Fr Antony Christy, SDB –
THE WORD IN LENT – Wednesday, Fifth week
March 20, 2024 – Daniel 3:14-20, 24-25, 28; John 8: 31-42
Through the desert God leads us to freedom. Qualifying this journey to freedom, the Word has begun to speak to us this week about the grain of wheat that has to die, in order to rise and bear fruit. It is clearly reaching the culmination of the call from the Word, inviting us to an ever deeper understanding of our call as children of God and as disciples of Christ. We are called to dare to die… what does it mean to dare to die?
It means recognising the Truth, and the Truth alone can set us free. The guaranteed way to freedom is Truth, teaches us Jesus today. How do we make sense of it? Let us begin with the lesson from the first reading- Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, were they they only Jews in the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar? Why is it that only these three were dumped into the furnace? Because, they were the only ones who stood by Truth. The others who were Jews too, were ready to compromise and were ready to give up the truth they believed it.
The temptation is alive even today: to compromise on truth. Normally, we do not like to say lies; but that does not mean we decide to speak the truth. Very often we find a via media which actually is not so. There is not midway between truth and falsity! Anything other than truth, is not less true… it is false, it is a lie. The temptation is to not stand by truth without accepting that fact; or deciding not to recognise the truth present right before our eyes! The problem is when we recognise the Truth, just as the three in the first reading, we will find ourselves amidst trouble.
Jesus tells us today – unless we recognise the Truth present right beside us, we cannot call ourselves free children of God. Certainly when we choose truth, we shall be in trouble as Jesus himself was – but look at the furnace again, there were four; look at Jesus again, he was not alone. Just so, when we recognise Truth, we shall not be alone, the Lord shall walk with us. There will be the empowering presence of God, because of which we shall be troubled but never broken!
The Truth is immanent, the Lord is always with us! We need to recognise the Truth, acknowledge and commit ourselves to! That is daring to die, but only then can we rise to new life, life of freedom, freedom of the children of God.
Fr Antony Christy is a Salesian Priest from 2005, who has a Masters in Philosophy (specialisation in Religion) and a Masters in Theology (Specialisation in Catechetics). He holds doctoral research in Theology at Salesian Pontifical University, Rome. Walking with the Young towards a World of Peace and Dialogue is the passion that fires him on.