Do You Want Justice?

 Perhaps you have heard the name Brock Turner.  If you haven’t let me fill you in on this boy.  Turner was caught sexually assaulting an unconscious woman at Stanford University in California.  The details are grim, but those of you with daughters, I want you to consider what you would do to a person you saw raping your daughter when she was passed out from drinking too much.  As a dad, the idea of a rusty knife, nail, old wooden barn, and lighter fluid come to mind.  I would want complete and total justice.  However, in the case of Brock Turner, he received a sentence of six months in the county jail with the high probability he will only serve three months.  He could have been sentenced to up to 14 years in prison, so he gets off very, very light.  Too light in my estimation and in the estimation of many, many people.  Those of us who believe this sentence was wrongheaded are asking, “Where is justice?”

 The cry for justice is a loud and strong one throughout the centuries.  If you read through the Old Testament, you will see over and over again the cries of God’s people for justice.  You will hear the cries of the prophets for justice.  You will see how God demands justice.  It is not without reason that God Himself declares, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”  (Exodus 21:23-24; Leviticus 24:19-20; Deuteronomy 19:21) Deuteronomy 19:21 even goes so far as to say, “Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”  Show no pity.

 True justice demands no pity.  True justice means that those who are guilty pay a price equal to what they have done.  True justice means that no matter if you are a lowly peasant or a high king, the law applies equally to both, and there is no give or take.  But justice also means that the innocent are left alone.  The innocent are protected.  Justice also means that the victims are compensated and cared for.  The Old Testament had quite a bit to say on this as well.  Care for the widow and the orphan are repeated over and over and over.  Concern for the well being of the poor and disenfranchised are highlighted by the prophets at every turn. 

 And justice isn’t just demanded in the holy Scriptures.  There is something deep within the fabric of nature that calls for justice.  There is something deep within the fabric of our beings that clamors for just behavior.  I showed a youtube video at the last senior service about what happens when two monkeys are paid unequally for performing the same activity.  One monkey is given a cucumber for handing a researcher a rock.  The second monkey is given a grape.  Guess what happens?  Here’s a hint, if you have children, give one child an apple and give the other an ice cream cone.  See what happens next.

 We long for justice.  Plain and simple.  And so, when we hear stories like Brock Turner, we recoil.  Justice isn’t being served.  Not in the least.  And when we look at Jesus’ trial, I think we should recoil as well–for justice is being mocked once again. 

 We know that the Sanhedrin, or Jewish leaders have broken nearly every rule in the book governing the trial of a criminal as they brought a sentence of death upon Jesus, but they did not have the power to put Jesus to death.  Only the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate could do that.  As the Roman empire expanded, one of the ways it kept power and control was by holding the power of the death penalty.  Local courts could try individuals, but to put them to death was reserved for the Roman governors.  Judea was no exception, so the Sanhedrin had to bring Jesus to Pilate.

 Pilate is an interesting character as far as we know.  Paul Maier wrote a very intriguing historical fiction regarding this man, and it is very eye opening.  Pilate was a social climber.  He wanted to do a good job and work his way up in the Roman empire, and this meant handling some jobs that weren’t exactly fun.  Being procurator of Judea was one of those jobs.  The Jews were traditionally stiff necked and difficult.  They had a history of rebelling.  Pilate knew these things, and he also believed he could handle them.  He encountered no small amount of difficulty, and it is safe to say that he was not on the friendliest of terms with his subjects.  Interestingly enough, he served as procurator of Judea for eleven years which is quite a long amount of time considering the difficulties he had.

 Pilate was charged with keeping the peace.  The Jews, particularly at Passover made this job very, very difficult.  As the Jews remembered how their God delivered them from the hands of oppression, they were apt to look for any reason to throw off their current oppressors: the Romans.  Pilate worked hard to keep the peace which is why he was in Jerusalem.  He normally resided on the coast, but during this time when the population of Jerusalem exploded with pilgrims, his presence was necessary. 

