Scripture Lesson: John 18:33-37
So, let me begin by saying that as much as I admire Shakespeare, I am no expert. The phrase appears in his Merchant of Venice and thought by some to have been created by him. A creator of idioms, some would say that Shakespeare is one of the greatest influencers of the English language. But I digress. The phrase in question – Truth will Out – is the theme for our reflecting together on the lesson from John.
The Feast of the Reign of Christ marks the last Sunday of the liturgical year. As a congregation we have engaged with multiple lessons from the Gospel of Mark throughout this year. The oldest of the canonical gospels, and the shortest in length, Mark encourages Christians to a life that learns and witnesses in community, engages the stranger, and challenges social justice activism. Theologian Eliseo Pérez Álvarez writes that “Mark focuses his (narrative) in the day to day of the Nazarene, in his liberating works and on the death on the cross as a consequence of his lifestyle: one in favor of the untouchables, the destitute and the anonymous.” It may seem odd to some to end the (liturgical) year with a reading of the Gospel of John. But the journey through Mark gives us a lens, a background, to read this morning’s lesson as the encounter between the everyday Jesus and Pilate – and important lens to consider this celebration of Christ the King.
The case of the Temple Priests v. Jesus, the Nazarene, is found on all four gospels. On all narratives we find Pilate asking Jesus if he is king. In what seems to be a non-answer, Jesus simply responds, “you say so.” (Mark 15.2, Matthew 27.11, Luke 23.3). The John narrative is a tad different. According to John, Jesus engages Pilate. Throughout his ministry Jesus engages in conversations. His being tried by Pilate was not going to be an exception.
The first thing Jesus does is to shift the conversation from the cultural-religious accusations brought by the chief priest to a socio-political conversation. Pilate quickly acquiesces. In v. 35 Pilate affirms that his interest is not religious or cultural. Some biblical scholars even suggest that he cares less of the motivations of the religious leaders of Jerusalem. Pilates motivations were purely political. And worst, they were imperial. Pilate taking on the case of Jesus is not to tend to a looming religious-political crisis brewing at the heart of Jewish life in 1st century Palestine. The governor’s intent was to manage the political fall-out that may befall him should a mob situation were to happen in Jerusalem just days before Easter. And now that motives are clear, the two can freely converse.
You see, the way of Jesus witnessing, engaging, teaching, relating to and with others is conversation. Conversation is key to understanding, both, how Jesus teaches and what he taught. Jesus does not dialogue. A dialogue is an engagement among two or more parties with the purpose of convincing the other of an opinion, point of view or action. That is not the way of Jesus.
A conversation is an engagement where, at best, there are no agendas, or at least the motives and biases are clear. In conversation relationships deepen. In conversation, the parties speak out of and about their own being. Dialogue is about managing power to get what one wants. The purpose of dialogue is the pursuit to catch the other on something that could defeat the other’s argument. In conversation that pursuit to defeat is transposed with a deeper awareness of the other. Conversation is not about managing power. Conversation is about allowing yourself to be powerfully transformed by another.
When that awareness grows and deepens, the truth is shared. And it was so in the conversation between Jesus and Pilate. So much so that Pilate had nothing on which to find Jesus guilty. And that is the reason why Jesus died a state-sanctioned death, not only to fulfill what Jesus had said about his death (v. 32), but because there was nothing in the law – fair or unfair – that would have merited a guilty verdict. Jesus was killed because of an interpretation of a tradition, authorized by the state.
You see, I think that the celebration of the Reign of Christ seen through the lens of Mark and based on Jesus’ trial as written by John speaks to the relationship between power and truth as the ethos of politics. Pilate was looking for ways to discredit Jesus’ ability or capacity for political power. For the governor, political power is bestowed through family relations, imposed by force and fear, and exercised for the purpose of maintaining power and increasing wealth and access to more power (any reflection on NYS politics today might be purely coincidental). Jesus, on the other hand, seems to suggest that Pilate (and the religious authorities) could rest easy because the kingdom of Jesus is not of this world. Otherwise, Pilate would have had a full-blown rebellion – against the Temple and the Empire – on his hands.
And yet, Jesus’ further response is revolutionary. Jesus says, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” (v.37) Aletheia, the Greek word translated to truth, has a much deeper meaning. It is not simply truth found out of fact as opposed to lies (any reflection on DC politics today might be purely coincidental). Truth is not simply about being objective. Truth is also, and perhaps much more so, relational. Truth is about sincerity, integrity, candor, living out in harmony with divine truth. The kingdom of Jesus is not of this world – where power is amazed, manipulated, managed, even imposed. The kingdom of Jesus is about being, in transforming relationships, relationships that out of sincerity, integrity, candor, and harmony can and will transform the lives of human beings and of all of creation one being at a time – in the same way we learned about the Jesus according to Mark. Although today’s lesson ends in v. 37, Pilates question on v. 38 is intriguing. “What is truth?” I wonder if Pilate asked a sincere question or asked out of spite. I find it intriguing also that John leaves the question unanswered. What would Jesus respond? Do we as a community of Christians have an answer to that question?
In a time where fact is fabricated and journalism – that essential profession for the encouragement of a lively and informed democracy – seems not to be able to keep up with said fabrication, in a time where opinion is rampant and the furthering of the socio-political divide is evident in the so-called Western world, we are found by a lesson and in a liturgical celebration that speaks of the Ruler of the Universe. The Ruler of the Universe is one that rules not in the ways of this world – where power, access, and wealth are amazed, increased and protected through warmongering, propaganda, and nationalism. The Christ rules by being the witness and the testimony to the truth.
Interesting word “testify”. A better word to translate the original Greek verb would be “witnessing.” The noun of this Greek verb is often not translated to English. It is rather transliterated – “martyr.” As followers of Christ compelled by Jesus to pursue justice, how are we learning from Jesus regarding his witnessing of the truth? May our pursuit of justice, peace, and truth allow us to be transformed day in and day out into the way of Jesus that through our daily witnessing to the Ruler of the Universe many in humanity and creation may see in us the way, the truth and the life.
Amen.
image: Ge, N. N. (Nikolaĭ Nikolaevich), 1831-1894. “What is truth?” Christ and Pilate, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55296. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:What_is_truth.jpg.