The concepts of freedom and truth (or honesty) are as American as apple pie. We speak of "Honest Abe." In courts, one swears to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The concept of choice is so strong that it was able, in this case regrettably albeit consistent with freedom of speech, to inspire a mall-full of people last weekend in support of "a woman's right to choose." Truth is as the heart of the adversarial system in the court room where the entire purpose of all the procedural safeguards is to get at the truth.

This is by way of introduction to the eighth commandment-- "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." Ex20:16; Deut 5: 20. Combining both truth and freedom, I have entitled this meditation on the eighth commandment "The Truth Will Set You Free."

As has been our approach with the other commandments, I will continue with our three-fold analysis: l.) The Hebrew Understanding of the Commandment; 2.) The Effect of the Christ Event on the Commandment and 3.) Some Practical Implications for our Day.

l.) The Hebrew Understanding

In the Hebrew mind, the eighth commandment was originally a forensic commandment. Its setting was the courtroom. It was a commandment whose purpose was directed primarily towards guarding the basic right of the covenant member against the threat of a false accusation. It dealt with the obligation of a witness in a court of law. The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth was required of every witness under the Jewish legal system. In fact, the Jewish law took great pains to insure that such legal testimony was reliable and true. Regarding the number of witnesses and the fate of a false witness, Deuteronomy 19:15-21 is quite clear.

"One witness alone shall not take the stand against a man in regard to any crime or any offense of which he may be guilty; a judicial fact shall be established only on the testimony of two or three witnesses. "If an unjust witness takes the stand against a man to accuse him of a defection from the law, the two parties in the dispute shall appear before the LORD in the presence of the priests or judges in office at that time; and if after a thorough investigation the judges find that the witness is a false witness and has accused his kinsman falsely, you shall do to him as he planned to do to his kinsman. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst. The rest, on hearing of it, shall fear, and never again do a thing so evil among you. Do not look on such a man with pity. Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot!" (Deut 19:15-21)

The Hebrew trial procedure depended heavily upon the testimony of witnesses and made little use of physical evidence. The concurring testimony of two witnesses was sufficient to convict a person of a crime. The rule invited abuse, however, by those who stood to gain from another's injury. Hence there was the need for this protective commandment in the covenant community. There were widespread abuses, nevertheless.

The story of Susanna who was accused of adultery is a classic example of abuse. Two witnesses were found to have testified falsely against her. "The whole assembly cried aloud, blessing God who saves those that hope in him. They rose up against the two elders, for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of perjury. According to the law of Moses, they inflicted on them the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor: they put them to death. Thus was innocent blood spared that day." Dn 13:60-62 "'Your fine lie has cost you also your head,' said Daniel; 'for the angel of God waits with a sword to cut you in two so as to make an end of you both.'" Dn 13: 59

A more familiar example is from I Kings 21. It is the story of the trial of Naboth--a vivid example of the violent possibilities when the court is perverted by lying witnesses. The story involves Ahab, the king of Israel, his Phoenician wife Jezebel and a man named Naboth. When Naboth refuses Ahab's offer to purchase the former's vineyard, Jezebel arranges to have false charges brought against Naboth, accusing him of cursing both God and King. As punishment, Naboth is stoned to death and Ahab takes possession of Naboth's vineyard--a clear violation of the eighth commandment against bearing false witnesses against your neighbor.

The Wisdom literature also spoke to this:

For the Psalmist the bitterest thing of all is that false and malicious witnesses rise up against him (Psalm 27:12; 35:11). Repeatedly the wise man in the Proverbs condemns this sin. One of the six things which God abhors is 'a false witness who breathes out lies' (Proverbs 6:19). The man 'who speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit' (Proverbs 12:17). 'A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness breathes out lies' (Proverbs 14:5). 'A man who bears false witness against his neighbour is like a war club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow' (Proverbs 25:18). 'A worthless witness mocks at justice' (Proverbs 19:28). 'Be not a witness against your neighbour without cause, and do not decieve with your lips' (Proverbs 24:28). 'A truthful witness saves lives, but one who utters lies is a betrayer' (Proverbs 14:25). Not only is the false witness condemned; he is also threatened. 'A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who utters lies will not escape' (Proverbs 19:5; 19:9). 'A false witness will perish' (Proverbs 21:28). God's vengeance, says the prophet, is against those who swear falsely (Malachi 3:5). (Barclay, The Ten Commandments for Today, 184)

The court of law was the place where truth or falsehood was determined. It was, for the Hebrew, the place from which the blessing of truth and corruption of falsehood originated and from which it spread to the people, to his neighbors. It shows how important the Hebrew's neighbor was to him in the question of truth-- "neighbor" being one with full citizenship in the covenant community. It is tempting to speak of the eighth commandment as having a paradigmatic character, I.e. one who is truthful in court would be truthful in other spheres of life.

