How do we get at it? Do we really care about it? This is where I am led in pondering today’s gospel reading*.
Jesus has been arrested, and from one ruling power to the next, he is being asked to explain himself. Though these leaders seem to not really want to hear his truth. Or maybe they simply do not want to face what it means for them.
From what I can see up to this point in the gospel, Jesus has been quite transparent. At the start of his public ministry, he proclaims that his life is about fulfilling the Word of God: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
To any who will see and hear, Jesus encourages them to realize their Belovedness and make God real. To be about God’s love, mercy, and justice, Jesus heals the sick and feeds the hungry. He engages and recognizes the dignity and worth of people who are forgotten or ostracized by society. He extends forgiveness and gives hope in giving himself in love.
His life tells the truth – his own and one dedicated to a higher Truth. Jesus tells Pilate, “For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.”
I invite you this week to spend some time in silence reflecting on what you know is true. Perhaps these questions can guide you:
- Who are you before all the labels of others?
- What stirs your soul?
- To what does your life testify?
I also encourage you to take the time to listen to another person’s truth, without yours getting in the way. At a memorial service for Rev. Dr. Clark Lobenstine, the founder of InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, current director of the organization Rabbi Gerry Serotta spoke in appreciation of Clark’s legacy of helpful interfaith dialogue and relationship. He spoke of the following three elements of listening and learning, drawing on the work of Krister Stendahl.
- When you are trying to understand another religion, you should ask the adherents of that
religion and not its enemies. - Don’t compare your best to their worst.
- Leave room for “holy envy.” (By this Stendahl meant that you should be willing to recognize
elements in the other religious tradition or faith that you admire and wish could, in some way,
be reflected in your own religious tradition or faith.)
Perhaps in the practice of truly listening to each other, open to learning from the other, we might come to know the one Truth that binds us.
-Trish Stefanik, Overlook Retreat at Dayspring
*John 18:33-37
