Sunday's Sermon: What Do You Do when You Have the Truth?

In a very real way, I think we as humans both love and hate the truth. That may sound somewhat strange. You would think it would be one way or the other. You would think that we would either love it or hate it but not both. But I stand by what I said. As humans, we both love and hate the truth.

We love the truth in the same way two lovers long for each other when they are separated by a great distance. They want to see each other desperately for when they are together everything becomes real. I believe in many ways we long for the truth in such a way today. We yearn for it. We want to know what’s really real. Why would I say such a thing?

Because of the answer to this question: where do you find the truth today? Is there anyone or anything we trust to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Do you expect to turn on the television news and find the truth?
Do you expect to read newspapers and find the truth?
Do you expect to find the truth on internet web sites and blogs?
Do you expect politicians to tell the truth?
Do you expect to find the truth at colleges and universities?
Do you expect pastors and other clergy to tell the truth?
Do you expect me to tell you the truth? Wait! Don’t answer that one!I think if we are honest with ourselves, we are skeptical that anyone really and truly has the truth. Sure, there are many of us, and please note I am including myself here, who believe we have the truth. There are many of us who argue our points of view–some of us very effectively. But we also have a nasty habit of arguing in a fashion which makes our point of view the only point of view, and we tend to omit facts and statements which may call our understandings into question. And, oftentimes, when such things are pointed out to us, we deny them and vociferously attack anyone who would dare bring them up. Such attacks do nothing to help anyone believe we have the truth, and so most are left wondering if truth actually exists. Many yearn for someone or something to actually be honest and trustworthy enough to tell the truth. We would love it if we found it.

Or would we? You see, truth is a two edged sword. And here are a few reasons why I believe we don’t really want to know the truth. If we knew the truth, and that truth disagreed with our point of view, we would have to change the way we did things and the way we acted. If we really and truly found the truth, it would impact our lives directly and make us think differently about reality; and honestly, most of us don’t want that to happen.

For instance, let’s think a moment about the truth of time. We function in the realty of years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds. For most of us, our lives are governed by our clocks. We believe we are severely limited by time constraints, and we only have so much time to squeeze in before we die. Yet, what if we believed we were not bound by time? What if we believed we would live for eternity? What if we believed we had all the time in the world?

Well, isn’t that what our faith tells us? Doesn’t our faith tell us that the truth of the matter is we will have eternal life? Doesn’t our faith tell us we will have eternity to accomplish all we need to accomplish? Doesn’t our faith tell us we are not bound by time–and in a real way, since eternity encompasses the past, present and future, time doesn’t exist? I’m really not trying to give you an ice cream headache, but this is what our faith teaches. Yet, how many of us live as though we had all the time in the world? How many of us are willing to change the way we think and view things in light of the truth? Probably, not many of us. It would be too hard, not only to change the way we think but also the way we live. In this way, we aren’t a big fan of the truth.

Here’s another reason why we don’t like the truth: we see what happens when certain people believe they have it. Remember September 11, 2001? Anyone remember what happened on that date when a group of men who were so convinced they had the truth decided to fly some airplanes into the World Trade Center buildings? Oh, and not to pick on Islamic Fundamentalists; I’ll pick on some Christians as well. Remember centuries ago when certain Christians believed they had the truth and were willing to burn so called witches and drown them without even so much as a bit of remorse? Remember when Christians believed some people were less than human and could be bought and sold as property? Yes, these were people who believed they had the truth, and they stood on that truth even when it meant doing horrible things. Another reason we don’t like the truth.

And so we seem to be stuck between longing for the truth but dreading it. We seem to be stuck between hungering for the truth but afraid to bite into it for fear of what it may do to our system. We seem to want the truth but don’t want it to change anything or anyone. Unfortunately, we can’t have it both ways. If we long for the Truth, and if we find it, it will impact us; but I am convinced, when we have the Truth, it impacts us for the betterment of ourselves and the world.

Jesus says in our gospel lesson this morning about his disciples, "16They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 17Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth."

Jesus prays that we may be made holy–that’s what sanctify means–in the truth. And what is the truth: God’s word. And what is God’s Word? Of course, Scripture is God’s Word. And what does Scripture point toward: The Word. That might sound a bit confusing, but let me refresh your memory a little by reading from the first chapter of the book of John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4in him was life, and the life was the light of all people....14And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
So you see, not only is Scripture God’s Word, but Jesus Himself is the Word became flesh who came to live among us. We are made holy in Jesus. Jesus is the truth. Remember John 14:6, Jesus says, "I am the way, and the Truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me." Yes, Jesus is the Truth. And what do we have when we have Jesus? What do we do when we have Jesus? What do we do when we have the Truth in our hearts and in our lives?

Well, it changes us. It changes how we live. It changes how we act. It changes what we do as we become more and more like Him. Ah, but you might say, what about those Christians who burned witches and called for slavery and did all those other atrocities in Jesus’ name? Didn’t they have the Truth?

I respond: no. They didn’t. They may have thought they did, but their lives certainly didn’t show it. Their lives certainly didn’t embody Christ for Christ didn’t come and kill others to instill faith into them by fear–He died for them to take away their fear and instill into them faith. And if we have the Truth, we should be willing to do likewise. Amen.