Handling the Truth, Whatever It Is
The Truth Will Set You Free; Emperor Jesus.
I hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving. While I’m aware of its ugly provenance, I’m of the view that etiology does not determine practice. Origin stories say little about the Packers game or about sharing meal with friends. The parish was given some extra money to buy our guests some food with flavor, which they have not had since they arrived.
If you are worried about the family conversation, or cable news is blaring loudly in the background, simply ask for an alternative soundtrack, and if there must be conversation, use the superpower of asking questions. I’ll speak more on that another time.
*****
Last year, Eric Adams fired 51 forestry specialists. Their job was to remove the dead trees and invasive species most likely to ignite in times of drought.
They probably saved the city a dime or two.
The forests burn a few blocks from my apartment. One park is still smoldering; on the other side of the neighborhood another is now underway. The climate, changed. Here in the northeast.
Over the last week, the sirens have been constant.
A friend notices, “one park smells like campfire. The other like burning rubber.” The parks have different smells. Around the older forest, we might sing songs and toast marshmallows. The newer one, the stench of petrol and industry.
Should wear a mask? I won’t obey the deep state, whatever that means, my own health be damned. Masks are uncomfortable.
I get the sentiment: Don’t tell me what to do, gov’nr.
On my way to the saloon, I wheeze.
“And you will know The Truth and The Truth will set you free”
John 8:32
A few days ago on the radio, I heard a Latino supporter of our president-elect recruiting voters. The conversation included the normal frustrations of taxes and housing, and resentment toward how public resources were allocated.
Migrants are getting nice clean hotels! And my rent is too damned high!
Migrants at the Carlyle! Are raising rents! The subtext: why do they get something and I don’t? While the connection may seem random, I heard the emotional frustration. People getting something they didn’t deserve. Somebody works hard, and somebody else gets it for free. It’s an old feeling. Jesus even has a comment. (Matt 20:15)
It’s not true, however, even if it feels for some like it is. As pundits seek to explain the election results, one statistic jumped out at me - the connection between misinformation and voting patterns.
The truth may set you free, but won’t win elections, and elections are about winning.
Correcting facts, apparently, doesn’t help. We are too tied to our identities to allow that we may be wrong.
What may be true is the emotional truth: what feels best is vindication. That’s what matters. While I experience the president elect as fey, vain, and awkward, others experience him as candid. He knows that winning is what we want. He is a truth-teller in an environment where the mechanics of governing have been obscured, and the real sources of power and influence work behind the scenes, because his truth has more to do with how people feel, and he knows when people feel diminished, with jokes. While his virility is an act, for others, the theater is the truth.
Winning is what is worth worshipping. It is absolutely captivating. And winning is even more important when you are more aware of what you’ve lost than what you have gained. Here is someone who has the confidence to speak the truth: it’s the worst it has ever been. It’s never been as bad as it is now, I hear. I know it is, because my team isn’t in charge, so it must be so.
****
Jesus’s insight is that truth is about a relationship. We know what is true because someone we trust says so. It may be Trump, Fox news, or Nate Silver. It could be someone with a PhD. It could be someone with experience, or not.
Christians say Jesus is King, Lord, Governor. He has authority. It signifies a type of relationship. Conductors, coaches, teachers, mentors, experts may all be included as sorts of authorities. In another sense, these relationships shape the way we frame the world. We trust they will lead us into the world safely.
To say one has an identity in Christ, directs us to diminish these other identities. Instead, the prayer after baptism says that we desire an inquiring and discerning heart. All authorities who we might trust are relative to who Christ is. As king, he is the authority.
In this relationship, our one certainty in Christ gives us the mettle to risk losing, to risk reconciling, to risk understanding. It allows knowledge to be open. It should be the antidote to the tendency for most people to double down on our feelings. There are those who must always believe whatever the authoritarian in chief says, because they would be destroyed if they didn’t. But perhaps instead of feeling diminished when we are wrong, we can cultivate the humility to keep growing.
Granted, certainties are helpful. Those short cuts can protect us from having to overthink. But also, the nature of living a life, of having relationships, or being a person will include anxieties. The temporary solution of blaming migrants, those who have gender dysphoria, or any other group will be seductive. It may work for a moment. It may feel good.
Or it may not.
I have truths I believe in this relationship. The covenant says all persons are made in the image of God (although I probably can’t love everyone). We all can feel resentment and anger toward are enemies (they may feel the same about us). We each have limited information (as they do about who we are). My authority says this: to love another creates a risk, as does to speak the truth. And yet, it is a risk worth taking. Sometimes I will take it. Not always, I know, but let it be a practice, a practice that won’t be complete.
The closing prayer in the baptismal covenant asks the Holy Spirit to imbue the newly baptized with an inquiring and discerning heart; and joy and wonder in all His Works.
And this is the way I can remember to discover the truth, the truth that love conquers death. That is the truth that sets us free. We may screw things up in the mean time, but for now, it will guide me through this thanksgiving, the next four years, and beyond.
Blessings,
Fr. Gawain+
Random Notes:
Reading: Community of the Resurrection: a history. A fairly dull book, but some great characters. This was the Anglican monastic community that inspired Desmond Tutu. An interesting exploration into a religious order committed to social justice and Anglicanism, with lots of quirky priests. A very detailed exploration into class consciousness, empire, and socialism.
How to Know a Person by David Brooks. While I’m allergic to most of David Brooks politics, I admit his mission to increase emotional intelligence has proven captivating. It would be a good primer for anyone who wants to be better at connecting with others.
What are your favorite magazines? I’ve reupped my subscription to the Sun and Image Journal. The Sun is like a southern evangelical hippie who loves Johnny Cash and Buddha, and Image Journal is for Catholic beats and bohemians. I find both edifying.
Movies and TV. Everyone is telling me to see Conclave, but I’m watching Slow Horses on Apple.
Also, Popeye’s Ghost Pepper Sandwich isn’t all that spicy.
Notecards on my shopping list by Janet McKenzie
Thank you Father Gawain. Thank you for writing something so still and heartful when everything else is going so fast -- everything is moving at the speed of thought when it's the appetite for speed that contributes to the messes. Good communication takes time, good relationships take time, we can't rush through building blessed communities wherever we are ♥️♥️♥️
Well said, I miss you!