WHAT IS TRUTH?
Once upon a time, a little boy went with his parents to a revival meetin’. Now this little boy had grown up in a Christian home and had been to church many times, but that night he heard something he had never heard before. The preacher stood before the congregation and held up a very dirty water glass.
“See this glass?” the preacher cried. “This glass is you. It’s filthy, and it’s stained with sin, both inside and out.” Then the preacher picked up a great big hammer. “This hammer,” he said, “is the righteousness of God. It’s the instrument of God’s wrath against all his sinful people.”
The preacher put the glass on the pulpit and drew the hammer back. He began to bring the hammer down upon the glass, but then something happened. At the very last instant, the preacher covered the glass with a pan. The hammer struck the pan with a CLANG that echoed throughout the sanctuary.
The preacher then held up the untouched glass in one hand and the mangled pan in the other. “Jesus Christ,” said the preacher, “died for your sins. He took the punishment you rightfully deserved.”
That image deeply disturbed the little boy. Thinking about what he had seen, he decided that he was actually afraid of God. He later said to his parents, “I love Jesus, but I hate God.” My guess is, that’s not the message the preacher intended to impart.
What that preacher was trying to do was to illustrate what we call the doctrine of the atonement. Around the year 1100 A.D., Bishop Anshelm devised a theory we call substitutionary atonement. In other words, the Son of God took the punishment we rightfully deserved. Twentieth century theologian Karl Barth describes three distinct and time-honored atonement themes. There’s the forensic theme: We are guilty of a crime and Christ takes the punishment. There’s the financial theme: We owe a debt to God and Christ pays the debt in full. Then there’s the cultic theme: Christ makes a sacrifice on our behalf.
All are trying to explain why Jesus Christ had to die to set us aright with God. Yet not everyone is comfortable with the death of Christ on the cross. In our own time, theologian Rita Brock says that the death of Christ on the cross amounts to what we might call “divine child abuse.” How’s that for a unique perspective on the atonement?
Perhaps a better way to look at it is this. Maybe the reason Christ had to die on the cross is beyond our comprehension. But remember – and this is vitally important – we also say of Christ that he was fully God. Thus, in the cross of Christ we see that there is nothing the love of God won’t do for the sake of his beloved children. God went to the cross himself that our relationship with him might be restored. Perhaps we can love God after all.
The cross is exactly where Jesus was headed in the passage we read from the gospel according to John. The scene is the Last Supper, shortly before Jesus led his disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane. What, then, is Jesus doing? He’s praying for his disciples.
Christ’s prayer has a number of distinct themes. Perhaps the first thing to note is that Jesus did not pray that his disciples should be taken out of this world. He never prayed that they might live a life of ease. He never prayed that they might find escape. He prayed, rather, that they might conquer. The kind of Christianity that limits itself to a sanctuary or to a monastery might not have seemed very Christian to Jesus. Of course, there is a need for worship and for prayer and for meditation, but all those things are not the END of life, rather, they are a means to an end. Christianity was never meant to withdraw us from life, rather, it was meant to equip us for a better life. Christianity does not offer us release from the problems of life, rather, it offers us a way to solve them. Christianity does not offer us a life in which troubles are escaped or evaded, rather, it offers us a life in which troubles are faced and conquered. Jesus Christ did not pray for his disciples to abandon the world, rather, he prayed that they might win it.
I recently read a story about an old, downtown Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas. Years ago, the congregation built a huge Victorian building with a massive stained glass window behind the choir loft. It depicted Jesus, reaching out his arms to welcome those who came into that building. Beneath the picture of Jesus were the words, “Come unto me.”
A few years ago, when that congregation built a brand new building, they decided to keep that stained glass window, but to put it in a very different place. Now worshipers encounter it going out – not coming in – because it’s over the doors heading out to the narthex and then to the city beyond. Jesus is still standing there with his arms wide spread, but the message of that window is different now. Now, after encountering God in worship, Jesus then invites them to come unto him. But now they’re going back out into the world, ostensibly to make a difference. Jesus does not pray for us to escape the world. Jesus prays for us to engage the world, in order to transform it.
Jesus also prays for the unity of his disciples. As it says in the 133rd Psalm, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity.” Few things would be more important for these disciples than unity in the days and weeks that lay ahead. They would need to be of one accord. After all, they would soon be taking on the world. In John’s gospel, there is a distinct meaning when he uses the word “world.” According to John, the world is, “Human society organizing itself without God.” Again, the world is “Human society organizing itself without God.” These disciples were preparing to take on the world. They would need to be united.
