God desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of truth. We hear this beautiful sentiment in today’s Second Reading from St. Paul’s First Letter to Timothy. God desires my salvation more than I do. God desires me to come to the knowledge of truth even more than I do. From St. Paul’s perspective our salvation is closely tied to our coming to the knowledge of truth.
I am reminded of Jesus’ conversation with Pontius Pilate. Pilate interrogates Jesus about the accusation the Jews were making against him; namely, that he was “the King of the Jews”. Pilate asks Our Lord, “So you are a king?” and Jesus replies, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” At this, Pilate retorts, somewhat gloomily, “What is truth?”
This question is particularly relevant for our day. We live in a world of self-creation. People feel empowered to decide for themselves not only what is true but also which of those truths they choose to live by. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI called this sad error of modern man, “the dictatorship of relativism.”
The question then arises: Are all ‘truths’ the same? Do all ‘truths’ have equal weight and value? Will all ‘truths’ bring me to my natural end which is happiness in this life and my supernatural end which is sharing in the eternal and blessed life of the Most Holy Trinity? I believe the answer to this question is self-evident. Do I look for truth wherever it may be found? Do I allow my assumptions to be challenged so as to effect in me personal growth? Do I humbly acknowledge when I am wrong? Or do I persist in my error unable to accept that there is a better way? Do I do things a certain way because this is the way that I have always done them? Or do I seek out advice of people who may have answers to the questions that I seek? These are questions for all of us to grapple with. I heard an agricultural metaphor given one time that speaks to this point. If a farmer continually plows a field without adding the seed that bears fruit, he ends up in a rut. But if he plows a field and, in the furrows, he sows good seed, he ends up with a harvest.
Then what are those seeds of truth that I need to plant in my life that will bring about a fruitful harvest? Personally, these seeds would be acts of mercy that conform my heart to the Lord’s, time reading the Sacred Scriptures because it is through the Scriptures that we learn the mind of God and his desires, time studying the teachings of the Church in the Catechism, time spent with spiritual friends who elevate and purify my thoughts and desires and bring me life, time in prayer which allows the knowledge I possess in my mind to imprint itself deeply in my heart, and time examining myself: my hopes, dreams, and desires to see if they are ordered to my natural and supernatural ends.
Are there truths that will lead me to salvation? Yes. That God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life; that he established a Church and filled her with the plentitude of his grace in the sacraments; and that which you did for the least of my brothers, you did it to me. If I conform my life to these truths, I will not be far from the Kingdom of God.
Peace,
Benjamin