Jesus prays for us to His Father in John’s Gospel: “Consecrate them in truth. Your word is truth … And I consecrate myself for them, so that they may also be consecrated in truth.” (John 17.18-19)
We read this Scripture on the Sunday after the Feast of the Ascension in anticipation of Pentecost. This is the day that the Holy Spirit enlivens the Church, fulfilling the promise that Jesus made to his disciples. “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when He comes, the Spirit of truth, He will guide you to all truth.” (John 15.28)
On Pentecost Sunday in 2021, the words of Jesus are a clarion call to confront the many ways that truth is under assault in our world today. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Tik-Tok have become purveyors of false news and disinformation. Half-truths and outright lies are spread with a rapidity that foments fear and encourages behaviors that are destructive. The most recent violence between Palestinians and Israel was exacerbated by social media posts that claimed that Palestinian mobs were preparing to descend on Israeli citizens and that Israeli ground forces were attacking Gaza.
Closer to home, Congressional hearings on the events of January 6th were characterized as tourists strolling through the Capitol. One Congressman said that watching the video from that day “… showed people in an orderly fashion staying between the stanchions and ropes to take video and pictures. If you didn’t know it was footage from January 6th, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit.” Others argued that words like “riot” and “insurrection” were incorrect characterizations of what happened that day.
Social media has also contributed and maybe even created concerns about vaccinations. Contrary to what you can read on the internet, the odds of dying after getting a Covid-19 vaccination are virtually non-existent. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says that you are three times more likely to get struck by lightning than to suffer lethal consequences from a vaccine. In spite of this, a National Public Radio analysis “… finds that articles connecting vaccines and death have been among the most highly engaged with content online this year, going viral in a way that could hinder people’s ability to judge the true risk in getting a shot.”
It does not take a genius to figure out that the divisions that we experience in our country are driven by an attitude that truth is no longer the coin of the realm. In simple discourse, we depend on the truthfulness of what we hear from each other. If we allow ourselves to buy into things that are demonstrably untrue or even give a pass to people who are spreading disinformation, we all become part of the problem. Spin doctors have become very adept at building narratives that are not true from facts that are true. These kinds of disinformation or alternative facts are corrosive within a population that depends on public consensus for harmony and coherence.
The Feast of Pentecost is a great day for us to reflect upon the importance of valuing the truth in public discourse and in our private lies. Truth is rooted in God. The Spirit of Truth is the Holy Spirit. This is what we celebrate today. Some things are right and some things are wrong. Some things are good and some things are bad. Some things are correct and some things are incorrect. Sorting through the massive amounts of information that bombard us each day is not an easy task. Much of what we are exposed to does not impact the way we live. There are many things, however, that have a significant impact on our lives. Public opinion eventually shapes public policy. This may take a while, but it is true. This means that what we all think about an issue is very important.
This is where our faith can play such an important role. Analyzing our judgements about the issues of our day can be very daunting in an atmosphere that has jettisoned respect for the truth. Using our faith as a prism or a filter provides a powerful tool for sorting through the jungle of misinformation that surrounds us. Sadly, some people lie every day and calculate what they say based on self-interest or some partisan objective. The old adage that “a lie gets halfway around the world before truth has a chance to get its pants on” is more true today than ever.
The world is not flat. Vaccinations save lives. The Holocaust did happen. Systemic racism is an insidious evil that affects our nation. The 2020 election was the safest in our history. Covid-19 was not created by the Chinese to destroy the world. Vladimir Putin is not a nice man. Global warming is not a hoax. Joe Biden is not trying to outlaw steak and hamburgers. Medicare is not socialized medicine. The collapsing of the twin towers in New York on 9/11 was not a Hollywood fiction. Etc., Etc., Etc.
Unless we reclaim respect for the truth and call out Big Lies when we see them, the divisions within our nation will simply metastasize and put our democracy at risk. Pentecost invites us to connect our faith to the major issues of our day.
May the Holy Spirit of Truth guide us to all truth and help us move beyond the pernicious mendacity of our day!
God Bless! Msgr. Paul