One of the reasons Donald Trump is leading the race for the Republican presidential nomination is because of, as one observer put it, ‘his defiance of the prevailing culture of political correctness among the media and academia.’

In other words, Donald Trump may be bombastic, decadent, rude, and pompous, but, as another supporter put it, ‘he tells it like it is.’ Trump does not mince words, he’s not shaped by opinion polls or focus groups; what you see is what you get.

Love him or hate him (for there is little middle ground with Donald Trump) his popularity points a finger at something really important: Authenticity. Trump is perceived as authentic. And people today crave authenticity.

This Sunday’s gospel takes us to a fierce confrontation between Jesus and some religious authorities that finds its roots in authenticity. Clothed in their clerical robes and obsessed with their rituals, Jesus cuts through the hypocrisy to teach his disciples, and you and me, about how truly important it is to be who we are.

Why so many authorities, religious and otherwise, find comfort in suspicion, defense, and distrust (versus openness humility, and curiosity), makes us wonder if they are truly fearful of being found out – as if to reveal their real selves, motivations, foibles, and fears – would ruin them?

And this is the challenge for us all today: to be brave enough to be who we are.

When we choose not to be ourselves, the best we can be is a poor imitation of someone else, and the worst we can be is rule-obsessed judges who need to put others down so we can feel better about who we aren’t.

How do we hide? And why? Who are we beneath the public personas we painstakingly sculpt? How might God be calling us to shed the ill-fitting clothes of another and to become truly ourselves?