God's Existence Does Not Depend on Belief or Opinion Polls

 Then the king directed that all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem should be gathered to him. ²The king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him went all the people of Judah, all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the prophets, and all the people, both small and great; he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. ³The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord, keeping his commandments, his decrees, and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. All the people joined in the covenant. (2 Kings 23: 1-3)

 ‘Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits.(Matthew 7: 15-20)

Today’s readings speak of embracing God's ordinances and decrees. They also remind us to be on guard against false prophets and erroneous teachers. If we are to embrace God’s law, we must know it and allow it to fill our souls. Experience has taught me that while we can gather many opinions, we cannot discover the truth by taking opinion polls. When God inscribed the Law on the stone tablets and etched it upon the fleshy tablets of the human heart, He established the norms for moral living as members of the People of God. The Word of Truth is not formulated by special interest groups. Well-intentioned people may want to push their agenda but the Truth is eternal and unchanging. Consider for a moment these words taken from the Letter to the Hebrews. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teaching” (Heb. 13: 8-9). If we are to be able to distinguish between the voice of the Good Shepherd and that of the false prophets, we must grow accustomed to the sound of His voice. The Master of the Universe is eternal and is totally self-sufficient. God's existence does not depend on our belief in His existence. God does not need our permission to be God!

The commandments and the Sacred Magisterium are given as guiding forces in our lives. The best way to honor the commandments and sound teaching is to ponder them, ruminate on them and then walk by their light. Here's the rub. There is nothing more confusing or disorienting than the smooth-talking and flattering doctrines of those who distort the truth. This is why Jesus tells us to be vigilant and alert. Our actions, our words, even our omissions need to be in conformity with the mind and will of God. We cannot speak in the name of the Good Shepherd if we do not pasture with the flock, which is the Church. As members of the sheepfold of Christ we share in the overshadowing presence of the Holy Spirit. Remember what the apostle to the Gentiles wrote, "We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God" (1Cor. 2:12). Only by surrendering to the guidance of the Holy Spirit can we hope to learn how to apply the Law of The Lord to every aspect of our lives. God puts His Spirit within us. It is the Spirit that enables us to advance in faith. The promptings of the Spirit will expand our hearts so that we will be able to run the way of God’s commandments. Then we shall know the inexpressible sweetness of love. When the Lord returns in glory, may he bring us all together into eternal life.

--Fr. Jerome Machar, OSCO