23 August 2016
Tuesday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time
If it is any consolation, false information has circulated within the Christian community from the very beginning. In today’s epistle, Paul warns the faithful about the hazards of incorrect teaching and information. Paul’s warning is as sound today as it was almost 2000 years ago. Unfortunately, we sometimes jump on a phrase or piece of information that sends us down the road of error and confusion. In the age of sound bites, tweets, and twitters we need to be ever vigilant in terms of what information we use that shapes our opinions. Paul tells his congregation to… “stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught…” and not to be swayed by false prophets and foolish teachings. A quick “examination of sources” may save us all sorts of problems by asking the simple questions concerning the authority of the person who wrote the comment in question and whether the comment is taken out of context. We tend to exercise prudence in what we put into our mouths, perhaps we need to exercise similar prudence in what we hear and how we act upon this knowledge.