Rejecting Truth

Sirach 51:21-20
Psalm 19:8-11
Mark 11:27-33

“We do not know.” - Mark 11:33

You are driving along a dark lonely stretch of highway. A car honks repeatedly at you and the driver signals for you to stop because you have flat a tire, what would you do?

a. Pull over.
b. Speed up.
c. Slow down.

Honestly, I don’t know what the right answer is. None of the options sound right to me. Because if I pull over, I might be falling into a trap. If I speed up and my tire is really flat, I’d probably go into a tailspin. If I slow down, I’d give the second driver a better chance of harming me if he has evil intentions.

I can see at least one similarity between my thinking process and that of the teachers of the law. Both they and I obey the natural instinct of self-preservation. Each of us has that urge to stay alive and survive. Sometimes, we go to the extreme and live in denial of the truth in order to spare ourselves the pain, for example.

Defense mechanisms such as these are normal. However, when we act solely out of self-preservation, we rob ourselves of the beauty of honesty. When we are dishonest, we reject Jesus who is Truth. When we reject Truth, we harm ourselves mote than we harm others because we fail to grow into the people we were created to be. Victoria L.

Reflection: Do you want to grow?

Lord, help me to gain a healthy perspective on how to preserve myself and yet at the same time be a blessing to others.

Sts. Marcellinus and Peter, martyrs, pray for us.