“Divide and conquer,” is the theme of the Evil One. If the disciples were divided, their mission would be compromised. Perhaps the same could be said of the church. The church is sorely divided over so many issues these days. People are inclined to leave it when they find that others don’t agree with them. We need to remember what we have in common. We need to remember what our mission as a church really is.
Which brings us to the third thing Jesus prays for his disciples. In verse 17 Jesus says, “Sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth.” But what exactly does that mean?
The Greek word translated “sanctify” here is hagiason. The dictionary says that the word “sanctify” means, “the state of growing in divine grace as a result of Christian commitment after baptism or conversion.” But the Greek lexicon goes a little bit further. To be sanctified is to be set apart for a special task. It also implies that one is equipped with the qualities and character which are necessary for that task.
So when Jesus prays for his disciples to be sanctified in the truth, what is he really saying? He’s asking God to set them apart for a special task and to equip them to com-plete that task. How will they be equipped? They will be equipped by way of the Holy Spirit.
We believe in a triune God. God the Father is God over and above us. God the Son is God with us and for us. And God the Holy Spirit is God in us. As Jesus prays to the Father to equip the disciples for what lies ahead, he means for them to receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God in us. And if God is in us, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.
Yet note that they are to be sanctified in the truth. Thus, we have to ask, “What is truth?” Jesus himself says, “Thy word is truth.” Yet the Greek word translated “truth” here is alaythea. It means literally, “Reality, as opposed to mere appearance.” Again, truth is defined as reality, as opposed to mere appearance.
For example, I saw in interesting commercial the other night. A balding man was standing on a sidewalk, watching a parade. His daughter was sitting atop his shoulders eating an ice cream cone, and the ice cream was dripping all over his head. Then he noticed another man standing not far from him with his little boy on his shoulders. He
was eating bite-sized ice cream from a bag and tossing them up to his son.
The theory behind a commercial is usually how to make our lives better. Thus, the theory behind this commercial must have been this: How can I watch a parade with my child on my shoulders, let her eat ice cream, and not have it drip on my head? Ladies and gentlemen, that’s not reality. That’s a sales pitch.
Truth is reality as opposed to mere appearance. If I were to try to define reality, I would define it like this. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” That’s John 3:16, right? But in my mind, you can’t quote John 3:16 without also quoting John 3:17. John 3:17 says, “For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”
Do you remember how John defines the world? The world, in John’s mind, is this: “Human society organizing itself without God.” The world is human society organizing itself without God. Ladies and gentlemen, that is indeed the world in which we live and find ourselves today. Yet still, the world matters so desperately to God. Thus, if we are to indeed be sanctified in the truth as Jesus prayed for his disciples, well…then we’ve got our work cut out for us, don’t we?
Albert Camus was a self-proclaimed agnostic who fought with the French underground during World War II. Once he was actually invited to speak to a group of Christians. What he did was take them to task for their compromising silence and
ambiguous theological jargon while millions of Jews were slaughtered. He said:
What the world expects of Christians is that Christians should speak out, loud and clear, and that they should voice their condemnation in such a way that never a doubt – never the slightest doubt – could rise in the heart of the simplest man. They should get away from abstraction and confront the blood-stained face his-tory has taken on today. The grouping we need is a grouping of (people) resolved to speak out clearly and to pay up personally. Perhaps we cannot prevent this world from being a world in which children are tortured. But we can reduce the number of tortured children. And if you don’t help us, who in the world will?
I think that’s an apt statement for us to hear on Memorial Day weekend. Because a lot of people did speak out clearly and pay up personally. A cemetery in Brittany, France holds 4410 American soldiers’ graves. A cemetery in Lorraine, France holds 10,489 American soldiers’ graves. A cemetery in Normandy, France holds 9387 American soldiers’ graves. A cemetery in Argonne holds 14,246 American soldiers’ graves. I think you get the picture. And today, as I understand it, we’re losing about 1000 World War II veterans a week. How does that old saying go? All have sacrificed some, and some have sacrificed all?
Remember those heroes. And don’t be afraid to speak out clearly and to pay up personally. Live the faith you profess. After all, that’s what sanctification is all about. Amen.
