WHAT IS TRUTH (43 OF 49)
Scripture: John 18:33-38
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What Is Truth (43 of 49)
Lectionary, Year B, Proper 29
Christopher B. Harbin
John 18:33-38
I just finished a novel that portrays the unvarnished truth as something exceedingly difficult for us to see and accept, at least the truth about ourselves. We wear masks to hide from others. On a deeper level, however, we also mask the truth about ourselves from ourselves. We may consider ourselves more important, more righteous, more worthy, or more central to the larger world around us than we should. Conversely, we may portray ourselves as less than worthy of our humanity and not deserving love and acceptance. How can we accept ourselves for who we are in God's eyes and accept that as sufficient? What truth does God want us to understand and accept?
Our definitions of truth do not coincide with God's. Our determinations of what is of worth run counter to God's definitions. Our values and the face we put on the world around us give us some degree of confidence and comfort, but they often mask aspects of reality we simply do not wish to see, do not wish to deal with, are unwilling to allow to make us uncomfortable. We prefer to hide behind the masks of slogans, bumper stickers, and trite answers to the deeper questions to avoid those realities we feel unprepared to face. Then we hear a new generation wielding the term to denote one's personal experience, one's story, one's understanding of self, one's appreciation of the larger world. When Pilate responds to Jesus with, ''What is truth?'' we may find ourselves wondering along with him.
Jesus' confrontation with Pilate was one of those hallmark examples of so many issues trapped behind facades designed to muddy reality. The chief priests brought Jesus to Pilate under one set of accusations while keeping their motives under wraps. Pilate could see through the smokescreen they established to know there was more to the story, even if he were unsure what they were hiding. It was apparent to Pilate that Jesus was no ...
Lectionary, Year B, Proper 29
Christopher B. Harbin
John 18:33-38
I just finished a novel that portrays the unvarnished truth as something exceedingly difficult for us to see and accept, at least the truth about ourselves. We wear masks to hide from others. On a deeper level, however, we also mask the truth about ourselves from ourselves. We may consider ourselves more important, more righteous, more worthy, or more central to the larger world around us than we should. Conversely, we may portray ourselves as less than worthy of our humanity and not deserving love and acceptance. How can we accept ourselves for who we are in God's eyes and accept that as sufficient? What truth does God want us to understand and accept?
Our definitions of truth do not coincide with God's. Our determinations of what is of worth run counter to God's definitions. Our values and the face we put on the world around us give us some degree of confidence and comfort, but they often mask aspects of reality we simply do not wish to see, do not wish to deal with, are unwilling to allow to make us uncomfortable. We prefer to hide behind the masks of slogans, bumper stickers, and trite answers to the deeper questions to avoid those realities we feel unprepared to face. Then we hear a new generation wielding the term to denote one's personal experience, one's story, one's understanding of self, one's appreciation of the larger world. When Pilate responds to Jesus with, ''What is truth?'' we may find ourselves wondering along with him.
Jesus' confrontation with Pilate was one of those hallmark examples of so many issues trapped behind facades designed to muddy reality. The chief priests brought Jesus to Pilate under one set of accusations while keeping their motives under wraps. Pilate could see through the smokescreen they established to know there was more to the story, even if he were unsure what they were hiding. It was apparent to Pilate that Jesus was no ...
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