What is Truth? A Good Friday Reflection
Today, as is the tradition, Moravians gathered to listen to The Acts of Friday and sing hymns as found in our Passion Week Manual. This year one phrase jumped out at me (from John 18):
37"You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." 38"What is truth?" Pilate asked.
I wonder if we should be asking that question more today than ever; and more so as Christians than anyone else. In this passage Jesus says he came into the world to testify to the truth. His life was that testimony and presented a picture of a loving and forgiving God. But do we focus on the life of Jesus as much as we should?
Yesterday was Maundy Thursday. The word "Maundy" comes from the Latin for 'command' (mandatum). It refers to the command given by Jesus at the Last Supper, that his disciples should love one another. Maybe it is just me, but I am concerned about our communion tradition. None of the four communion services in our current hymnal include Jesus' command to love one another.
In a wonderful little booklet by Reverend Emmanuel Charles McCarthy, entitled The Nonviolent Eucharist, you will find a proposal that could change the world - rewrite our service to better remind us of the non-violent, loving life of Jesus we are called to imitate as his disciples. Download a copy, read the proposal, ask yourself what the world might be like today if Christians had celebrated communion differently for the past 1700 years. Our small group will be discussing this in a few weeks. I welcome your thoughts.
And here is another Easter thought. On Sunday morning around 6:10AM we will proclaim in unison the Nicean Creed. We will say "We believe in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, suffered under Pontius Pilot, was crucified, died, and was buried". But we are not reminded of the mandate, the truth we are called to proclaim. We are called "Easter People". I hope that means we are also "Jesus People".
38"What is truth?" Pilate asked.
I wonder if we should be asking that question more today than ever; and more so as Christians than anyone else.
Ans, SM. Yes but their exist so few true christians here on this earth at this time. Why? Because most all have chosen to follow after the hollow twachings of a very small and meaningless man of this world , little paul. This makes most christians moreso paulinians , rather than true Christ men and women.
In this passage Jesus says he came into the world to testify to the truth. Because most all have made this choice to follow paul, instead of Christ. Today, in this area, there exsist a very large void. This void is very dark, very negative, very evil, and very, very, very, powerfull.
His life was that testimony and presented a picture of a loving and forgiving God.
Ans, SM, God is the creator, of everything, and of everyone. This can only be viewed through the eyes as being a very, very, very, good thing. There for, with no questions allowed, God may only be viewed as being very, very, very, Good and quite Positive, which everyone knows is the exact opposite of the and quite, Evil Negative.
But do we focus on the life of Jesus as much as we should?
Ans SM, There is only one way for any human to journey back home to it's true spiritual Fathrer in heaven and it is quite simply only realized by the acceptance of the turuth of yourselves and the truth of God. This is what Jesus attempted to teach, he had found the path, he had made the journey, he attempted to share, for free, with anyone that would listen to what told them, they needed to do to make the same journey themselves. Not one would listen though, niether back then, or now.
Yesterday was Maundy Thursday. The word "Maundy" comes from the Latin for 'command' (mandatum). It refers Jesus' command to love one another. Not one religiopus organization of the over twenty two thousand or so teaches what Christ lived for , showed the simple example of, and then had his life, 'taken' away from him for. Is anyone out there?
We are called "Easter People". I hope that means we are also "Jesus People".Ans SM. If you do not have the same love for life and the living as Christ truly did, deep in your heart, then you have been decieved. Are you one of the many that were supposed to be decieved or not? If you have this same kind of love in your heart, then the truth is, you are to let his light shine trough your every waking action. You are to live the same example that Christ set, 'you' are to go about your day to day lives sharing the same, simply put, you would become the best you could possibly become for yourself and for all those around you. You would happily live your love, if the true love of Christ 'is' in your heart. If you do not work at living in "his" likenes with your 'all' heart, you have been decieved and you run the risk of being fooled even more than you already have.
May Peace and Love shine through You All,
Have Beautiful Day,
Steven Michael
Posted by: Steven Michael | March 21, 2008 at 08:21 PM