"Truth" - John 18:33 - 37

A Sermon by Alex W. Evans, Pastor

Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA

Text: John 18:33-37

“Truth”

Reign of Christ Sunday - 11/21/21 

            Today is known as “Reign of Christ Sunday,” as the bulletin says. 

            Some of us know a little bit about the Christian year - the changing colors in the sanctuary, the rhythm of life as Christians. The Christian liturgical year does not start of January 1 with the calendar. It does not start on July 1 like many financial years. It does not start in the fall like the school year. 

            The Christian year - the liturgical year - starts with . . . . Advent - with 4 Sundays approaching Christmas - waiting and watching for God’s coming. Advent begins next Sunday. Advent, you may recall, kicks off the liturgical year, then we move into Christmas, Epiphany, and Lent, Easter, and Pentecost, all the way around through today - Reign of Christ Sunday. This is the last Sunday of the church’s year - before the new year begins next Sunday - with Advent. After today, Christians can say . . “happy new year.”

            The church’s year always strives to end with a strong affirmation. Christ reigns. That is R-E-I-G-N-S! Not rain - but REIGN - as in prevail, or rule. That is a very important message. Chaos does not reign; confusion and despair do not prevail. Pain and suffering do not reign. The church wants to say loudly and strongly, Christ reigns! 

            We used to call this Sunday Christ the King - but that is too regal, and masculine; plus, in this country, we remain dubious of kings or anyone who seeks to rule over; . .and we want to be inclusive. So we call it “Reign of Christ Sunday.”

            Reign of Christ Sunday was established fairly recently - by Pope Pius XI - in 1925 - as a way “to combat the destructive forces of this age.” Obviously, we are still dealing with destructive forces. So, we still need the assertion - Christ reigns - because of the chaos around us. Just read the headlines: children getting shot in our city; poverty and hunger on our streets; people struggling and dying as refugees trying to get to a better life. We also have very serious statistics about the destruction of the planet; we have greed and cynicism dominating our common and political life; we have COVID, and other ailments, debilitating us; . . . and we all have heartaches and hurts that paralyze us.

            The passage for Reign of Christ Sunday lays it right out there for us. Listen - or read along - from this passage from John 18:

            33Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” 35Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” 36Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from         this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” 37Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” 

            This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. 

            This short passage gets right to the issue - just who is Jesus? Is he the King of the Jews? That is Pilate’s question. And just what kind of King is he? Does he really reign? Or does Pilate reign, or chaos reign, or Caesar reign?

            Notice what Jesus says to Pilate: “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the TRUTH. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” 

            And you know what the very next verse says: “Pilate asked him, ‘What is truth?’” (v. 38) And he didn’t even wait for the answer - it says he went outside and left Jesus to the Jews, . . . .  to begin the process of crucifying him.

            Pilate - maybe like us sometimes - is confused. What kind of king is Jesus? In what way does he really reign? Could he really reign in our world? Who is he in charge of? What does he reign over? What is the point or problem here?

            And all of those questions dance around another word in this passage and used throughout the gospel of John - “truth.”

            Truth usually has to do with things that are reliable and dependable. Here are some truths - 2 plus 2 equals 4. 8 times 8 equals 64. A right-angle is 90 degrees. There are 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour. E=mc2 - that is the most famous equation of all equations, and we remember it from school, even if we forgot what it really means. 

            There are lots of things that we know are true - if you jump up, you are going to come down because of gravity. If you stay out in the sun all day you will get sunburned. If you try to breathe under water, you cannot; you will drown. I could make comments about UVA or VT . . . . or Duke or UNC - but those would mostly be half-truths. The point is - we know certain things are true because they are reliable and dependable and factual from our experiences.

            But when the gospel of John talks about “truth,” when Jesus talks about “truth” - there is more going on. Just like the book of Genesis is not a science book, but a story of God bringing the world into being, the Gospel of John has references to “truth” but they are not about science and data truth. Jesus’ talk about “truth” is more like Genesis - it is about theological truth, eternal truth. As Jesus says to Pilate - “For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.” He is not talking about facts or mathematical data. He is talking about the all-important theological “Truth:” the pre-eminence of God, the essence of God’s abiding care and forever love that sustain us all. 