 This is why the Jewish leaders were easily able to bring Jesus to him for trial.  And you will note the charges the brought before Pilate.  Jesus is not being accused of blasphemy.  Jesus is being accused of calling himself the King of the Jews.  Pilate’s question in Greek can be expressed as follows, “You are the king of the Jews?”  It could be read contemptuously.  It could be read accusingly.  We don’t know for sure.  What we do know is that Pilate is not swayed by the Jewish leaders’ accusation.  Pilate knows these leaders do not respect him and would just as soon have him gone.  He can also perceive that Jesus is no king, and he really is no threat to the peace.  As N.T. Wright says, “he didn’t bother to round up any of his followers.”

 Jesus responds, “You say so.”  Mark Edwards says this about Jesus’ response, “In reply to Pilate’s question, Jesus responds, “You say so,” with emphasis on You.  It is not a direct affirmation, or else Pilate would have immediate grounds for execution.  But neither is it a denial.  The reply is suggestive, as if to say, “You would do well to consider the question!”

 And Pilate does.  He has to.  He is having to navigate a very sticky situation with the Sanhedrin, the Jewish pilgrims who are there for Passover, and a crowd that is growing as they watch the proceedings.  The Sanhedrin begins making all of their accusations. Jesus remains silent.  Pilate is amazed.  Pilate knows that Jesus is innocent of the charges being brought against him–after all, Jesus hasn’t been stirring up a rebellion.  Jesus hasn’t been putting together an army.  Roman spies would have known this, particularly since Jesus had been in public day after day after day.  Pilate knows that the Sanhedrin has it out for Jesus.  So, Pilate decides to stick it to the Sanhedrin by offering to set Jesus free as part of the Passover custom of releasing a prisoner.

 There are no other records of this Passover custom outside of the biblical accounts; although there are some accounts of similar things happening in other countries around the Roman empire at the time.  Mark tells us; however that members of the Sanhedrin work the crowd.  They begin inciting the crowd to ask for Barabbas.  Here is an interesting twist to the story.  After all, the crowd used to be highly supportive of Jesus.  The crowd used to hang on his every word.  What has changed?  How are they so susceptible to the Sanhedrin at this point?  Remember, the Jews did not believe that the Messiah would ever be arrested or tried.  They believed that the Messiah would conquer Israel’s enemies with God’s power and might.  Jesus wasn’t doing a very good job of that.  Jesus wasn’t calling down God’s power now.  It is my surmise that the chief priests were working the crowd with these facts.  The chief priests were calling Jesus a fraud.  He obviously was no messiah.  Therefore, Pilate should release Barabbas.  At least Barabbas had fought against the Romans.  At least Barabbas was trying to overthrow Israel’s enemies.  Jesus wasn’t doing anything.

 The crowd demanded Barabbas. 

 Pilate was incredulous.  “Then what should I do with Jesus, the ‘king of the Jews?”

 “Crucify him!”

 Why such hatred?  Perhaps even the Jews had their limit.  After so many false messiahs, after so much disappointment, all of their frustration and anger was poured out toward Jesus.  This fraud; this charlatan must be put to death.  It is only right.  Their disappointment can only be appeased with blood.

 “Why?” Pilate asks.  “What evil has he done?”

 There is no reasoning at this point.  The crowd is beyond reason.  They shout all the more, “Crucify him.”

 Pilate, knowing that he must choose between justice and his job keeps the peace and orders Jesus crucified.  It is a great injustice.  The innocent is sentenced to death, and the guilty goes free. 

 Now, let me read to you N.T. Wright once more at this point.  It is a long quote, but worth pondering.

 And therefore, within Mark’s story, we find also the deeply personal meaning.  The story of Barabbas invites us to see Jesus’ crucifixion in terms of a stark personal exchange.  Barabbas deserves to die; Jesus dies instead, and he goes free.  Barabbas was the archetypal Jewish rebel: quite probably what we today would call a fanatical right-wing zealot, determined to stop at nothing to bring in a version of God’s kingdom which consisted of defeating Roman power by Roman means–in other words, repaying pagan violence with holy violence.  No doubt many Christians in Mark’s community, and others who would read his book, had at one stage at least flirted with such revolutionary movements.  Reading the story of a guilty man freed and the innocent man crucified, it would not be hard for them to identify with Barabbas, and to view the rest of the story with the awestruck gaze of people who think, “There but for God’s grace go I.”

