Holy Week Reflections: Sanhedrin

“If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”

John 18:30

Trumped up charges. Deception. Misinformation. Half truths. Embellishments. Lies. Lies. Lies.

A reflection of modern day culture.

Lies. 

"We cripple ourselves with lies." - Jim Morrison 

Lies are cowardly and weak because we use them as a weapon which the other person cannot see. It's covert destruction. Incognito weapons of mass deception.

The origin of lies? Selfishness. The culprit? Culture.  

We live in a culture that teaches us from the very earliest years to look of for number one. We grow up with a self-centered mentality that learns to defend itself at any cost. The means of self-preservation become irrelevant. And lies become one of the means that causes the most pain. Not only do lies destroy the victim, they eventually destroy us as well. We can only get so much blood on our hands before someone notices.

Then you become branded:  LIAR

You become a member of the Sanhedrin.

"Crucify him!" because.... "A lie cannot live" - Martin Luther King Jr.  Lies lead to death.

"What is truth?" - Pontius Pilate

 "I am the....truth."

Jesus came into this world as the quintessential example of truth. When the world is presented with absolute truth, nothing can distort the truth but lies, because truth is truth. By lies, distortions, half truths and deception, Christ was presented as a criminal to be accused so that those in power would not be.  Lies led to death.

"Let's get him, before he gets us!"  

Lies cannot exist during Lent, because Lent is about self-evaluation. If we lie, we only lie to ourselves. Lent is a mirror, more clear than any reflection we can behold. Lent is about presenting the truth, not of others, but ourselves. If we lie, we don't falsely accuse someone else, we falsely accuse ourselves.

Lies lead to death. But through Him, we have life. 

Lord, You who were falsely accused, guide us in perfect truth as we make our way through this season of Lent. Help us to choose truth, not lies. Help us to choose life, not death. Help us to reflect complete truth to ourselves so that we can come before you completely blameless. And in doing so, help us to reveal truth to a culture built on a foundation of lies. Amen    

Lenten Reflections: Truth?

"What is truth?" Pilate asked" - John 18:38

A lie brings satisfaction. Somewhere deep within the recesses of our soul, a carefully crafted lie will appease the deepest desire that screams to be filled. Lies inflate our ego. Lies fill us with pride. Lies transform us into something that we're not. A Lie is existence lived in reverse. Backward reality.  

Lies create a false reality in exchange for the living breathing life that surrounds us. Lies reject the positive in exchange for the negative. Lies feed us, but we remain starving.

Satisfaction, but still longing. 

Filled, but empty. 

Selfless, but selfish.

Finished, but just beginning. 

Creation, but left with destruction. 

Life, but death.
 
We stagger around, in constant states of confusion, choosing whatever lie that will bring temporary satisfaction. Rather than embracing the truth of God that will bring lasting peace, we choose lies and accept the turmoil that eventually develops. This is the root of all rebellion. 

Like a drug, lies perpetuate a temporary existence in exchange for permanence. Chaos in exchange for peace. Life in exchange for death.

During Lent, we confront the lies that consume our lives and come face to face with the realization that we very often choose fantasy over reality. Lent produces for us a mirror that reveals to us someone we hardly know. 

Lent reveals to us that it was not only the Sanhedrin that condemned Christ unjustly, but you and I did as well. It was not only Pilate that rejected truth in exchange for lies, but we do the same thing on a regular basis. Lent is coming to grips with the unsettling reality that we sent Christ to His cross, and to this day, we crucify those around us, we're just more subtle about it.

Lord, as we continue to make our way through Lent, we realize that we often choose the lies over your truth; maybe more often than we know. We also realize that within the Kingdom of God, there are no lies. Help us this day to reveal the Kingdom, and in essence, reveal your truth to the false cultures around us. Amen.       

   

Lenten Reflections: Truth?

“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”  “What is truth?” retorted Pilate."

John 18:37-38  

"What is truth?" Our culture is in desperate search for truth, but as with Pilate, most of us don't stick around long enough to hear the answer. 

Truth is truth. And from God's perspective, truth remains as it always has been; absolute. Black and white. 

