Liars and Hypocrites

“Those who say, ‘I know him,’ but do not keep his commandments
are liars, and the truth is not in them.
But whoever keeps his word,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.”

1 John 2:4-5a

On the Third Sunday of Easter we are once again presented with the account of Jesus appearing to the Apostles (Lukan account). Last Sunday we heard John’s account of Jesus appearing to the Apostles and saying, “Peace be with you.” It seems as if John’s account has a more sacramental touch to it, whereas Luke presents this encounter between Jesus and the Apostles from a more pastoral approach. John speaks of Jesus breathing on them, sending them forth as He has been sent, and forgiving and retaining sins, reminiscent of the sacraments. In Luke’s account, Jesus appears to the Apostles and He tries so hard to convince the Apostles that it is truly Him, not a ghost or a mirage. Perhaps Luke wants to convey to the reader (predominantly Gentiles) that Jesus is who He says He is and we have every reason to believe so.

In Luke’s account, we hear Jesus ask the Apostles why they are troubled and why they are raising questions in their hearts. To prove that He is not a ghost, Jesus asks the Apostles for some food so that they can see it does not go through Him! In some ways, Jesus is saying, “It is me! I’m not lying to you!” Before His passion, Jesus predicted His passion three times and shared with the Apostles that He must suffer and die, but will rise. And, He did. Jesus reminds them, “You are witnesses of these things” so they ought to bear witness to this truth, knowing that sin and death have no power of Jesus and those who follow Him. St. John also similarly reminds the followers of Christ that to follow Him, we must follow His commands. Otherwise, we’d be liars.

St. John encourages us to keep Jesus’s word. Jesus is the Word made flesh, so it makes complete sense that to say we know Him is to know His word. If we profess to know Jesus and to be a Christian, and we do not follow His word or His commandments, then we are being hypocrites and liars. Yet, even if we find ourselves being duplicitous or hypocritical, like with the Apostles, Jesus still comes to us and offers us His peace and mercy. Even when we find ourselves lying and being untruthful and unfaithful to the Lord, He seeks to not shame but to love and forgive. We only need to want to seek it and receive it.

Click below to watch this week’s reflection.