The One We Can Trust
August 2, 2023
Father John Riccardo
Beloved: We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that unique declaration came to him from the majestic glory, "This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased." We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain.
Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable.
You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts
2 Peter 1:16-19
One of the many things that makes the human person unique among creatures is our desire to know. Knowledge is the “food”, if you will, that the intellect craves. That said, we want not just to know but to know truth. No one wants to be lied to, about anything, but especially about the things that really matter.
I must confess that I am someone who struggles mightily with trust, perhaps as a result of things that happened when I was young. It’s a terrible trait, and one of which I’m not proud in the least. I don’t seem to be alone in this, however. Unfortunately, there increasingly seems to be a crisis of trust in our modern world.
The sexual abuse crisis in the Church caused not only unspeakable pain to those who were abused, but a lack of trust in Church leaders among many people. The subsequent efforts to try to prevent such horrific things from ever happening again, while well intentioned, often had the unfortunate and unintended result of weakening trust between bishops and priests.
In the political landscape, well, does anyone really trust our leaders – no matter their party affiliation?
COVID significantly damaged people’s trust in health-care professionals, as politics often appeared to be the driving factor in many of the decisions that were made. Despite all the talk about “trust the science,” science isn’t always quite as clear cut as people might imagine. And then when the science is clear, like an unborn child is a human being, decisions are made that are contrary to the science.
The lack of trust in the Church, politicians, doctors, teachers and others have led many people to arrive at the conclusion that there is no such thing as truth. We often hear things like, “That’s your truth. Mine is different.” This is absurd. Certain things either are or are not true. 2 + 2 is 4, whether we like it or not, and cannot be 5. The Law of Gravity is real, whether we choose to believe in it or not. Go ahead and test it.
Peter’s words, or rather God’s words to us through Peter, are thus very timely, at least for me. We can easily project our lack of trust onto God. God, though, is revealing to us in His Word this coming Sunday that “the prophetic message is altogether reliable.” What is this “prophetic message?” Everything He promised in the Old Testament about the One who would come and do something about Sin, about Death, about Hell and about the only enemy of our race: satan. All the promises God made have been fulfilled, often in most unexpected ways. Peter is reminding us that we can rely on God, we can bank on Him, we can trust Him. God does not lie, and His agenda is that we might have abundant life. Jesus has proven all of this by His total offering of self on the cross out of love for us. Peter was a witness, not just to the event of the Transfiguration that we celebrate this Sunday, but to Jesus’ whole life, death, resurrection, and ascension. And he’s a credible witness to all of this, having himself gone to the cross rather than take the easy way out and renounce his faith in Jesus.
In the midst of the many daily disappointments we experience in so many areas of life, let us keep our eyes firmly fixed on the One who never lies, who is always faithful, and who only and always wants what is genuinely good for us. And amidst the many voices tempting us to discouragement, fear and anger, let us be intentional and deliberate to daily bury ourselves in God’s altogether reliable Word.