Truth is Truth

“for truth is truth, to the end of reckoning.”

In William Shakespeare's play, “Measure for Measure,” there is a scene in which Isabella, the virtuous protagonist, is pleading her case before the Duke of Vienna. Isabella has brought charges against Lord Angelo, whom the Duke had temporarily placed in charge of enforcing the city's laws. Isabella claims that Angelo, despite his high office and noble bearing, is actually a liar, a murderer, a hypocrite, and an adulterous thief who rapes virgins.

“Is it not strange and strange?” ask Isabella.

“Nay,” replies the Duke “It is ten times strange.”

“This all true as it is strange,” continues Isabella, “for truth is truth, to the end of reckoning.”

The point is that there are indeed absolute truths and no amount of logic, argument, or reason can make them otherwise. Despite what our age of relativism would have us believe, there are transcendent truths. In a world of grays there are still things that are black and white.

Much of our faith is like that, transcendent truths that are always true in spite of relativism, political correctness, or a misplaced sense of politeness.

During the Babylonian exile, the prophet Jeremiah was one of those left behind in Jerusalem to tend the land. But even this remnant fell away from following the laws of God, the divine truths imparted by God to his people.

Jeremiah was sent to warn the Judeans that the city of Jerusalem would again be destroyed and the remaining people sent into exile. Their only hope to avoid this fate was to change the way they lived, to reject their immoral lifestyle and once again embrace God. As you can imagine this was not a popular message. Jeremiah was arrested and imprisoned. Even when he was released from prison, Jeremiah persisted because God made him “a wall of brass,” undaunted by those who sought to tear him down. God had preordained the prophet for this purpose. Even before his birth, God had consecrated Jeremiah as a prophet to the nations.

The truth can be unpopular. Jeremiah learned that “truth draws hatred upon itself.” But we should not shy away from proclaiming it. That is precisely why we are here. God has willed the existence of every person. To each individual has been given an explicit call to holiness and salvation. At the same time God has a plan for every individual. Each of us has been given a unique set of tools to further the renewal of the world.

Many missionaries follow a policy of inculturation. They look for those eternal truths in the non-Christian peoples they encounter, and use that as common ground to build upon and slowly introduce the Christian faith. But that approach only goes so far. We may come to a time when we must proclaim the Word of God openly, even at the risk of provoking the anger of our listeners. To hesitate from this mission, because we fear what people may think of us, is simply vanity.

Pax Vobiscum
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Read more at www.DeaconLawrence.org

© Lawrence Klimecki

Purchase fine art prints by Deacon Lawrence here.

Deacon Lawrence draws on ancient Christian tradition to create new contemporary art that seeks to connect the physical and the spiritual.. For more information on original art, prints and commissions, Please visit www.DeaconLawrence.org 

Lawrence Klimecki, MSA, is a deacon in the Diocese of Sacramento. He is a public speaker, writer, and artist, reflecting on the intersection of art and faith