            Think back to the beginning of John and those familiar words: “All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”

            It is a message about Truth - the truth of Jesus, the truth of God’s promises and purposes. This is who Jesus is. The one who brings life to all. This is what Jesus is about - light that overcomes the darkness.

            Think back too to other words from John 14 - “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” He is talking not about scientific truth, but theological truth. Lots of things are true - 2 plus 2 equals 4; 8 times 8 is 64. But those who seek to follow Jesus find life and life in abundance. That is Truth. His life is to connect us to God - like a vine to branches - and to God’s reign in the world. His life reminds us that nothing in our lives can separate us from God. Jesus’ life shows us that while chaos can make a mess of our lives, chaos does not reign; God reigns. Like he said to the women at the well - he gives living water - and all who drink will never thirst. Like he said to Mary and Martha - “Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” Truth. 

            So, while uncertainty and disease trouble us, God is always with us - this is the truth. While heartache and loss cause us to stumble, God promises to hold us forever, and carry us through all things. This is the truth - theological truth, essential truth. “Everyone who hears my voice,” says Jesus, “belongs to the truth.” 

            Pilate is looking for and thinking about a political king. Jesus is talking about the sovereignty of God - God’s reign in the world. Pilate has his mind on someone who might be a threat to his political power. Jesus is not talking about being the new governor but about who reigns. God reigns, in Jesus. He is the Way and the Truth and the Life. We belong to God. Life is held by God. That is the “truth.”

            My former teacher, and imminent Bible scholar, Walter Brueggemann, has written recently about how the trials of the past year really ought to re-focus our lives on God and the gospel. Brueggemann says this:

-       The pandemic shows us the limits of our technological certitude. We thought technology was the answer to everything. Now we know it is not; and we have to pay attention - to God and God’s better plans.

-       “We see that our immense power is unable to fend off a threat that (has brought paralysis and fear to the whole world).” We keep struggling against an invisible virus. We may need to pay attention to God - God’s truth - and God’s better plans for us.

-       “We see that our great wealth is not able to assure us of security.” Our great wealth cannot automatically make things better. Our reliance may need to be on God - God’s truth - and God’s better plans for us.

            In fact, Brueggemann says all that is going on around us should press us back to basics. (See W. Brueggemann, Virus as a Summons to Faith, p. 57)

            The basics are the Truth - truth embodied in Jesus. 

            The basics are found in these words - In life and in death, we belong to God. . . . With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing . . . can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

            This is the “truth” that intends to fill our hearts and shape our lives. Christ reigns. That is what Pilate had to learn. Christ reigns. This is what we know. Our lives, our world continue under the over-arching love and abiding care, and wonderful promises of peace and hope that we find in Jesus. 

            Where in your life, do you most need to hear this - Truth!? Is it some medical situation that haunts you? A mounting transition in your life that overwhelms you? A family crises that troubles everything about you? A personal struggle that keeps holding you back? A larger issue that discourages you? 

            “Everyone who hears my voice,” says Jesus, “belongs to the truth.” 

            The Truth - God reigns! God is at work. God prevails. That is the truth!

            And because we belong to Jesus - and belong to “truth” - we absolutely live a certain way. 

            We live with kindness and we work for justice. We do not just come to church, we seek to orient our lives as faithful disciples - 

-       we consider how we spend our money; 

-       we think about doing our part to save the planet; 

-       we know we have work to do with regard to racial justice and equality in the land;

-       we think about using our immense blessings to spread light to the world’s darkness, especially toward the most vulnerable; 

-       we know we do not live for ourselves, but we live for God.

            As I have said before - I keep a sign prominent in my study. That sign says this - “The Main Thing is to keep the Main Thing the Main Thing.” The main thing is God reigns in Christ Jesus. God is sovereign in the world. That does not mean that bad things are all chased away. It means that God’s goodness always prevails. That is the main thing. The worst thing is never the last thing! God is always at work - and we as God’s people have to be always at work - aligning our lives with God’s goodness and care, God’s peace and justice everywhere. That is the main thing - which we keep as the main thing! May it be so. Amen.

Prayer of Commitment: You bless us so well, O God. Pour out your blessings on us in these days. We seek to live into your truth and serve you with our lives, following Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Alex W. Evans, Pastor, Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA preached this sermon during Sunday morning worship on November 21, 2021. This is a rough manuscript.