Pilate asks, “What is truth?”
Who
knows what he meant by that; it was more likely than not a cynical dismissal of
Jesus. But if there is one single
question the Gospel of John is meant to answer, it is this one, “What is
truth?”
In
regards to truth, you might already be where Pilate is, mistrusting of anything
that calls itself truth. On the other
hand, you might be someone who thinks they have a handle on the truth. There are things that you are certain about.
Mistrustful.
Certain. You may be one or the other or a mix of both. Mistrustful. Certain. They actually do have
something in common: they both involve making judgments, and pretty cut and dry
ones at that.
Neither
of these things are what Jesus means by truth.
He came to show a different path to truth, not just a different truth
but a different way to truth. That path,
that way, is without judgment. Jesus
came to show us truth without judgment, and he claimed that this was the only
truth that could set us free.
It
may be vitally important that we re-discover this aspect of Christianity. We live in a world of constant judgment. Everyone has to have a firm opinion about
everything. We are constantly being
encouraged, if not commanded, to choose up sides. And a different opinion is not something to
have a conversation about, it is something to scorn, and it is something to be defeated.
You
might remember that early on in John’s Gospel is the first appearance of
Nicodemus, whom we just heard aided in the burial of Jesus. Nicodemus came to Jesus as a seeker, intrigued
by what Jesus seems to be about. Jesus
has established his authority by his deeds.
Nicodemus gives his judgment:
Rabbi, we know that you are a
teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart
from the presence of God.
It
is as if Nicodemus wants Jesus to know that he has passed the test. Jesus more or less says, “What test?”
Very truly, I tell you, no one
can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.
At
first glance that does not seem to be a reaction to Nicodemus’ statement at
all. But I think it is. Jesus is changing the basis on which
Nicodemus makes judgments, or, better, the way Nicodemus finds the truth. Truth is found not in human judgment, but in
being in the presence of God right now.
You have to see with “born from above” eyes, that is, “Jesus’ eyes.”
When
we read or hear the Passion stories, we are often encouraged to put ourselves
in the place of one of the characters:
Peter, Judas, Pilate or one of the more minor characters. But what if we move, for instance, from
Pilate’s seat of judgment, to Jesus’ place of the one being judged?
The
question of truth in this story is not a question of who is doing the right or
wrong things, or figuring out the right way to describe how it is that Jesus
saves us through this event. The
question of truth in this story is whether or not we want to be where Jesus is.[1]
And
where is that? Despite a certain kind of
bravado from Jesus in this Gospel, he is in a world where he is not in
charge. He himself is subject to that
world of the Spirit which he described to Nicodemus, where the wind blows where
it chooses, you do not know where it is coming from or where it is going.
This
is the consequence of not judging the world, which Jesus repeatedly says he is
not here to do. Again, back in the
Nicodemus story, come the famous verse from sports posters:
For God so loved the world that
he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but
have eternal life.
Too often the next verse is
overlooked, and it is meant to be directly connected:
Indeed, God did not send the Son
into the world to judge the world, but in order that the world might be saved
through him.
We
so much want it to be true that we can save the world through proper
judgment. We never will. God will save the world through not judging
at all.
It
is a costly way. It is no wonder that even many (most?) of us who call
ourselves Christians, and are sincere believers, find this a very difficult way
to follow, and opt for the way of judgment time and time again. Because if truth is truth without judgment,
than the forces of judgment, alive and well in our world, may very well run
right over us. After all, they ran right
over Jesus.
Where
is the good news in that, because even on Good Friday we need Good News? It is simply this: The truth about me and the truth about you is
a truth without judgment. God is not
particularly concerned with judging us. God is concerned with loving us. If we can accept that love without judgment,
we will be far more radically changed than by any divine threat of retribution
because of our sins.
[1]
This is suggested by Rowan Williams in Christ
on Trial: Hoe the Gospel Unsettles our Judgment (Eerdmans, 2000), p. 133
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