to the empty tomb, Peter and John ran past her on their way back to town to tell the others.

One by one, his disciples began to believe that Jesus had indeed been raised from the dead, beginning with John and ending with Thomas. From their mouths to others’ ears, from their mouths to others’ ears, from their mouths to others’ ears, this story has been passed down to us some 2,000 years later and here we are gathered today to celebrate what we have just heard in St. John's account of the resurrection!

Yes, this is the Easter story, but what does it mean and what does it have to do with us?

The point of Easter is not simply that life is sometimes troubling and difficult but that, by its very design, it needs to be troubling and difficult. This is because it is not ease but affliction that enables us to develop our very best. Those who grow the most are simply the ones who have weathered the most, endured the most, and struggled the most. Because such trials have been borne in the right spirit, they have been strengthened, enriched, and deepened the most by it. Think about any of the heroes and heroines of the faith, and one will always identify persons for whom hardship, sacrifice, and pain are no strangers. All breakthroughs are usually proceeded by a big breakdown. No pain, no gain! No cross, no crown! 

In short, we must view this death and resurrection not merely as just another historical event from the distant past, but as a life-giving way of living today. We are not here today to celebrate this death and resurrection as an event that just happened once in history, but death and resurrection as a way of living our lives today.

People in recovery programs understand death and resurrection as a way of life. People who have unilaterally forgiven their enemies understand death and resurrection as a way of life. Parents who have had to let go of their children and see them thrive, understand death and resurrection as a way of life. Anybody who has lost a job, only to find a better one understands death and resurrection as a way of life. Anyone who has lost a spouse, only to find another chance at love, understands death and resurrection as a way of life.

This Easter is special to me personally. Several times in the last 56 years of priesthood, I have gone from one of the worst years of priesthood to one of the best. The year I retired, I was in the pits. I knew I was in the pits, but I also knew in my guts that, if I would just hang in there, things would get better – and they did, in spades! It has happened at least three times just since I retired. For me, my breakdowns have always preceded the beginning of yet another amazing breakthrough! I am not that special! Whatever breakdown you are going through right now, with an Easter faith, could be a breakthrough for you as well! You can bet on it!

I always remember that engineer in Switzerland who designed a great tunnel between Switzerland and Austria. I have told the story often because it is so appropriate for today. He proposed they dig from both ends and meet in the middle, a risky method. When the day came when diggers were supposed to meet but didn’t, he killed himself thinking that he had made a great mistake. On the very day of his funeral, the workers broke through and the connection was perfect! He gave up one day too soon! An “Easter faith” means that you don’t give up, no matter how hopeless things seem to be at the moment.

In a nutshell, we are here to celebrate a way-of-living, not just an historic event! By embracing difficulty, we can overcome it. After a lifetime of embracing difficulties and overcoming them, we can finally embrace our own deaths knowing that there is eternal life on the other side of that!  Just as Jesus was raised, we who believe in him will also be raised - to live with him and each other forever!

 

 

 

 

 

CHURCH CHAT #22

 

WOLVES DISGUISED AS SHEEP - RELIGIOUS HYPOCRISY

Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again, he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders.

John 8 :1-11

Both readings from one day last week reminded me of a quote by the famous Blaise Paschal. He said, “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” What Paschal was saying is that religious people can sometimes be so hypocritical when they self-righteously take great pleasure in condemning the sins of others while being so blind to their own sins.

In the first reading, the story of Susannah in the Book of Daniel, lustful old men take delight in condemning an innocent woman, accusing her of doing something they actually planned to do. In the gospel, lustful old men take delight in condemning a guilty woman for something they have done or would like to do! In the gospels, Jesus was so compassionate to the weak, the poor and the misguided that people accused him of promoting sin and approving it. They said of him, “This man welcomes sinners and even eats with them!” One of the most powerful responses from Jesus was this one, “I did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.” It certainly applies to today’s story.

Jesus had this amazing ability to see goodness even in law-breakers and sinners and affirm that goodness. His critics could only see sins that needed to be condemned in the same people, while at the same time were disguising their own sins. This story reminds me of that old saying that “when you point a finger at someone else in condemnation, there are three fingers point back at you!” Jesus put it this way. "Don't focus on the speck in your brother's eye while ignoring the log in your own eye."

The details of the story are important and enlightening. Jesus was teaching in the temple area when, all of a sudden, the Scribes and the Pharisees dragged a poor woman they had caught “in the very act of adultery” and “made her stand in the middle.” That way they could humiliate her twice: once when she was caught “in the very act” and by making her “stand in the middle of the crowd.” They also wanted to embarrass and humiliate Jesus who had a reputation for “welcoming sinners” by quoting the Law that said “such women should be stoned to death!” You can imagine how proud of themselves the Scribes and Pharisees were for having caught a woman “in sin” as well as “something to accuse a popular rabbi of” who was dangerously lenient to sinners! They were almost salivating with delight at the clever situation they thought they had come up with! They thought they could condemn both the woman and Jesus at the same time!

