Saint James UCC of Hamburg, NY

John 18:12-14, 28-30

Preached by Rev. Robert Matlack
=================================================

Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor or Procurator of Judea. Now back then Judea was known as a difficult province to govern, for the people did not like being ruled by Rome, and the tension level was dramatically increased by the way the Romans worshiped their emperor - displaying graven images of him, bowing down to him, etc., practices which were in total opposition to the Jewish faith, but practices which the Romans expected the Jews to follow as part of the Roman Empire.

Pilate must have been a good politician. I say that because he served at a time when previous emperors had rotated officials every three or four years. Tiberius tended to keep those who were successful in the same position, and Pilate stayed and served as the Roman governor of Judea for 10 years.

In our text today, Jesus has been brought before Pilate who questions Him carefully about His political role, for as the Roman governor of a difficult province, Pilate's main concern was to insure that Jesus was not stirring people up to revolt against his rule. It quickly became clear that Jesus was not a political threat. So Pilate found himself in the middle once again, with an innocent man on one side, and on the other the Jewish leaders who were pressuring him to sentence Jesus. In the midst of this, Pilate asked Jesus a very profound question: "What is truth?"

You see as a politician Pilate knew that truth could take several forms. One truth was that Jesus was innocent. He was not inciting the people to riot or revolt against Rome. He was rejecting any claim to be a temporal ruler, and therefore was offering no direct challenge to Roman rule. On this level there was no reason to convict or punish him, and certainly no reason to put him to death. Jesus was innocent.

Yet another truth was that the Jewish leaders clearly wanted Jesus convicted. They were a difficult group to govern, and at times they reacted strongly in ways that Pilate did not expect. These leaders were important to Pilate. They were the ones who could help keep the people quiet and satisfied. They were the ones who could make his job much easier, or much more difficult, and in this case they offered an additional threat. If Pilate released Jesus, they would ask for an investigation by Rome on the charge that he had neglected the security of the state. To you and me that might sound like an empty threat, but Pilate knew that the insecurity and at times the irrationality of the Roman Emperors could make an investigation like that a very chancy matter for him.

What is truth? On the one hand truth was the innocence of Jesus, and on the other hand truth was the political reality that the price Pilate would pay was extremely high if he let Jesus go. As a politician he chose the politically safe course and convicted Jesus. But the question that he asked of Jesus lingers on, "What is truth?"

We're often confronted with that same question today. There are so many gray areas, that often the answer is not clear. We look at a situation, we wonder what is right and what is wrong, and we ask, what is truth? How do we discover truth in a world that is so confusing, and at times so contradictory?

What this question calls us to struggle with is our differing perceptions of what is important. How do we look beyond our own self interest to a higher standard as we interpret the information we have or at least think we have. Honest people can honestly differ. What is truth? How do we live out the truth here in 2009?

Periodically I will get calls from people who are looking for a place to spend the night. I remember one in particular a number of years ago where he expressed the hope that I would be able to find a room for him at one of the local hotels, so that he didn't have to sleep out in the cold. I responded by telling him that what I could do for him was to drive him up to Buffalo to one of several places that would be willing to house him for the night, but that I would not pay for a room for him at a hotel.

He didn't like that answer, and basically told me that if I was a Christian I would get him a room rather than forcing him to sleep out in the cold, because he didn't want to go to Buffalo. I responded that if he didn't want to go to Buffalo that was his choice. I could help him with a ride to a place that would house him, but all of those places were in Buffalo. What is truth?

For him the truth was that I wasn't giving him what he wanted, while for me the truth was that I was offering him a real solution to his housing problem, if that was indeed the real issue. What is truth?

As individuals and as a society we face many difficult issues each day - issues that challenge us as to what are our values, what is the truth by which we live? Most of these issues are not easy or clearcut. Good people stand on either side, and much of the time both sides have at least a piece of the truth.

If I walk out of church today and find a $5 bill lying in the parking lot, that's not my $5 bill, but on the other hand I have no idea who dropped it there. What do I do? What is truth?

As our nation struggles with issues like terrorism, the loss of jobs in our nation, the state of our economy, and a variety of other important issues, we usually find that the issues are not easy and clear cut, and that there are very legitimate and differing concerns on each side. Certainly we will hear politicians differ on issues such as these, and the question that will confront us is, what is truth?

Pilate's question, "What is truth?', was triggered by Jesus' statement "I was born and came into the world for this one purpose, to speak about the truth. Whoever belongs to the truth listens to me."

Jesus is the source of truth in our lives. When we are seeking to listen to Christ, when we are seeking to serve and to follow Christ, then we belong to the truth.

Now those are nice, reassuring words, but what do they say when we confront a difficult issue like terrorism or the national deficit or what it means to be honest? First of all, we are called to ask who we are serving in the stand that we take. Are we looking out only for ourselves, or are we also concerned for the wider good. What is it that we are valuing?

If we listen carefully, reflect on the issues involved, and make an honest choice based on the course that we feel allows us to follow Christ, then we have discovered a piece of the truth. If our choice is to follow Christ, then we are on a path that leads to truth.

Now on any given issue we aren't all going to make the same choices. Whether the issue is what is honest? Or what should we do about the economy? There is room for people of faith on each of the various sides. There is room for truth on each side when people have taken their position not out of selfishness but rather based on a genuine desire to seek the truth and to serve God.

Pilate's question, "What is truth?" is a question that gets to the heart of our motivation. Who are we serving in the stand that we have taken? What is the truth that we are seeking to lift up? Are we serving ourselves or are we serving God?

We often fall into the trap of thinking that truth means being on the right side of an issue - when often the question of right and wrong is larger than the issue involved. Instead of right and wrong sides to the issue, there are right and wrong motivations. There are right and wrong purposes being served. Truth means asking the question of who are we serving? For truth is found when we seek to step outside of our own convenience and self interest and instead seek to be bearers of God's truth and God's love. Pilate's question, "What is truth?" is more profound that he thought, for it calls each one of us to ask, who do we serve?

Amen.