The statement of Jesus to his apostles in today’s reading struck me, “If you remain in my word, you will be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

I grew up in the 1950s in Connecticut. Looking back at those post-World War II years, I sense a standard set of values regarding right and wrong. At that time, the government, the Catholic and public schools, the churches, the police department, and most adults living in the same neighborhood agreed on them and ensured we obeyed them. It is worth noting that I grew up in the projects built after the war to accommodate the growing families of the veterans. The neighborhood was all white, but I suspect that many ethnic and racial neighborhoods in those days also had a common denominator that held them together.

That is certainly not the case today. The response to the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, the Women’s rights movement, and other groups who rose to assert their rights began to fracture a society (which, underneath the surface, was always broken).

It seems that now we live in a society where you can’t speak of an “objective truth.” – there is MY truth and YOUR truth. Abortion is killing babies versus a woman’s right to choice – we need to protect the Second Amendment versus taking assault weapons off our streets – we need to close the Southern border versus welcoming the person of Jesus in the immigrants seeking to escape poverty and violence and seek a new life of opportunity.

What is the truth that Jesus is speaking in your heart? As his followers, through prayer, reflection, and action, we need to seek the truth that will set us free.

Let Us Pray:

Jesus, you prayed that we would be one as you and the Father are one. We have failed in this prayer. Give us an abundance of your grace so that we might know the truth that will set us free and work to bring about your Kingdom of unity and peace. Amen.