Just so, Mark is saying, God’s grace, God’s sovereign and saving presence, is exactly what we are witnessing in this story.  When we learn to read the story of Jesus and see it as the story of the love of God, doing for us what we could not do for ourselves–that insight produces, again and again, the sense of astonished gratitude which is very near the heart of authentic Christian experience.

 The guilty go free.

 The innocent gets condemned.

 The innocent dies in place of the one who should be condemned.

 This is a microcosm of the Gospel–the knowledge that Jesus takes our place as condemned sinners which allows us to go free.

 You might object to this right here.  You might object and say, “This is a travesty of justice!”  And you would be right–particularly if you neither understand your own sinfulness or the love and justice of God.

 First, our sinfulness.   You will notice that I shifted from your to our.  “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”  And this sinfulness goes much deeper than simply the things that we do.  Everyone does bad things.  Everyone makes mistakes on a regular basis.  This is hardly worthy of condemnation.  None of us here this morning have committed murder, so why do we stand condemned before God?

 Deep down in the very recesses of our hearts is a driving force that we are all born with.  Deep down in the very core of our being is a driving force that leads us to live for ourselves–to see ourselves as ultimately important; to portray ourselves as better than most; to put on facades of perfection, beauty, wealth, and independence so that we look like we have it all together; to strive for our own safety and security first and foremost and then to look at the world around us and perhaps, perhaps offer a token or two of charity toward another–but only if they meet our criteria.  Deep down, we are inherently selfish and self-serving only engaging in activities if we get some benefit or some sense of self-worth.  There is a reason biologist Richard Dawkins wrote a book entitled The Selfish Gene!  There is a reason John Stossel once did a documentary piece titled, “Greed is Good”!  This is who we are deep down, and you can deny it if you choose, but spend enough time in reflection and examination of your own motives, you will see that this is simply a fact. 

 And if you act for yourself all the time; if your ultimate motivation is your own safety and security; if your motives are “what can I get out of this”; then who in your universe is god?  The answer is: yourself.  Do you want to know why there is so much turmoil in the world?  Do you want to know why there is warfare?  Do you want to know why there is hunger and thirst and poverty?  Go no further than our inherent, selfish nature.  We are all part of this problem.  How much so?  This week I heard an interesting quote about extinction.  For it is a reality that as humanity has flourished, many species have become extinct, but if humanity were to become extinct, it would be many other species that would flourish.  Think on that for a few minutes as you consider the impact we have had on this natural world.   And what would be the just punishment for our species for all the damage we have done?

 And if God is a just God, what should He do?  If God is a God of justice, shouldn’t payment be made for this destruction?  Shouldn’t death be visited upon us for the tremendous amount of death and suffering we have caused?  If you believe in justice, true justice, you know the answer is in the affirmative.

 And death is served.  Death is visited, but not upon us, but upon the God who entered into the world.  For this is where God’s love enters into the picture.  This is where God’s love makes itself known in an amazing way.  For though we deserve death, God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him.

 Jesus took our death upon Himself to satisfy the demands of Justice, and He pardoned us and allowed us to go free because of his love for us.  Justice and mercy have met singularly in the Christ event.  What transpired at Jesus trail when Barabbas was released is a foretaste of what we will experience next week as we travel to the foot of the cross–the place where God poured out His love for you and for me.  Amen.

Problem with the Truth

 Why is it that we have such a problem with the truth?

 You may scratch your head at that statement, but hear me out.  I believe that we as humans have a love-hate relationship with the truth.  We love to think that we are diligently seeking it out or that we have found it, but, in reality, we don’t actually want to find it.  We’d rather think that truth does not exist or is so completely subjective and relative that it doesn’t apply to us.  Why would I say such a thing?

 Well, I want us to think about it for a minute as we apply the truth to some very real world situations.  Let’s take the issue of hunger in the world.  We all know there are people in this world who face hunger every day.  We also know that people die from hunger every day.  And we also know that we produce enough food in the world to feed everyone with no problem.  No one should go hungry, so why do they?  I have said before that the truth of the matter is: we don’t have a hunger problem; we have a distribution problem.  Food is not distributed to those who are in need.  That’s the truth.  We may all nod in agreement this morning with that statement, but here is where the truth hurts.  If you are like me, you have a pantry full of food.  You have a refrigerator full of food, and you have a freezer with plenty of food in it.  Most of us have enough food stored up in our house to last for months.  We have much more than we need, so we are actually part of the problem.  When the truth confronts us, we don’t like it. 

 Or, let’s turn our attention to politics for a little bit.  I know we have both Republicans and Democrats sitting here this morning. Some of you are passionate about supporting your political party, and I understand that.  Some of you are more quiet than others given that this area leans very strong Republican.  We are in the midst of a presidential election year, and the newspapers, radio waves, and internet feeds are going nuts talking about how the end of the world–or at least the end of the U.S. will be at hand if either Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, or Bernie Sanders is elected.  So, what is the truth of the matter.  Well, if history is any judge, it’s not going to matter who is going to get elected.  Really.  Think about it.  Has the election of anyone really made a difference for any one of you here today?  Has your life improved substantially by the election of any particular person to office?  The reality is that elections are more about which corporate entities get richer.  You and I almost never benefit, and yet we fight amongst each other as if these elections were life and death.  And the truth hurts because we become so emotionally involved in these things.  When the truth confronts us, we don’t like it.

 And God forbid that anyone asks us what we really believe is the truth about a particular issue.  I’ve stepped in it a bit with my first two illustrations.  Perhaps I’ve gotten myself into a little bit of hot water, but that’s going to be nothing compared to this next topic.  I’m going to talk about altar flowers.  Some of you may laugh at this.  Others are already gearing up for a battle.  If you are not a Christian or are new to the Christian church, you may not realize that there are actually conflicts in churches about whether or not you can use artificial flowers on the altar.  And we pastors are oftentimes thrust right into the midst of the battle.  “Pastor, can we use artificial flowers on the altar?”  “Pastor, tell them that only live flowers are allowed on the altar.”  Believe me, you don’t want to be caught here.  It’s not pleasant.

 What is the truth of the matter here?  My honest answer to folks on this one is: God doesn’t care what kind of flowers you put up there, but people do.  Before anyone throws anything, hear me out.  Do you really think God in heaven looks at a congregation and says, “Whoa there!  They put artificial flowers on the altar down there.  That’s a huge no, no.  Gonna have to move them to the going to hell list until they repent and use real flowers.”  I mean, it’s just as plausible as God looking down from heaven and saying, “Wait a minute!  I gave these people the ability to produce very realistic flowers so they wouldn’t have to destroy the beauty of my creation just to add color to their worship services.  Why do they persist in taking the wondrous beauty I produce outside and move it inside when they don’t have to anymore?  I’m going to put them on the going to hell list until they repent and change their ways.”  Do either of these things make any sense what-so-ever?  But, this truth confronts us in our own traditions–traditions that are very important to some of us.  And if our traditions are shown to be not as important as we once thought, we are not happy about it.  The truth hurts.

 In each of the examples above, when truth is brought to the matter, we don’t like it.  It makes us dig deep down within ourselves to confront our biases and our behaviors.  The truth reveals that we are not as holy, as good, or as worthy as we think that we are; so even though we like to think that we strive for the truth (because that makes us look good), when confronted with the truth, we generally shy away from it or refuse to admit it.  It is too painful.

 I believe this is why the Jewish authorities were trying so hard to get rid of Jesus.  This is why they paid Judas to betray Him.  This is why they put Him on trial.  They could not stand that He, as the way, the Truth, and the life, revealed their shortcomings and showed how they had corrupted the Jewish faith.  Unable to handle the Truth, they chose to get rid of it.

 After Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gesthemane, they brought Him to the high priest.  This move was highly unusual.  The Jews had developed a system of jurisprudence that followed the Torah.  They prided themselves on being a just people, but all of that was thrown to the wind because of their hatred of Jesus.  Ordinarily, they would meet in the daytime so that all proceedings could be public.  Not so now.  Ordinarily, they met “in the Chamber of Hewn Stone, north of the temple sanctuary, adjacent to the Court of Israel.”  (Edwards) Not so now.  They met in the high priest’s house to expedite the process and keep out public influence.  Ordinarily, they gave the accused time to prepare a defense.  Not so now.  All of their jurisprudence, they threw out the window because of their hatred of Jesus.

 And they certainly didn’t have any ideas of innocent until proven guilty.  Mark says they were seeking evidence so that they could put Jesus to death.  They didn’t have any evidence!!  But they desperately wanted some, so they tried their hardest to produce such evidence.  They failed repeatedly.  You see, according to Jewish law at the time, two witnesses were necessary to provide evidence for a death penalty, and those two witnesses had to agree on every detail–every single detail.  The Jews knew how unreliable eye-witness testimony could be.  They knew that oftentimes people saw what they wanted to see and heard what they wanted to hear.  They wanted to insure this did not happen to an accused person.  They wanted to make sure people weren’t lying just to get rid of someone.  They questioned witnesses individually to safeguard fraud.  And their own system was failing them.  The false witnesses who came to testify against Jesus could not agree on details.  Not surprising since they were making stuff up as they went.

 Mark records then, a very interesting note.  Witnesses came forth to say that Jesus had said, “I will tear down this temple made with hands and build one not made with hands.”  Nowhere in Mark did Jesus say this.  There is a reference to this in the book of John.  It’s an interesting accusation because of what it connotes.  According to Craig Evans, “Referring to the temple as... “made with hands” in itself would have been offensive to the ruling priests, for in addition to denying the divine status of the temple such a statement would even hint at its idolatrous status.  In the LXX, ...“made with hands” appears several times in reference to idols.  Such a connotation would only intensify the prophetic indictment of Jesus’ saying” The temple establishment is likened to something human, perhaps even idolatrous, that will be destroyed when the “son of man” comes and a temple...”not made with hands” is erected.”  The accusation here against Jesus is that He is claiming that the temple is an idol.  That would have infuriated the Sanhedrin, and could have carried a death sentence.  However, we know from the book of John that Jesus was not referring to the temple proper but His body.  This is most probably why, “on even this point they could not agree.”

 The trial at this point is not going well for the Sanhedrin.  The false witnesses cannot come up with a proper accusation.  Jesus is not cooperating with His silence. Ordinarily, an accused person would speak up and defend himself, but Jesus does not.  If He opens His mouth, it is very likely, the Sanhedrin will find something to accuse Him of, so Jesus lets things play out.  He will not answer falsehood.  There is no need.  It will always undermine itself.  Therefore, since the witnesses cannot agree, and Jesus remains silent, Caiaphas, the high priest takes matters into his own hands.  With the thought of this trial slipping away and the distasteful prospect of having to release Jesus, Caiaphas speaks, “ 60Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, ‘Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?’ 61But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”

 Let me read to you Walter Liefield’s comment here, “The silence of Jesus to the first questions prompted the high priest to ask him another.  The question “Are you the Christ the son of the Blessed One?” indicates that by this time the religious authorities either knew or suspected that Jesus regarded himself as the Messiah.  “The Blessed” is a reverential circumlocution to avoid the pronunciation of the name of God and stands in apposition to the title “Christ” or “messiah.”  “Son of God” was understood by the Jews of Jesus time solely in a messianic sense; and since the Messiah in Jewish expectations was to be a man, the question of the high priest was about Jesus’ claim to messiahship and had nothing to do with deity.  The question proved to be a stroke of genius.  Blasphemy was a capital crime.  If the religious authorities could not effect an accusation by the testimony of others, Jesus’ own testimony about himself would do.  Had Jesus refused to answer this question, the Sanhedrin would have had to devise some other plan.”

 If Jesus would have remained silent, some other plan would have needed to been devised.  If Jesus would just have remained silent.  But He did not.  At this crucial junction, Jesus spoke.  And He didn’t pull any punches.  “I am; and “you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power”, and “coming with the clouds of heaven.”  Now, if Jesus would have simply admitted that He claimed to be the Messiah, there would not have been much of an uproar.  There were people who claimed to be the Messiah all the time, and the Sanhedrin didn’t accuse them of blasphemy.  There is something more to Jesus’ statement here.  There something that truly sets Him apart form these other wanna be Messsiahs.  Let’s start with the first two words of Jesus’ answer. “I AM.”  Some scholars debate this particular response as to whether Jesus is simply self identifying or if there is more going on because the Greek words here: ego eime are the exact words used for God’s name in the Greek translation of the Jewish Bible.  If Jesus is using the name of God right here, it is no wonder He is accused of blasphemy!  He is telling the Sanhedrin He is God!!!