But there is a deeper religious basis to the eighth commandment--a basis which links it, as with all the commandments, to the covenant itself. Integrity and honesty, after all, were required in the covenant community. To lie or bring false charges violated faithfulness to God and neighbor and was thus violative of the eighth commandment. Daily life would be deleteriously affected where transparency and honesty in personal relationships were jeopardized even and particularly apart from legal proceedings.

Serious and destructive perversions of the truth would thus damage the life of the community, would undercut how free people should be living together in harmony and honesty.

The principle involved, once again, was that the breach of the commandments undermined a basic characteristic of the covenant, namely, faithfulness-of God to man, of man to God, and of man to fellow man. To bring false witness against a fellow member of the covenant community involved lying and various forms of deception; it would be motivated by self-interest. The result (if successful) would be the false punishment of a neighbor, and even if unsuccessful, it could cast doubt by implication on the character of that neighbor. In other words, even if false witness did not lead directly to a miscarriage of justice, its effects could be tantamount to slander and defamation of character. The focus of the commandment is thus again on the matter of personal human relationships, and it emphasizes the integrity and honesty required within the community of God. Though the immediate context of the commandment was in the sphere of legal process, the implications applied to the activities of daily life. A God of faithfulness, who did not deal deceitfully with his people, required of his people the same transparency and honesty in personal relationships.

(Patrick 57)

Scripture is quite clear about the evil of lying. The very first sin recorded in the Bible, the disobedience of Adam and Eve, was occasioned by the serpent's lie: "You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods…" (Genesis 3:4b-5a). From that moment on, the devil, personified in the garden by the serpent, is called the "father of lies" (see John 8:44).

Other scriptural texts sustain the opposition of God's word of lying:

Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD,
but those who are truthful are his delight (Proverbs 12:22).

A lie is a foul blot in a man,
yet it is constantly on the lips of the unruly….
A liar's way leads to dishonor,
his shame remains ever with him. (Sirach 20:23,25)

(McBride, The Ten Commandments,Sounds of Love from Sinai, 115)

Hence, the eighth commandment as it developed over time--and as it came to be understood by the Hebrew mind--included a more general injunction against lying and on behalf of truth telling. The Old Testament does indeed expand the force of this commandment by connecting the witness in the court with the more general practices of lying and particularly of slander.

II.) The Effect of the Christ Event

"In Jesus Christ, the whole of God's truth has been made manifest." CCC 2466 The word "truth," the underlying value of the eighth commandment, is another Name for Jesus Himself. Truth becomes personalized in Him. Jesus teaches after all: "I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me." Jn 14:6

In the Sermon on the Mount, where He repeatedly stretched , radicalized, internalized aspects of the Mosaic Law, Jesus clearly indicates His unconditional love for the truth. In Mt 5:37, He states: "Say, 'yes' when you mean 'yes' and 'no' when you mean 'no.' Anything beyond that is from the evil one." Speaking of the evil one, in Jn 8:44, Jesus says: "He brought death to man from the beginning, and has never based himself on the truth; the truth is not in him. Lying speech is his native tongue; he is a liar and the father of lies."

In sharp contrast, Jesus says about Himself: "I am...the truth." Note the contrast then--the evil one is the father of lies and Jesus is the Truth. Jesus not only is in possession of the truth. Jesus personifies the truth. He personalizes the the eighth commandment. In His very person, He is the truth.

What does this mean? Much can be said about the meaning of truth. Historical truth means that something really happened in reality in a certain way at a certain time. For philosophical truth, it means the highest reality, the supreme being. But in Jn14, when Jesus says He is the truth, or when in Jn 18:37-38 in His dialogue with Pilate who asked rhetorically what is truth, Jesus says--speaking of truth, "For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice."

But what does this truth mean--this truth about which Jesus identifies His very person and mission? Simply stated: it is the revealing, the unpacking, the manifestation of God's plan in Jesus. Truth, in this context, is the divine secret revealed--the revelation of the mystery of salvation in Jesus Christ, God's unconditional love for us, and our possibility to become children of God forever, to share in His divine life, all made possible by the life, death, resurrection of Jesus and the sending of the Holy Spirit.

