Pinocchio shows us that truth can come to us in many ways

By Father Perry D. Leiker, pastor

A reflection on the daily readings, for Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, by Father Perry.

The original story of “Pinocchio” is exactly that — a story or fable.

It didn’t happen. There was no wooden boy that could talk and became a prodigious liar.

And lying does not make one’s nose grow as Pinocchio’s nose grows.

Then what’s the point? It never happened and it is not a true story. And yet, it happens every day, and it is truer than true.

It is the absolute truth.

You see, when a person lies and presents a false image of themselves, they truly become distorted.

What you see and hear is what you get — and it is all a lie.

A perfect contemporary example is a certain congressman who allegedly has multiple names, whose mother died in multiple countries and in different decades, who graduated from schools he never attended, who was very successful in companies he never worked for, and on and on and on.

Who is this Pinocchio? And although literally the nose does not grow, it certainly becomes a wonderful way of seeing it.

Each lie caused the nose to grow a little more until this most distorted face became a nightmare!

And then, the most amazing thing happened: The little wooden liar told the truth and his nose began to shrink; eventually, his nose became its normal size; and then he became a live, real, flesh and blood boy.

He became truly human.

Now, what we see and hear is a real, truth-filled person. What we see and hear is truly what we get! And that is the point of the story.

Absolute truth!

In the story of Genesis, God is looking for a suitable partner for Adam.

He creates beautiful creature after beautiful creature and presents each to Adam who names them all but finds not one of them suitable for a partner.

Then, God casts a deep sleep (now we are getting fablelike and fabulous) and removes one of the man’s ribs and builds this body, later to be described by Adam: “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.”

Did it actually happen exactly that way? It doesn’t need to.

The point is that finally God provided man with his woman that was very different, and yet very much the same.

A perfect match!

God seems to make things happen in the perfect way.

+ This is the truth, and there is more truth out there today in this word of God.

Imagine this: a woman — and a Greek woman at that. (Sounds like a non-Jew; that is, a Gentile)

She begs for healing for her daughter with an unclean spirit.

His remark about not throwing the children’s food to the dogs until after the children have eaten embraces a common saying.

First the children are fed, then the dogs.

Or to apply it: First, the Jews receive God’s word and graces and call; then, the Gentiles follow.

And when she accepts his words and owns them thoroughly, Jesus sees faith and sees her.

This woman seems to have gotten it even better than the children (the Jews), and for that, her faith brought life to her and to her daughter again!

+ Again and again we receive stories and examples that are more than just a story. They are a call to us to discover the same truth in and for us.

Do we humbly discover God calling us, inviting us, seeing us with a knowing love, and bringing more life to us and into us?

Truth can come to us in many ways, even through a Pinocchio.

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Father Perry D. Leiker is the 13th pastor of St. Bernard Catholic Church. Reach him at (323) 255-6142. Email Father Perry at pleiker@stbernard-church.com. Follow Father Perry on Twitter: @MrDeano76.