John 17:1-24[1]
Long ago, the prophet who spoke in the book of
Isaiah said, “Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands at a distance; for
truth stumbles in the public square, and uprightness cannot enter” (Isa 59:14).
Unfortunately, we are all too familiar with the fact that “truth stumbles in
the public square.” The lines between facts and opinions have become so blurred
in our day that many good people fall under the influence of all kinds of
“conspiracy theories.” This plays out in politics, in religion, and in family
life. It seems that there’s no aspect of our lives that hasn’t been affected by
this problem. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the falsehoods that prevail in
our society lead to confusion and turmoil.
Part of the problem is that we all seem to have
become much more rigid about what we call “Truth.” We hold fast to our own
convictions, regardless of whether they may fly in the face of the facts. This can
be a particular temptation for those of us in the church. We may assume not
only that our understanding of “Truth” is correct, but also that we have God on
our side. The problem with this approach is that when we’re not willing to
admit that we may not know the “Truth,” we not only close ourselves off from
any chance of learning, we also throw up walls that divide “us” from “them.”
Our lesson from John’s Gospel for today addresses
some of these issues. In this section of the Gospel, Jesus is preparing his
disciples for the fact that he would be leaving them soon. Not only is he
“pulling out all the stops” in his effort to communicate his message to them.
He’s also tying up all the previous hints and clues in John’s Gospel that he
had been dropping all along about his purpose and his mission. In our lesson
for today, Jesus uses the opportunity to pray for the disciples that they would
indeed understand and follow the truth he had sought to teach them.
One of the most important themes in this Gospel is
that the “Truth” Jesus taught his disciples is a unique kind of truth. It is
not the truth of science or mathematics, where formulas and equations all add
up. It is not the truth of philosophy seeking to come up with a rational answer
to just about every question one could think. Nor is it the “truth” of of
insisting that my opinion is “right” and if you disagree with me your opinion
is “wrong.” Rather, the “Truth” that Jesus came to bring is the truth of a
relationship with God whereby we experience God’s love and we embrace God’s
ways and purposes in this world.
I think we see this reflected in our Gospel lesson
today in several ways. First, the “Truth” that Jesus taught his disciples was
something that Jesus had received from his Father. We see this in an interesting
interplay between the “Name” and the “Word” and the “Truth” Jesus says that God
had given him. The point of this is, as Jesus says, “Now they know that
everything you have given me is from you” (Jn. 17:7). The fact that everything
Jesus did and taught had come from his Father reflects the relationship between
Jesus and the Father. It was such a close relationship that Jesus could say
that he was doing only what the Father wanted him to do.
At the same time, the theme is expanded here to
include the disciples in that relationship. Interestingly, just as the Father
had given Jesus the “Name” and the “Word” and the “Truth, so Jesus says that
the disciples were those whom the Father had given him. The reason why Jesus
had taught them the “Truth” he had received from the Father was so that the
disciples could share the joy of his relationship with God. Jesus said it this
way: “I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made
complete in themselves.” (Jn. 17:13). The truth Jesus spoke was the kind of
truth that was intended to draw the disciples into the same relationship with
the Father that he enjoyed.
But there was more to it than that. The truth that Jesus taught his disciples was the kind of truth that would not leave them where they were. It would change them, and it would change them through and through. Jesus said that the ultimate purpose of this truth was that they may be “sanctified in the truth” (Jn. 17:17, 19). In the Bible, sanctification is one of those theological words that means to set something or someone apart for God’s purposes. I like the way the CEV puts it: “let this truth make them completely yours” (John 17:17 CEV). The kind of truth Jesus brought was intended to make those who followed it into people who belong completely to God.
When we receive and embrace the truth Jesus taught, we are changed so that we become people who belong to God and to God’s truth through and through. We enter into a relationship with God, that both brings us joy and makes a claim on our lives. That may not answer the problem of “Truth” in our world at large. The turmoil in our society is due in part to the fact that the people who lead us are driven by their own egos. Even though that turmoil is frightening, we have the assurance that no matter what may happen in the world, our lives are always in God’s hands. “Truth” may “stumble” in the “public square” today, but we can trust that God’s truth will prevail—if not now, then finally. And God’s truth prevails now in our lives when we embrace it to such an extent that it defines how we live. God’s truth is about a relationship, and when we embrace that truth in Jesus Christ, we are changed into people who put God’s truth into practice. Perhaps that’s the place to begin trying to solve to the problem of “Truth” in our world.
[1] © 2021 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan
Brehm, Ph. D. on 5/16/2021 for Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
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