It is this Truth, the life which Jesus is and brings to us, which sets us free, makes us different kinds of people. Although we live daily with the consequences of original sin--we fall, we doubt, we have our fears--the Truth we share in Jesus, His very life, enables us to live in hope and to live differently. In Jn 8:32, Jesus tells us the truth, His truth, the truth about Jesus "will set us free"--free from sin, from fears, ultimately from death. It is the distinct benefit of belonging to Christ who is the Truth. It is the distinct benefit of being baptized into Christ and being literally plunged into the life of God. What are the implications of this new way of life?

Quoting Ephesians, Fr. Mc Bride writes:

Saint Paul frequently admonished his people to avoid lying:

…you should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires,… and put on the new self, created in God's way in righteousness and holiness of truth. Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, for we are members one of another. (Ephesians 4:22,24-25)

Paul's language about taking off the old self and putting on the new one refers to the baptismal liturgy. The candidates removed their clothes and were submerged into the baptismal waters. When they came out of the water, they donned new white robes, which signified the inner change caused by Christ's saving grace. Plunged into Christ through faith and grace, the candidates emerged as new people, expected to begin a new moral and spiritual life in Christ. Incorporated into Christ, the head of a new humanity, the candidates shared in the power of his Holy Spirit.

Paul considered this baptismal experience motivation to live an honest and truthful moral life, since the candidates belonged to humanity renewed in Christ. Behaving in an honest way toward one's sisters and brothers in Christ was a sign that Christians appreciated what their new existence demanded. To lie was to act unfaithfully to a member of Christ's Body. Paul's words applied Christ's own teaching to the question of moral conversion: "…whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me" (Mattew 25:40b).

(The Ten Commandments Covenant of Love, 151-152)

There are further implications of this new way of life and the freedom we experience in Christ:

Truth makes us really free. The more people practice truthful living, the greater is their sense of liberation. This is not achieved easily nor quickly. The process of truthful living demands a lifetime of struggle and moral courage. Those engaged in this process experience it as worthwhile. Their remarkable sense of inner freedom testifies to us that truthful living is its own reward. (The Ten Commandments Covenant of Love, 150)

But this Truth, the Truth about Jesus, is also a challenge for us, each of us who is a member of His living body, the Church. It is the challenge to bear witness to that new life we share, His life, the Truth of His life. "Martyrdom is the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith: it means bearing witness even unto death. The martyr bears witness to Christ who died and rose, to whom he is united by charity." CCC 2473

Yes, it means living as if Jesus had and continues to have something to do with us. After all, He accepted suffering and death as part of the price of living the Truth. After His example, we too must give of ourselves. Only in giving of ourselves in love, as He did and does, do we discover our true selves and the Truth about our human condition and enjoy that deep inner freedom which each of us seeks.

His teaching, as challenging as it is and can be, really helps us to live differently, to act differently and to do it with hope, confidence and joy. This is all born of the power of God's Holy Spirit within us and in fact made possible by the Holy Spirit living within us. "If you live according to my teaching, you are truly my disciples; then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." Jn 8:31-32.

III. Some Practical Implications for our Day

The catechism teaches: "Lying consists in saying what is false with the intention of deceiving one's neighbor." CCC 2508 Fr. Al McBride writes:

The Eight Commandment's vision of truthful living seeks to liberate us from deceit.

Lying seems to be as American as apple pie. Spouses lie to each other. Children deceive their teachers. There are so many false claims in commercials that the government has established truth-in-advertising laws. Perjury in the courts is pervasive and dishonesty in the workplace is a fact of life. Clergy face malpractice suits for casual advice that their clients construe as deceit. Doctors use euphemisms to avoid telling patients the truth about their health and lawyers shroud truth in so many technicalities and evasions that a jury rightly wonders if they can ever get at the facts.

(McBride, The Ten Commandments Sounds of Love from Sinai, 114)

What then is the basis for this propensity for failure to tell the truth? To help us live lives of truthfulness and veracity, I conclude with nine reasons on why people lie proposed by William Barclay, whom I have quoted often in this series. Hopefully, it will suggest a rationale for this violation of the eighth commandment, this propensity to manipulate the truth.

(i) There is the lie which comes from malice…. It is significant that there are so many Greek words for this kind of sin, whispering, slandering, backbiting. The number of different words show how prevalent the thing was - and is. And there can be few sins which are more terrible in their effect, for this sin of the malicious lie can destroy character and kill friendship. As Coleridge wrote in 'Christable':

Alas! they had been friends in youth;
But whispering tongues can poison truth.

