Since taking part in my first 40 Days for Life, I’ve been reflecting on the Sorrowful Mysteries — in particular, a set of Biblical meditations from Rosary Army’s Scriptural Rosary. In the Second Sorrowful Mystery meditation, we read this:
“Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth.'” (Jn 18:3)
Jesus tells Pilate, and tells us, why He was born. He came into the world “to bear witness to the truth”. This was a surprise to those expecting a political savior or military leader. He came to witness to the truth: not to enforce the truth, and not to make everyone see the truth. He came to witness to it. He made the truth available, visible, to those who would seek it.
We are Christians and, as such, we are to emulate Christ. We are to follow Him — it’s what the name Christian means — so we are called, too, to bear witness to the truth. We are called to make the truth visible to those who would seek it. We are not necessarily called to enforce the truth or make others see it; it’s rare, if ever, that one can make another person see the truth. We’ve been given free will, independent minds — a gift from God. We’ve also been given considerable skill at self-deception (and accepting others’ deceptions, whether from the world, the flesh, or the devil) — a “gift” of the fall. If we don’t want to see the truth, we have plenty of ways to avoid it. We cannot make others see the truth, but we can make sure they see it. We can bear witness, show it to them, speak it to them, in whatever way we can.
Let’s remember, too, how He came into the world — He came as a baby. He came unplanned and to a young mother. He came as a vulnerable baby and, right away, people set out to end His life. That baby could not speak for Himself, so He had John, the voice crying out in the desert. He could not protect or provide for Himself, so He had Joseph and Mary. We’re called to witness the truth. Some are called to cry out in the desert of our world, others to protect and provide for the innocent and unprotected. We’re all called to bear witness, in our own ways, to the truth — to show it to the world, to make sure those who honestly seek it will find it. And by finding it, they find Him. By knowing the truth, they know Him who is Truth.
Copyright 2016, Joe Wetterling
Image courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontius_Pilate#/media/File:What-is-truth02.jpg
Joe Wetterling
Joe Wetterling is a professional educator, homeschooling dad, and writer. He's appeared at national conferences, both secular and religious, speaking on education, technology, and philosophy. Joe writes online for New Evangelizers, as well as his own blogs. He's taught in the Holy Apostles MOOC program and currently teaches Natural Theology at the new Dominican Institute. He's a member of the Militia Immaculata and current President of the Catholic Writers Guild. Learn more about him at JoeWetterling.com.
One response to “Bearing Witness to the Truth”
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Greetings Joe:
You state it well:
“We’re all called to bear witness, in our own ways, to the truth — to show it to the world, to make sure those who honestly seek it will find it. And by finding it, they find Him. By knowing the truth, they know Him who is Truth”.
We are all called to witness the truth. My hope is that more of us do so AT ALL COSTS.
God Bless
Luciano