Our society is in need of truth. This is a responsibility of every Christian. The events at our nation’s Capitol this past Wednesday drive home the significance of citizenship for all. From the earliest days of Christianity, responsible citizenship that bears witness to truth has been a hallmark of Jesus’ followers. This hallmark of truth has provided a meaningful contribution from Christianity to every society and it is required of each of us today.
Lake County is a long way from the U.S. Capitol. But an
otherwise educated man and leader in business who lives a short drive from our
church was arrested for his participation in the riotous attack on our nation’s
deliberative body. This arrest suggests to me that our own community is
afflicted by misguided and destructive impulses.
I have listened to many members of our church express a
sense of personal assault as the violence was wrought on our Capitol building
this week. I found myself remembering words of Jesus’ lament over his capital,
Jerusalem. “See, your house is left to you, desolate.” (Matthew 23:38). In that
scene of lament, as Luke records it, Jesus was approached and encouraged not to
threaten Herod, but Jesus sent word to him, saying, “Look, I’m throwing out
demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will
complete my work.” (Luke 13:32)
Eric Gill, 'Jesus before Pilate', Woodcut, 1921
This is the context of events that placed Jesus before
Pontius Pilate, governor of the Roman Empire, when Jesus stated his duty of
testifying to truth. The Apostle Paul followed in the footsteps of his Savior
both in front of leadership in Jerusalem and before the Roman Empire. In one
scene, “the Lord stood near Paul and said, ‘Be encouraged! Just as you have
testified about me in Jerusalem, so too you must testify in Rome.’” (Acts 23:11) Testimony to truth is a responsibility of any disciple of Jesus Christ. Paul
shared his truth and claimed it in the context of his citizenship in the Roman
Empire when a centurion commander, “went to Paul and demanded, ‘Tell me! Are
you a Roman citizen?’ He said, ‘Yes.’” (Acts 22:27)
Each of us, as citizens of the United States of America,
have been offered a unique gift of self-governance. The constitution of our
nation offers us the spiritual privilege of religious freedom. As Christians in
this nation, we are not only called upon to speak truth, but also to sustain
the constitution so that we may continue to bless our land with the benefits of
our spiritual work. It is clear that as followers of Jesus, part of our work is
to heal and confront the corrosion of falsehood.
I was struck by the witness of John Kelly in a television
interview on Thursday. General Kelly had a distinguished career in the Marines
and answered the call and was confirmed to serve in the Presidential Cabinet
and as Chief of Staff for President Trump. In the interview, he said, “The
behavior yesterday and in the weeks and months before … has just been
outrageous from the President. What happened on Capitol Hill yesterday is a
direct result of his poisoning the minds of people with the lies and the frauds
…." It is possible for people of various political stripes to quote their
own preferred expert on recent events. But the phrase that leapt out at me from
the testimony of this man who has been a firsthand observer of events in recent
years was his reference to “poisoning the minds of people with the lies and the
frauds.”
As followers of Jesus Christ, I believe this moment in
history is asking each of us in our own lives to take extra care when bearing
witness. There are otherwise well intentioned people who have fallen prey to a
poison of falsehood in our society. Familiar political banners of 2020 were
carried into the capital alongside individuals who wore clothing that celebrated the Auschwitz concentration camp or proclaimed similar heinous
wishes for tomorrow. This is truly a poison which requires sincere and
sacrificial truth in love for every community including our own. We are charged
in the Ten Commandments not to bear false witness. Our witness as Christians must
always be truth in love.
This Sunday is the annual congregational moment for the
renewal of our baptismal covenant. We do need a cleansing. It is Baptism of the
Lord Sunday. Bearing truth is not for the faint of heart. We know ourselves. Each
of us is flawed and we all bring shadows of our own personal journeys. But a
Christian is always brought back to the light of life that we discover in
Jesus. That life is our testimony. It shapes our character and becomes a
contribution we can offer as citizens. Let us pray for our nation and its
leaders. Likewise let us look in the mirror with sincerity of heart and pray
for our neighbors. Hope persists.
Friends, never forget. “The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness does not overcome it.” (John 1:5)
Brian R. Paulson, D.Min.
Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Libertyville
(This is an article first published in the Parish Life virtual newsletter of the First Presbyterian Church of Libertyville.)
