‘The holiness of truth’. How would many of us today interpret this phrase from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians? Would the reference to holiness be so outlandish to us that we would be befuddled by its meaninglessness? Would we, like the jaded Pontius Pilate interrogating the arrested Christ, ask ‘what is truth’? How many of us would respond with such cynical puzzlement??
Today the word ‘identity’ – as in ‘identity politics’- is much bandied about. Perhaps we should review its meaning to benefit more fruitfully from St. Paul’s quote. Identity refers to the condition that exists when two or more factors are considered the same and therefore are identical. How does this relate to the holiness of truth?
What is holiness? In both the Old and New Testaments holiness is presented as an attribute of God. The prophet Isaiah witnesses the six-winged seraphim proclaim “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord Almighty” (Is. 6:3). This scene repeated in the Book of Revelation (Rev. 4:8). God is holy. He radiates holiness.
What is truth? In John’s Gospel Jesus declares “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”. (Jn. 14:6) Jesus is truth. Jesus is God and Jesus is holy. Therefore, (here comes the identification) truth is holy. Hence the holiness of truth.
Why is this exercise in syllogism so significant? Why is the knowledge that truth is holy so important?
For many of us truth is not a reality exogenous to ourselves. Instead, it is something we contend we construct ourselves. We believe that the path of our personal fulfillment is not one which we discern by looking outside ourselves. Rather, it is one we create independently of any intelligence other than our own. This is the slippery connotation of the famous line from Invictus: “I am the master of my fate, the captain of my soul”. However, this could be misleading. Jesus concludes his announcement that he is the way, the truth and the life with his statement that ‘no one comes to the Father except through me’.
‘Coming to the Father’ is fulfillment. It is the full realization of the potential for which we were created. The way to accomplish it is to pursue truth which is to pursue holiness and to pursue God. Elsewhere in John’s Gospel Jesus tells his disciples: “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free”. (Jn. 8:31) The truth is liberating. It frees us – both as individuals and as the human race – from the blinding ignorance which blocks our access to the path of fulfillment. Simply put, to pursue truth is to follow the path God has chosen for us. For this reason, in the Lord’s Prayer Jesus teaches us to pray: ‘Thy will be done’.
In several ways we as individuals and as a society suffer from an identity crisis. We don’t recognize the way, the truth and the life as being identical with Jesus. Nor do we recognize our own paths to fulfillment as being identical with God’s will for us. Perhaps as individuals and as a society we would overcome this crisis by contemplating the holiness of truth.
The proper education of each new generation is critical for the ongoing flourishment of civilization. It is an education offered, although not exclusively, in Catholic schools, those custodians of truth. NCCF is especially proud to be able to facilitate the philanthropic support our donors provide these schools around the globe.
Teaching is holy work. It participates critically in the advance of the Kingdom and the holiness of truth.