Truth

There are so many things that I wanted to say on today, the day of the Reformation. On Halloween - but last Sunday’s Gospel and the images from the New York Times Sunday paper are still floating around in my head.

“...and the truth will make you free.”

That Gospel quote from Sunday and the faces of grief and horror blanketing the cover and insides of the paper - not to mention the images on social media and the evening news - remain with me even today.

Just how can the ‘truth’ set us free?

Simply asking that question makes me feel like I am quoting Pilate at the trial of Jesus when he asks him: “what is truth?”

Perhaps we need to ask the Church Universal: “what is your truth?”

What is the actual truth of the church in regards to events like those last week Saturday?

The bishop of the Metropolitan D. C. Synod for the ELCA pointed out that it seems the church has convinced itself that we were never really racist. We never spouted anti-Semitic diatribes, never participated in homophobia or in gender inequality…

But that’s not the truth!

It feels nice to not think about it, but how can we address what happened on Saturday without first addressing the truth? The truth that the church did and does participate in these horribly dehumanizing actions.

Being truth tellers is not easy, but doing so with Jesus as our guide will lighten the burden. It will give us the ability to tell the truth - pray - and then act.

Dear church, when the truth sets us free, we are then free to act. Call out the injustice. Name evil. Work for a better today. Who knows how bright tomorrow will be when we live in the truth.

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Jason