Belonging to truth, freed from sin

Jesus is amazing in John 18.  He knew his disciples wouldn’t fight to put him in power.  And he didn’t want that either.  What a contrast to what was happening in the states a month ago when their national guard was preparing for riots and insurrections if Kamala Harris had won.  There was to be no civil war enacted by the followers of Jesus, and Jesus never asked for that kind of revolution. 

Jesus asked for a revolution of the heart and mind, but not a revolution of force and violence.  He was asking for a revolution of attitude and intention.  He was asking for a revolution where we think about truth and compassion and empathy.  He was asking for a rebellion against fear, anger and entitlement.  Where decisions are made based on what is best for the wider community and not what is best for my ego or power.

We spend much of our time being stuck in anger, resentments, fears and worries.  It’s easy to lash out at others instead of recognizing our own hurts that need healing.  In our Christian tradition, it is known as sin, and it produces much suffering and unhappiness.  Jesus came to free us from that suffering, to free us from sin.  But that takes teamwork, that needs our support and co-operation. 

When we live from a place of sin, we pretend we are doing better than we really are.  We pretend to others and ourselves that we have it all together, that we are perfectly happy, or perfectly in control.  Some of us pretend that we are completely helpless to deal with a terrible world that hates us, and we can never do anything to improve our lives.  Some of us pretend that we have all the answers and people who don’t listen to us deserve our righteous wrath.  Some of us spend all our time judging others so that we can ignore the fact that we are judging ourselves mercilessly.  All these kinds of sins arise from us being unwilling or unable to see ourselves as God sees us, imperfect creations that are loved and that are invited to a radical revolution where fear is rejected, and love is accepted.

This brokenness, this sinfulness is why we have a place for confession in our worship.  It is a time to tell ourselves and God the truth of our imperfections.  Telling and admitting that kind of truth is hard.  We don’t like to admit that we aren’t perfect.  We fear that we will be targeted for bullying and abuse if we are honest about our shortcomings.  The very thing we fear is the very thing that sets us free!

Every time we confess, it brings us a step closer to the realm of Jesus.  Every time we say that we aren’t perfect, we witness to the truth.  Every time we ask for help, we are hearing the voice of Jesus speaking truth to our hearts and minds.  When we belong to truth, we are set free from sin.  This truth is so powerful, it is a major focus of recovery programs like AA and Al Anon, who have it as Steps 4 and 5 in their path to recovery.

What a contrast it is from what the world focusses on.  There are many people like Pilate who are in power and who are determined to stay in power.  That is not easy at the best of times, but people in power are often afraid of losing that power.  Pilate knew what it took to get to power, lots of manipulation, political scheming, spreading rumors, and using force to claw his way to the top.  He didn’t say, “You’re fired”, he said, “You’re dead”. And had the power to enforce it too.  Quite often. Pilate was known as a brutal commander, sent in to Jerusalem to keep the Pax Romana, by using a sword if necessary.  He had the power of life and death over a whole city. Usually, he wasn’t afraid to use it either.

Jesus stumped him.  Jesus confused him.  Here was a man, a leader who influenced people by speaking truth to them. By treating them with respect.  By respecting them.  By caring about them.  Everything he did to be a leader, an influencer, was the exact opposite of what Pilate did.  He invited respect, he did not command it or demand it.  He did not bully others into treating him with respect.  He did not use shame or blame or guilt to manipulate them into giving him authority to be the leader.  He was a leader by attraction, not enforcement.

Pilate recognized Jesus to be so far outside his experience that he didn’t know how to react.  He was used to people who took power by force.  Jesus was confusing.  His answers put the onus on Pilate to think about what he was doing in a different way than what he was comfortable doing.  He didn’t want to think about truth the way Jesus talked about truth.  He had lied and manipulated people to get where he was, and truth was something he had long before abandoned in his lust for power.  He didn’t want to think about truth.  Truth was something that he was afraid of.  If this Jesus could become an influencer of others, a leader of others, what did that say about Pilate’s leadership?  That it was cruel and murderous.  The truth was something to be ignored, feared and dismissed.

It takes courage to tell the truth and listen to the truth.  It takes courage follow Jesus.  But the great joy is this is why Jesus came into the world, to build a community of truth and compassion that frees us from the pain of our sins large and small.  May we work together to build that community of Jesus who has created and is creating, our judge and our hope.  God is with us, we are not alone, thanks be to God!