At this point, without responding to them directly, Jesus does something quite interesting. He bends down and begins writing on the ground. When they continued to ask him whether he would follow the Law and agree that the woman should be stoned, Jesus stood up and said, “Let the one without sin be the one to cast the first stone,” and bent down to continue writing on the ground.” In response, the woman’s condemners “walked away, beginning with the oldest!” What did he write on the ground. Many commentators believe he was listing their sins in the dirt for the crowd to read! The story ends by Jesus saying to her, “neither do I condemn you,” “go and do not commit this sin again!” By saying that, he told her that he loved her and that because of his love, which was unconditional love, she no longer needed to “look for love in all the wrong places” as the old country song puts it!

What should we learn from this story? Simply this! “Don't focus on the speck in your brother's eye while ignoring the log in your own eye."

IT'S TOO DANGEROUS TO HOLD GRUDGES

At the beginning of Lent, I offered a blog post entitled The Best Lenten Resolution Ever built around the quote below from Pope Leo the Great (440 AD - 461 AD). 

“Now let godly minds boldly accustom themselves to forgive faults, to pass over insults, and to forget wrongs. Let all discords and enmities be laid aside, and let no one think to have a share in the Paschal feast that has neglected to restore brotherly peace.”

When pre-Easter Sacrament of Reconciliation Services are being offered in many parishes, I would like to expand on the idea and necessity of reconciliations as we are about to celebrate Easter by offering my readers a recent homily for their consideration.  

“Forgive and you will be forgiven. The measure you measure with, will be measured back to you.”

Luke 6:36-38 

One of the most dangerous prayers we can ever say is the Lord’s Prayer, especially the part where we pray: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

When it comes to forgiveness, I always remember that scene where Saint Peter asked Jesus how many times he ought to forgive.  Like Charlie Brown himself, good old Saint Peter craved affirmation. Like a needy little puppy looking for a pat on the head, Saint Peter was always on the lookout for ways to impress Jesus. No matter how hard he tried, he seemed to keep missing the mark over and over again. You have to love this big lug with a soft heart!

The stories of Saint Peter embarrassing himself are numerous, but that one is typical.  Jesus had just told his disciples that they must forgive one another.  When Jesus finishes speaking, imagining that another chance to impress Jesus has presented itself, good old Saint Peter springs into action. Peter knows well that the rabbis had always taught that people needed to forgive three times. Peter gets out his little adding machine and multiplies three by two and adds one for good measure. Then he asks his question and answers himself at the same time. “How many times must we forgive? Seven times?” He obviously expected Jesus to say, “Wow, Peter, how generous you are! You are better than the best! Seven times is beyond the call of duty!” You can almost see his big eager grin melt when Jesus told him to forgive, not seven times, but seventy times seven times - that is, in the common parlance of those days, forgiving without counting the times.

The biggest mistake people make when it comes to forgiveness is thinking forgiveness is for the benefit of the offending party. Forgiveness of others is actually a gift we give ourselves. Grudges consume vast amounts of time and energy: the incessant mental energy of rehearsing it over and over in our minds, the constant retelling of it to anyone who will listen, the regular bad feelings it keeps generating. While we are doing all this to ourselves, the offending person is probably unaware of the punishment we are inflicting on ourselves. As the comedian Buddy Hackett put it, “Don’t carry a grudge. While you are carrying the grudge, the other guy’s out dancing.”

“In the long run, it’s not a question of whether they deserve to be forgiven. You’re not forgiving them for their sake. You’re doing it for your sake. For your own health and well-being, forgiveness is simply the most energy-efficient option. You can muster that heart power to forgive them as a way of looking out for yourself. Forgiveness releases you from the punishment of a self-made prison where you are both the inmate and the jailer. Forgiveness releases you from the incredibly toxic, debilitating drain of holding a grudge. “Don’t let these people live rent free in your head. If they hurt you before, why let them keep doing it year after year in your mind.” (Doc Childre and Howard Martin) Forgiving, even seventy times seven times, is a favor you do for yourself. Forgiveness is one way to keep rotting garbage from piling up in your mind and heart.

The second reason to forgive is also selfish – so that God will forgive you! The Book of Sirach lays it out quite clearly. “Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven. Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the Lord?” Jesus put it this way today: “Forgive and you will be forgiven. The measure you measure with, will be measured back to you.” Holding a grudge is a dangerous, as well as a self-defeating, thing to do! 

Grudges are like cancers. They need to be stopped, cut out and removed before they kill us, emotionally and spiritually. As the Book of Sirach says, “wrath and anger are abominations yet a sinner holds them tight” in an insane need to be right. The need to be right is very expensive. You can be right and still let go. Life feeds back truth to people in its own way and time. What goes around, comes around. 

How many grudges are you carrying around in your mind and heart? Who do you refuse to forgive? Isn’t today a good time to cut yourself free, emotionally and spiritually? It may be the biggest step toward self-care you’ll ever take!