Preaching on Sunday

I will be speaking at church today. It's our annual Hanging of the Greens service but it will be a little different this year. We changed all the decorations and set the tree in the center of the stage area. Melissa has planned the service so I'm not sure what it will be like.

Bob will be by at 9:00 to pick me up. We attended the funeral of the husband of my classmate in Bartlesville yesterday afternoon. For some reason it wore me out. I watched TV until 7:30 last evening and then took my bath and went to bed. I awoke a couple of times but went right back to sleep. I fixed myself a pot of coffee and ate a small bowl of oatmeal this morning.

My sermon is entitled "What Is Truth?"

What is truth? That’s a question John’s gospel says Pilate asked of Jesus: And what is truth?

As we explore this question, I hope we’ll benefit in two ways: First , that we’ll resolve to be more truth-seeking – digging deeper and getting to the bottom line – not accepting as fact everything we hear on the news or out on the street;

Two, that we’ll see truth as something more than an objective reality. In the eyes of faith, truth is a living Word that informs us and inspires us to live better and more productive lives as children of God who are trying to establish God's peaceable kingdom.

First, let’s take a closer look at the text. Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane and taken to Caiaphas’ house. The Jewish Council was already assembled and waiting. They questioned him at length and condemned him for blasphemy. The next day they sent him to Pontius Pilate on the charge of treason, that he claimed to be King of the Jews.

John’s gospel has Pilate ask Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” (John 18:33) Jesus asked Pilate, "Do you say this by yourself, or did others tell you about me?" (John 18:34) Pilate confessed that this is what he’d been told. And Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world …” (John 18:36) Pilate seized on this and said, “So you are a king?” (John 18:37) And John has Jesus reply:

"You say that I am a king. For this reason I have been born, and for this reason I have come into the world, that I should testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice." (John 18:37)

And then John has Pilate ask, “What is truth?” (John 18:38)

Jesus didn’t immediately respond. His silence implies the answer: “If you have to ask, you wouldn’t understand.”

The Gospel of John was written after the fact to first century Christians who were being encouraged to live Jesus’ message of community....taking care of one another… as God’s plan for the world. Pilate saw Jesus’ message as a repudiation of the authority of the Roman Empire. He saw it as a threat to his own authority. That’s why the question he asked was “What is Truth?”

And what is truth? It’s actually a very good question. Truth, after all, is essential to healthy relationships and strong communities.

Truth lies at the heart of every healthy relationship. Whether it’s our husband or wife, our business partner or best friend, we have to believe the other person is telling us the truth. If they ever lie to us or betray ur trust, your relationship will never be the same. We'll always wonder in the back of our minds, “Is he/she telling me the truth?”

Truth is the cornerstone of living in community with one another. We have to trust individuals and companies to do what they promise. When truth is compromised, community breaks down.

We see this in the political arena: Politicians have talked out of both sides of their mouths for so long we no longer have confidence in what they say or do. When he took the oath of office following the Richard Nixon scandal, Gerald Ford said, “Truth is the glue that holds government together.” There's no doubt about that. And we could go on to say … “the absence of truth is the solvent that quickly dissolves it.”

Truth is essential to healthy relationships and strong communities. That’s the first point, and the second is this: Truth is rare.

The first half of every TV courtroom show is about some crime that’s been committed; the second half is about how it was tried in court, where the lawyers expose the culprit and get a guilty verdict or a public confession. As each witness takes the stand, he is asked, “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?” The witnesses solemnly answer, “I do.” Anything less was inadmissible.

There ought to be some way to apply that oath to everyday life. While most of us are not guilty of telling out-right lies, we’re not altogether honest, either.

I love the story told about Lillian Carter, President Carter’s mother. When he was running for President, there was a female reporter who was determined to dig up some dirt on the candidate. So, she dogged Miss Lillian relentlessly for weeks. Finally, Miss Lillian consented to an interview in her home. She met the reporter at the door and invited her in. No sooner than they’d sat down, the reporter asked, “Has your son ever told a lie?” Miss Lillian bristled and said, “No, never.” “Never?” the reporter asked. “Never!” Miss Lillian answered. “Never??” the reporter persisted. Miss Lillian said, “Well, maybe a little white lie, now and then.” It was the chink in the armor the reporter was looking for. “I see,” she said, “and what, pray tell, is a white lie?” Miss Lillian smiled and said, “Well, do you remember when I greeted you at the door and said how nice it was to see you?”

We do it all the time. We tell little white lies: “I’d love to come, but I have a prior commitment … Send me more information in the mail, and I’ll get back to you … the check’s in the mail.”

At best, it’s a way of being courteous; at worse, it’s a way of being dishonest. Truth, pure and simple, is rare.

We manipulate the truth to serve our purposes, not only by what we say, but by what we don’t say. We are reminded, “The most dangerous untruths are truths that are slightly distorted.”

We're always better off to speak the truth in love, and let the chips fall where they may. For one thing, we never have to try to remember exactly what we have said.

Truth is rare. That’s the second point, and the third is this: No matter how truthful you want to be, your ability to tell the truth is limited by your perspective. I will remind you of this: there’ll always be more to the truth than we’ll ever know. Paul said it best when he said, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

Our ability to tell the truth is limited by what we know. That’s why it’s so important to be circumspect – to be aware that, as obvious as something may be to us – and as firmly as we may believe it – there are other perspectives that are just as valid as ours to be considered. Next time we have a difference of opinion with someone, instead of arguing about who’s right, listen carefully to what the other person has to say. It’ll help us see the bigger picture more clearly.

Our ability to be truthful is limited by our perspective. Finally, truth, as we know it, is subject to change.

We once thought the world was flat and the earth was the center of the universe. There was a time when we believed these things were true. Turns out, we were wrong. What we accepted as true changed. Which makes us wonder: What are we accepting today as truth that, in years to come, will turn out to be false?

Who are we going to believe? What is truth?

The Good News is that Jesus lived and taught truth among humanity.

By listening to the teachings of Jesus and implementing them in our own lives, we’re given the ability to know the truth in the midst of a less-than-truthful world. He is purported to have made this promise:

"If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." (John 8:32)

At the end of the day, the only way to do that is to know the source of truth, and that’s a constant search. Honor the words of Jesus, seek to do good, be just and love God and your neighbor

I also said that I hoped we'd see truth as something more than an objective reality. In the eyes of faith, truth is dynamic – not something we pin down and defend, but something we live each day, as we seek to live not as a citizen of this world, but as a child of God.

Jesus’ teachings and life example are the ultimate example. We should look to the testimonies about him, learn from his teachings, follow his example and, by God’s grace, we, too, will come to embody the truth and become a living witness to God’s grace and love.