Once upon a time, a little boy went with his parents to a revival meetin’. Now this little boy had grown up in a Christian home and had been to church many times, but that night he heard something he had never heard before. The preacher stood before the congregation and held up a very dirty water glass.
“See this glass?” the preacher cried. “This glass is you. It’s filthy, and it’s stained with sin, both inside and out.” Then the preacher picked up a great big hammer. “This hammer,” he said, “is the righteousness of God. It’s the instrument of God’s wrath against all his sinful people.”
The preacher put the glass on the pulpit and drew the hammer back. He began to bring the hammer down upon the glass, but then something happened. At the very last instant, the preacher covered the glass with a pan. The hammer struck the pan with a CLANG that echoed throughout the sanctuary.
The preacher then held up the untouched glass in one hand and the mangled pan in the other. “Jesus Christ,” said the preacher, “died for your sins. He took the punishment you rightfully deserved.”
That image deeply disturbed the little boy. Thinking about what he had seen, he decided that he was actually afraid of God. He later said to his parents, “I love Jesus, but I hate God.” My guess is, that’s not the message the preacher intended to impart.
What that preacher was trying to do was to illustrate what we call the doctrine of the atonement. Around the year 1100 A.D., Bishop Anshelm devised a theory we call substitutionary atonement. In other words, the Son of God took the punishment we rightfully deserved. Twentieth century theologian Karl Barth describes three distinct and time-honored atonement themes. There’s the forensic theme: We are guilty of a crime and Christ takes the punishment. There’s the financial theme: We owe a debt to God and Christ pays the debt in full. Then there’s the cultic theme: Christ makes a sacrifice on our behalf.
All are trying to explain why Jesus Christ had to die to set us aright with God. Yet not everyone is comfortable with the death of Christ on the cross. In our own time, theologian Rita Brock says that the death of Christ on the cross amounts to what we might call “divine child abuse.” How’s that for a unique perspective on the atonement?
Perhaps a better way to look at it is this. Maybe the reason Christ had to die on the cross is beyond our comprehension. But remember – and this is vitally important – we also say of Christ that he was fully God. Thus, in the cross of Christ we see that there is nothing the love of God won’t do for the sake of his beloved children. God went to the cross himself that our relationship with him might be restored. Perhaps we can love God after all.
The cross is exactly where Jesus was headed in the passage we read from the gospel according to John. The scene is the Last Supper, shortly before Jesus led his disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane. What, then, is Jesus doing? He’s praying for his disciples.
Christ’s prayer has a number of distinct themes. Perhaps the first thing to note is that Jesus did not pray that his disciples should be taken out of this world. He never prayed that they might live a life of ease. He never prayed that they might find escape. He prayed, rather, that they might conquer. The kind of Christianity that limits itself to a sanctuary or to a monastery might not have seemed very Christian to Jesus. Of course, there is a need for worship and for prayer and for meditation, but all those things are not the END of life, rather, they are a means to an end. Christianity was never meant to withdraw us from life, rather, it was meant to equip us for a better life. Christianity does not offer us release from the problems of life, rather, it offers us a way to solve them. Christianity does not offer us a life in which troubles are escaped or evaded, rather, it offers us a life in which troubles are faced and conquered. Jesus Christ did not pray for his disciples to abandon the world, rather, he prayed that they might win it.
I recently read a story about an old, downtown Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas. Years ago, the congregation built a huge Victorian building with a massive stained glass window behind the choir loft. It depicted Jesus, reaching out his arms to welcome those who came into that building. Beneath the picture of Jesus were the words, “Come unto me.”
A few years ago, when that congregation built a brand new building, they decided to keep that stained glass window, but to put it in a very different place. Now worshipers encounter it going out – not coming in – because it’s over the doors heading out to the narthex and then to the city beyond. Jesus is still standing there with his arms wide spread, but the message of that window is different now. Now, after encountering God in worship, Jesus then invites them to come unto him. But now they’re going back out into the world, ostensibly to make a difference. Jesus does not pray for us to escape the world. Jesus prays for us to engage the world, in order to transform it.
Jesus also prays for the unity of his disciples. As it says in the 133rd Psalm, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity.” Few things would be more important for these disciples than unity in the days and weeks that lay ahead. They would need to be of one accord. After all, they would soon be taking on the world. In John’s gospel, there is a distinct meaning when he uses the word “world.” According to John, the world is, “Human society organizing itself without God.” Again, the world is “Human society organizing itself without God.” These disciples were preparing to take on the world. They would need to be united.