 And Jesus does not quit there, He continues by quoting Psalm 110 and Daniel 13.  N.T. Wright says this, “...these two biblical texts, taken together, answer all the questions simultaneously, and add to them the assertion that Jesus will be vindicated, exalted to a place at God’s right hand.  The answer says, in a tight-packed phrase: yes, I am a true prophet; yes, I am the Messiah; you will see me vindicated; and my vindication will mean that I share the very throne of Israel’s God.  At last the masks are off, the secrets are out, the cryptic sayings and parables are left behind.  The son of man stands before the official ruler of Israel, declaring that God will prove him right, and the court in the wrong.”

 Throughout the book of Mark, there has been a Messianic secret.  Jesus has commanded the disciples to silence about His identity.  Jesus has commanded the demons to silence regarding His identity.  Jesus has commanded those whom He healed to silence regarding His identity, but here, in front of His accusers; in front of those who are waiting to put Him to death, He reveals Himself.  “I AM!” 

 And the high priest tore his robes.  This is a sign of deep distress.  This is a sign of anger and grievous wound.  This Jesus has placed Himself in a position only reserved for God.  Jesus has elevated Himself far too high.  Indeed this is blasphemy!!  All the rest of those gathered agreed and condemned Jesus to death.  They couldn’t handle the truth!  And so convinced of their rightness; so convinced are they of their position, they begin to slap Jesus and hit him.  Jewish law required that if a man is condemned of death, those who have accused that man are made to cast the first stones.  The members of the Sanhedrin are following through on this.  They are unabashedly killing the truth. 

They cannot stand in its presence. 

 It’s not surprising, because when we are confronted with the truth, we don’t like it either, and now I am going much deeper than those opening illustrations I used at the beginning of this sermon.  I am going straight to the source of all truth.  I am going straight to Jesus, and I am telling you this morning that if you stand in the presence of Jesus, you will find it a very painful experience.  You will find yourself cut to the core.  You will find yourself revealed in all of your weakness.  The truth hurts, and being in front of Jesus is no different.

 But...

 But...

   But...  Jesus is love.  Standing in front of Him won’t hurt.  He simply loves us; unquestioningly; without reservation.  Yes.  Indeed He does love us without reservation, but He loves us not because of who we are but in spite of who we are.  Let me say that again, Jesus loves us not because of who we are but in spite of who we are.  It is this that hurts most deeply when we come before Jesus because we are truly revealed.

 We are revealed as those who have murdered others simply by being angry with them.–Matthew chapter 5.

 We are revealed as those who have failed to give up our possessions and follow Him.–Luke chapter 14.

 We are revealed as those who did not love the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength.  We are revealed as those who chase after false Gods.

 We are revealed as those who have failed to love our neighbor as ourselves.

 We are revealed as those who have failed to love our enemies and bless those who persecute us.

 We are revealed as those who talk the talk but fail miserably to walk the walk.

 We are revealed as those who want to justify our actions and make excuses instead of accepting our faults.

 We are revealed as those who would seek to escape the truth or have it silenced.

 If you ever stand in front of Jesus, these things cut you to the core, and you know deep down your failure.  You know deep down your own darkness.  You know deep down your sin.

 And it is at this point, where the great I AM stretches out His arms and dies for you.  It is at this point where you know you are not worthy of the truth, that the truth sets you free by saying, “I will take your sin upon myself.  I will offer you forgiveness.  I will clothe you with my righteousness that you may be blameless; you may be flawless.”

 The truth will go to the cross to right all your wrongs.  He loves you that much.  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved by Him.”

 Ah, and once you experience these two things: once you are condemned by the truth and then embrace by it with its great love: no longer will you run from it.  No longer will you avoid it.  You will stand in it and upon it.  And you will unabashedly point to it–not as something you own or claim, but as the person who was unafraid to announce it; die and then rise as it.  You will point to the truth.  You will point to Jesus.  Amen.