We Want the Truth
Posted on May 22, 2016 by David Whetter
Grace and peace to you from God, our Creator, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, who abides in each of us.
“You can’t handle the truth!” Remember that line from the movie, “A Few Good Men”? It is a classic line from a great movie, but it is also what Jesus said to his followers (and says to us today) before he left them to return to the Father. The truth is something we cannot fully handle yet. But Jesus desires we know the truth and he knows that, in time, we will be able to handle the truth, and when we are ready for it Jesus says the Spirit will guide us into the truth.
The truth will be revealed to us by the Holy Spirit when we are ready to receive it, and for that to happen we need to be in relationship with the Holy Spirit. From the beginning of creation, God has desired to be in relationship with us in many different ways. In creation, God appeared as wind, or spirit (Genesis 1:2). As we heard in our reading from Proverbs this morning, long before Jesus was revealed, the people had experienced God as “wisdom,” a feminine image of God that is often overlooked. Over the centuries, God revealed God’s self in both maternal and paternal ways. Then some 2000 years ago, God chose to reveal God’s self in human form, and we know that form as Jesus. And then before Jesus returned to the Father, he promised that God would not leave his followers alone, but would send the Advocate, or Holy Spirit, to always be with us. That is the Spirit Pastor Brandt spoke of last week that will take hold of us and lead us into “truth.” That is, this Spirit is constantly seeking to guide us to a fuller understanding of Jesus’ revelation.
The church in John’s day, today, and always finds itself trying to understand and live its faith in the midst of social, cultural, and global circumstances that change rapidly.
Just as it was in John’s day, it is tempting for us in the church to devalue any new understanding of the Christian message that emerges when Jesus is no longer present. But the truth is, there is still much we must learn, and as one scholar notes, the Spirit makes it possible for us to grow in our understanding of the truth of what Jesus taught some 2000 years ago.
So the question is, will we listen to the Spirit and be open to newer and deeper understandings of our faith, of our culture, of our own community, or will we cling to our old ways and our old understandings based on what's happened in the past? It sure would be a lot easier to just go with what’s already been decided. Have you seen the bumper sticker that says, “The Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it”? Well, if that’s the truth, and it’s all settled, then what about Jesus’ words, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” Yes, Jesus shared with his followers everything God had wanted him to, but the truth is, we still do not fully understand all of it, and to understand God and God’s ways, we must be open to learning new things and changing our ways.
You know, there was a time in my life that I believed being a homosexual was a sin. After all, isn’t that what the Bible says? Then God did something in my life that I had never imagined. A man who I had known for years, a member of our extended family who I knew and loved, announced that he was gay. This was a man who I knew was a good Christian man. This was a man who literally spent his adult life in service to others. Through this relationship and through talking the time to learn not only what the Bible says but what the words literally meant in their day, I came to know the truth. Yes, Richard was a sinner, but not because he was gay. He was a sinner because he was a child of God’s, just like the rest of us. I came to know this truth because I was willing to get to know the real Richard.
To come to know the truth, you and I have to be intentional about being in relationship with others, especially others that are different from us. If we want to know the best way to handle our immigration problems in this country, we ought to enter into real relationships with real immigrants. If those of us who are straight want to know the issues and realities faced by the LGBTQ community, we ought to enter into relationships with them. If we want to know the truth about the Muslim community, we ought to be in relationship with people who are Muslim. The truth is, unlike so many want to claim, being a Muslim does not equate to being a terrorist.
Brothers and sisters, God’s truth and grace is bigger than anything we can imagine, and to better understand that truth and grace today, we are challenged to be intentional about being in relationship with others. In our busy, hurry-up world, it is easy to focus on ourselves and not make time for others, but our God is, by very definition, a God of relationships and we, too, are called to be in relationship. So here is your challenge for the summer. Be intentional about creating time for others. Be welcoming, no matter how busy you are. Take a look at this video to better understand what I mean.
(Salem video is played.)
My prayer for all of you this summer is that, as you go about enjoying your summer, as you go about your travels and trying to create some time of rest and relaxation, that you also be international about being in relationship with the world around you. To remind you of that, we are giving each of you one of these Salem Koozies. Our prayer is that this encourages and reminds you to welcome someone into your presence every chance you get. Let them know that they are important and that you do care about them, and maybe even take the time to have a beverage with them. I think you will be amazed at the truths that might get revealed to you. And while you are doing this, we are also challenging you to share photos of your “welcoming experiences with us here at Salem by forwarding them to the email noted on the card so that we can share them with the rest of the community.
God has much truth to reveal to us. Go experience God as you enter into relationships with God’s people. Amen.