Gossip is one of the sins that Paul both fears and expects to find at Corinth, and he joins it with slander, conceit and disorder (2 Corinthians 12:20)…. Many a person who enjoys gossip, who repeats gossip, and who initiates gossip would be shocked to be called a malicious liar, but that is precisely what he or she is. The malicious lie is something which all Scripture sternly condemns.

(ii) Perhaps the first of all lies in a man's life, and to the end of the day the commonest of lies, is the lie of fear. A man departs from the truth to escape the consequences of something he has done. He denies that he has said or done something; he blames someone else for not having done something; in his own defence he makes an excuse which is in fact untrue. This is the kind of lie that we begin to tell in childhood and go on telling all our lives.

The trouble about this kind of lie, even to look at it from the most practical point of view, is that all the probability is that it will sooner or later catch up with us. 'Be sure,' said Moses, 'your sin will find you out' (Numbers 32:23)…. The lie of fear simply begets another fear. To tell the truth and face the consequences may be difficult, but better the immediate ordeal than the long unhappiness.

(iii) We have said that the lie of fear is the commonest lie, but perhaps even commoner is the lie of carelessness. A man can become almost chronically inaccurate in his statements. He tells a lie, or makes a false statement, not so much deliberately as carelessly…. Strict accuracy of statement can be a discipline, and a difficult discipline, and it is a discipline which very few people in fact accept.

(iv) There is the lie of boasting. Very few people, for instance, in relating a personal experience can resist the temptation to tell it in such a way that it shows them in a better light than the facts actually warrant. Often even the best of us in relating some incident make ourselves say or do, not what we did, but what we would like to have said and done!

(v) There is the lie of profit. This is the kind of lie at which the high pressure salesman is an adept, and of which so much advertising is an example. It is the kind of lie which a man tells in the hope of gaining something by it.

Closely allied with this is what we might call the lie of propaganda, the kind of exaggerated claims which a person or party may make in order to win support. It has always been said that in war 'truth is the first casualty.' One side becomes the shining example of honour and gallantry; the other becomes the aggressor and the committer of atrocities. In war there is no such clean-cut division. The trouble about this kind of lie is that in the end it defeats itself, for, unless we are very simple-minded, we come to a stage when no one believes what a salesman says, and no one expects to find the claims of an advertisement justified. The Christian wishes to succeed in business and in life as any other man does, but he cannot accept a success which is based either on the twisting, the suppression or the falsifying of the truth.

(vi) There is the lie of silence. Silence can often be a lie. It is often the case that the easiest way to avoid trouble is to do or to say nothing. By remaining silent we may indicate support for something which we know to be wrong. By remaining silent the martyrs could have avoided martyrdom. All they needed to do was simply nothing, but this is the very silence that they refused.

(vii) There is the lie which is a half-truth. It is often very easy to give the truth a twist and a slant to suit ourselves, and there is no greater danger than a half-truth. A half-truth is often more dangerous than an out-and-out falsehood.

(viii) There is the lie to self. There is no harder thing in this world than to be strictly honest with oneself. Burns prayed for the power to see ourselves as others see us. It is not that we do not know ourselves; we do. But even the best of us can avert our eyes from the reality and look at the idealized picture. We often justify in ourselves what we would condemn in others. We often demand from other standards which we ourselves never even attempt to satisfy. We are often blind to things in ourselves that are painfully obvious to others. We often fail to see how much we hurt and fail other people.

(ix) The final lie that we may tell is the lie to God. We can lie to God by trying to conceal things from him, and we can lie to God by asking for the conventionally correct things even when we do not really want them. But it is obvious folly to try to deceive him who searches the hearts of men and who knows our thoughts as well as he hears our words and sees our deeds.

(Barclay,The Ten Commandments for Today, 189-193)

Why tell the truth? Not only does God command it in the eighth commandment--and that should be enough--but there are practical reasons. Reciprocal communication is established through the spoken word. The word thus becomes the vehicle for deep confidence. This is shattered, this essential glue in living together in truth, when one acquires the reputation for lack of truthfulness. Life together is, in fact, not possible without a minimal trust in the veracity of words. St Augustine puts it succinctly and comprehensively: "When regard for truth has been broken down or even slightly weakened, all things remain doubtful." In contrast, the Truth--life in Christ-- will set us free. Of this, there is no doubt.

Amen.