Wag the Dog

 

So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. After the priests had assembled with the elders, they devised a plan to give a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, “You must say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story is still told among the Jews to this day.


Several years ago I watched a delightful (if slightly creepy) movie titled ‘Wag the Dog”. In it, a team of spin doctors are able to manipulate the truth so expertly, they can make the public swallow any lie. In our story today, we find the Jewish spin doctors at work, manipulating the events of Jesus’ death so expertly, Jews even today don’t believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead. 


This happens even in the church. Holy Spirit Interactive, the ministry that brings you these reflections (among several other things), is one of the most fruitful ministries the Catholic Church has seen in recent times. As just one example, there are now over one hundred Schools of Discipleship in fourteen countries. By teaching people the Catholic faith, these Schools not only have they served to stop the mass exodus that has been taking place to other churches, they are actually bringing people who have left back to the Catholic Church.


Our material has an imprimatur; priests teach at our Schools; bishops all around the world have endorsed them. Yet, there are people out there who will have you believe that I am a protestant in order to stop the work that we are doing. I have often wondered why they would do that. If they were interested in growing the Kingdom of God, as they claim they are, they would surely appreciate others who put their hands to the plow. So, why then?


There are two possible reasons that I can think of. One, that they are not interested in building the Kingdom of God, but their own little fiefdoms. Two, they believe they should be the only ones building the kingdom of God. Consequently, they will do whatever they can, spinning the truth however they wish, to stop others from interfering with their plans. Kinda like the Jews in today’s story.


"Why does a dog wag its tail?" spin doctor Brean, played by Robert De Niro in the movie, asks at one point. "Because the dog is smarter than the tail. If the tail was smarter, it would wag the dog." So, when the tail wags the dog, the inference is that the tail is smarter, and we Christians, who are invited to be the dog, are stupid.


Let us not let the tail wag the dog. Please do share these reflections, especially among those who are being wagged.


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