Don't Lie

Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field." He said in reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the Evil One, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil.

The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his Kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear." (Matthew 13:36-43)

Who is a good seed, and who is a weed?  Often it is hard to tell.  Most of us are a mixed bag of good and bad.  Why else do we need confession and reconciliation.  Humans are flawed – often very flawed and frequently quite petty and sinful.

How do we sin making us children of the Evil One?  We lie.  Yes, we are all liars to one degree or another.  We lie to ourselves thinking we are good seed when in fact we grow into weeds when sowed. Those to whom we lie might want us pulled and thrown into a fiery furnace. That’s how damaging lies can be often in the pursuit of power, money and privilege. Watch the Republican and Democratic Conventions to witness manipulation, misinformation, disinformation, and outright lies.  Politics give participants the go-ahead to obfuscate, confuse, lie, and make enemies out of our neighbors.  Religion can do that as well.

For those who know of Dr. Jordan Peterson, who has had many conversations and interviews with Bishop Robert Barron, Peterson wrote in his 2018 book “12 Rules For Life: An Antidote to Chaos:” “Above all, don’t lie. Don’t lie about anything ever.  Lying leads to Hell.  It was the great and small lies of the Nazi and Communist states that produced the deaths of millions of people.” When we are faced with evil, we cannot remain silent.  Silence is a lie, and tyranny feeds on lies.” Lies corrupt the world.  Worse, that is their intent.

Let’s watch out for liars who want to collect us into their kingdoms causing us to sin even more and be in league with other evildoers. The truth will set us free.  Lies lead to Hell and imprisonment. Whoever has ears ought to hear.

Deacon David Pierce