Unfortunately, from our perspective, truth is not always that simple. We process our world through a lens that often reflects shades of grey. What God intends as truth becomes interpreted as relative. We do the best we can with what we have, who we are, where we've been and where we're going, but truth is usually interpreted through our own personal world view. 

The problem that we encounter is when we choose to ignore truth. Truth must be identified, acknowledged, reflected upon and even wrestled with. We can dissect truth. We interpret truth. We can embrace truth. We can manipulate truth. But ignoring truth only clouds the lens through which we see the world around us.     

"What is truth?"  

"Who cares?"

Truth sometimes hurts. The truth is often frightening. Truth convicts. Truth reveals.

Truth is truth. Reality is often a lie.

Lent is a quest for truth; not necessarily the truth of others, or the world around us, but the truth of ourselves. Ironically, the truth that lies within ourselves will reveal external truth as well. When we come to face the truth of who we really are, we see others as they are as well. That can be ugly and beautiful at the same time. Dark and light in concert with each other. The path of truth often splinters off into various trails, but as we follow "the way and the truth and the life", we find that our journey is more straightforward than we realize. 

Lord, we seek truth. Your truth. But as we walk through this world, we realize that things are not always that simple. We make mistakes, we take the wrong path, and sometimes we choose the lie rather than truth. As we follow You, Lord, enable us to see Your truth as clear as we can. We know that our perception is limited, but with You, there is no limit. Amen     

    

Truth

There was a time when I loved the debate over denominational differences. I zealously followed the beliefs and doctrines of my particular denomination, dotting each "i" and crossing every "t". I held firm to my beliefs as absolute truth, and assumed without doubt that other denominations were completely wrong; and in many instances, not biblical. As I made my way through seminary, I began to have less interest in arguments. AT this point in my life, I find these arguments boring. In fact, I avoid them at all cost.

Please don't misunderstand what I'm saying here. There is a significance of seeking truth within our faith system. Each of us should seek truth and wisdom with all of our heart. The book of Proverbs constantly speaks of the importance of seeking wisdom and holding firm to it as a precious jewel. It's vital to our spiritual development to hold firm to what we believe and not waver on basic doctrinal truths. And let's face it; there are some bizarre interpretations of the Bible that we must be aware of with a wise and discerning spirit. But let's be honest, most of the issues that we argue over within denominations, do not fall in the category of bad theology or even heresy. Most of the issues are not worth the effort of a good debate, let alone divisions in Christianity.

But it makes me think: Is our faith a personal experience, a group relationship or elements of both? Is it mandatory that we buy into the "corporate philosophy" 100%, or face being ostracized? Are we merely following a set of rules and regulations mandated by the denomination, pastor, council, etc.? Or are we following the teachings of Christ and seeking what He taught and implementing it into our lives? Do we belong to a corporation, or the Body of Christ?

Hey, we all believe different things, right? We all carry a personal bias of interpreting scripture, and most people are well intentioned in their quest for truth. Most folks don't run out and try to develop heresy, for the sake of causing division. Most Christians are on the same journey, trying to make sense of all this. And yes, we make a mess from time to time! James Garlow, in his book, "God and His People", says that it is nothing short of a miracle of God that the Church has not only survived, but thrived for over 2000 years, despite the failures of man. I can't agree more.

Sometimes I imagine when we come face to face with our Creator, and He explains what HE intended, we are ALL going to realize that we had it dead wrong in many areas! Oh sure, we've done some great things. One denomination does "this" really well. These guys do "that" very well. And another church has their game down pretty well also. Looking at the various mosaic of denominations, each one has nailed one aspect of Christianity very well.

But what if we stopped criticizing each other on the areas of disagreement, and attempt to come together on what we all hold as truth? Those certain essentials of our faith?

Paul sums this up pretty well in 1 Corinthians 15. "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to Scriptures," That just about sums it up, doesn't it?

What would happen if we just allowed God to sort out the other stuff? When you think about it, most of it is not detrimental to our salvation or relationship with Christ. The "denomination" is not who is going to be held accountable in the end. We join together in unity, but in the end, it comes down to our relationship with a living God. We seek. He speaks. We listen. We do our best to understand. We receive.