You with the sad eyes, don't be discouraged, oh I realize, it's hard to take courage. But I see your true colors shining through, your true colors and that's why I love you. So don't be afraid to let them show, your true colors, like a rainbow! These lyrics come from Cyndi Lauper, singing about the love that comes from truthfulness.
Many times in our lives we have been told the truth, hopefully motivated by the love of the person telling us the truth. Perhaps we have had to share truth with love to others in our own lives. Parents are certainly called to do this with children all the time. We are called to preach truth from this very ambo, always informed by love!
As people of faith, we are loved so much by Jesus Christ, that He always tells us the truth.
In today's Gospel from Matthew we find Peter, as we have for two of the past three weeks, as the main character in the Gospel narrative. Three weeks ago he was walking on water, until he lost focus on Jesus and he sank. Still Peter called out, Lord save me! Last week, revealed to him by the Father, Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God! And Jesus told Peter you are rock, and upon this rock I will build my church! Yet in today's Gospel, we hear Jesus call Peter Satan; get behind me Satan, you are an obstacle to me. Poor Peter, what did he say, what did he do? Oh my, how have I gone from Rock to Satan, from the one on which Christ will build His Church to an obstacle? Seems complicated but it really is simple. Despite the dire words used by Jesus, that he must suffer and die, Jesus is speaking the truth, the truth in love! Did Peter perhaps fail to hear the rest of Jesus' words/ Jesus did also say that on the 3rd day he would be raised! Again, truth in love!
And truth be told, Jesus is now ready to tell Peter, and the disciples, the truth of God's great plan for salvation: Jesus must suffer, he must die, and he will be raised on the 3rd day, conquering sin and opening the gates of Heaven! Maybe Peter thought he had a better plan, maybe he still thought Jesus would save mankind in the person of a conquering king. Who knows, but what we do know is Jesus tells Peter, and truthfully all of us that we are not thinking as God does but as humans do. In short, to borrow a line from a popular movie, we can't handle the truth!
St. Paul knew this too when he wrote to the Romans. Do not be conformed to this age, be transformed! Jesus tells us in Matthew's Gospel do not fall in love with the truth of this world, seek the truth of God's divine plan which is Love!
Jesus loves you and me enough to tell us the truth. Love, real love demands truth. Just like resurrection demanded crucifixion, we too must take up our crosses, in love and follow the truth of Jesus Christ in love. And the truth in love of Jesus Christ is present today in His beloved spouse, the Church. Many times Holy Mother Church teaches the truth in love to all of us, yet we, conformed and not transformed, don't want to hear it. Hard truths, serious truths; these too are given in love. It is both truth and love that the Church, loving as Christ loves, teaches rightly about the tough issues many of us want to ignore, or at the very least struggle with. What are some of these truths: that abortion is always wrong, that cooperating with the evil of abortion, even helping elect public officials who openly support abortion on demand, is wrong. Truths like artificial contraception closes off the marital act to life and is wrong; and by the way, sex itself is reserved to married couples, meaning one man & one woman in the Sacrament of Matrimony. That marriage can never be two men marrying one another or two women marrying one another. Yes, hard truths; yet truth taught in love! Oh how I could go one, the truth about immigration, the truth about the death penalty, the truth about the poor, the widowed and the hungry, the truth about a just use of war and for working men and women to earn a just wage. And of course that all people, even those struggling with these truths and disobeying them must be loved and respected and helped to see the truth! Yes, it is the Church, the spouse of Jesus, who speaks the truth in love, not the world, not the government, not even our own opinions and wants and likes. To follow truth in love we must be transformed and shed conformity to this world, we must take up our cross and win the crown of eternal life, spent in happiness in Heaven!
As Jesus puts it Himself: what good to gain the whole world and forfeit your life!
So remember what love is; especially truth in love: don't just love someone in this life to go along to get along, love those you love, all the way to Heaven; like the Church loves, like Christ loves.
It's the truth; just make sure you can handle the truth!
Show me a smile then because that's why I love you, your true colors; true colors are beautiful!!!
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