“Divide and conquer,” is the theme of the Evil One. If the disciples were divided, their mission would be compromised. Perhaps the same could be said of the church. The church is sorely divided over so many issues these days. People are inclined to leave it when they find that others don’t agree with them. We need to remember what we have in common. We need to remember what our mission as a church really is.
Which brings us to the third thing Jesus prays for his disciples. In verse 17 Jesus says, “Sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth.” But what exactly does that mean?
The Greek word translated “sanctify” here is hagiason. The dictionary says that the word “sanctify” means, “the state of growing in divine grace as a result of Christian commitment after baptism or conversion.” But the Greek lexicon goes a little bit further. To be sanctified is to be set apart for a special task. It also implies that one is equipped with the qualities and character which are necessary for that task.
So when Jesus prays for his disciples to be sanctified in the truth, what is he really saying? He’s asking God to set them apart for a special task and to equip them to com-plete that task. How will they be equipped? They will be equipped by way of the Holy Spirit.
We believe in a triune God. God the Father is God over and above us. God the Son is God with us and for us. And God the Holy Spirit is God in us. As Jesus prays to the Father to equip the disciples for what lies ahead, he means for them to receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God in us. And if God is in us, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.
Yet note that they are to be sanctified in the truth. Thus, we have to ask, “What is truth?” Jesus himself says, “Thy word is truth.” Yet the Greek word translated “truth” here is alaythea. It means literally, “Reality, as opposed to mere appearance.” Again, truth is defined as reality, as opposed to mere appearance.
For example, I saw in interesting commercial the other night. A balding man was standing on a sidewalk, watching a parade. His daughter was sitting atop his shoulders eating an ice cream cone, and the ice cream was dripping all over his head. Then he noticed another man standing not far from him with his little boy on his shoulders. He
was eating bite-sized ice cream from a bag and tossing them up to his son.
The theory behind a commercial is usually how to make our lives better. Thus, the theory behind this commercial must have been this: How can I watch a parade with my child on my shoulders, let her eat ice cream, and not have it drip on my head? Ladies and gentlemen, that’s not reality. That’s a sales pitch.
Truth is reality as opposed to mere appearance. If I were to try to define reality, I would define it like this. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” That’s John 3:16, right? But in my mind, you can’t quote John 3:16 without also quoting John 3:17. John 3:17 says, “For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”
Do you remember how John defines the world? The world, in John’s mind, is this: “Human society organizing itself without God.” The world is human society organizing itself without God. Ladies and gentlemen, that is indeed the world in which we live and find ourselves today. Yet still, the world matters so desperately to God. Thus, if we are to indeed be sanctified in the truth as Jesus prayed for his disciples, well…then we’ve got our work cut out for us, don’t we?
Albert Camus was a self-proclaimed agnostic who fought with the French underground during World War II. Once he was actually invited to speak to a group of Christians. What he did was take them to task for their compromising silence and
ambiguous theological jargon while millions of Jews were slaughtered. He said:
What the world expects of Christians is that Christians should speak out, loud and clear, and that they should voice their condemnation in such a way that never a doubt – never the slightest doubt – could rise in the heart of the simplest man. They should get away from abstraction and confront the blood-stained face his-tory has taken on today. The grouping we need is a grouping of (people) resolved to speak out clearly and to pay up personally. Perhaps we cannot prevent this world from being a world in which children are tortured. But we can reduce the number of tortured children. And if you don’t help us, who in the world will?
I think that’s an apt statement for us to hear on Memorial Day weekend. Because a lot of people did speak out clearly and pay up personally. A cemetery in Brittany, France holds 4410 American soldiers’ graves. A cemetery in Lorraine, France holds 10,489 American soldiers’ graves. A cemetery in Normandy, France holds 9387 American soldiers’ graves. A cemetery in Argonne holds 14,246 American soldiers’ graves. I think you get the picture. And today, as I understand it, we’re losing about 1000 World War II veterans a week. How does that old saying go? All have sacrificed some, and some have sacrificed all?
Remember those heroes. And don’t be afraid to speak out clearly and to pay up personally. Live the faith you profess. After all, that’s what sanctification is all about. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment