“AN OCCASIONALLY UNWELCOMED BLESSING?”
JOHN 18:28-38

28 Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover.
29 So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?”
30 They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.”
31 Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.”
32 This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?”
35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?”
36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”
37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him.

So, Sarah Palin has a new book out. The title is “Going Rogue” and it’s already generated a mountain of controversy. Before the book was even on the shelves her critics were accusing her of playing loosey goosey with the facts. Her supporters, on the other hand, were quick to wave the pompoms. They’re thrilled that she is finally getting a chance to tell her side of the story.

All of the sniping back and forth brings to mind the question that Pilate asked Jesus. “What is truth?” Indeed, what is truth?

As we prepare once again to celebrate Thanksgiving and count our blessings I’d like to suggest that truth is a blessing that is vastly underrated. One of the greatest blessings you can receive is when someone speaks the truth to you. It’s a blessing when someone speaks the truth to you even though you might not want to hear it.

Unfortunately, that’s what happens from time to time. Someone tells you the truth and you don’t want to hear it. That’s what happened when Orson Wells’ doctor gave him some medical advice. Orson Wells, of course, is the actor who narrated “War Of The Worlds” on the radio back in 1938. Unfortunately, many people around the country though thought the broadcast was real. They thought that Martians were really invading and the result was mass hysteria. Orson Well also had a reputation for being very rotund. That’s why his doctor told him that he needed to loose some weight. The medical advice was the truth but Wells didn’t take it seriously. Instead of taking it seriously he later told friends, “My doctor has advised me to give up those intimate little dinners for four, unless, of course, there are three other people eating with me."

Yes, it’s hard to hear the truth when you need to loose a little weight. That’s why I like the researcher who came to a very interesting conclusion when it comes to eating habits. According to his research the average human being eats 16 times his or her weight during the course of a year. A horse, on the other hand, only eats eight times its weight during the course of a year. That just goes to show you, if you really want to lose weight you need to eat like a horse.

Jesus knew what it’s like to be surrounded by people who don’t want to hear the truth.
Just look at Caiaphas. Do you remember what Caiaphas said when Pilate asked him what Jesus had done wrong? Caiaphas gave him a vague answer. He said, “If this man were not evil we would not have brought him to you.” Let the record show that Caiaphas didn’t give Pilate a truthful answer.

Caiaphas wasn’t the only one who avoided the truth that day. Pilate also avoided it. When Pilate interrogated Jesus he quickly came to the conclusion that Jesus hasn’t done anything wrong. Did Pilate embrace the truth though? No! He gave Caiaphas and his followers what they want. He ordered Jesus to be crucified.

Pilate also avoided the truth when Jesus told him why he was there. Jesus said, “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” When Pilate heard that did he express his gratitude? No. Did he examine his conscience and ask Jesus to share the truth with him? No. Did he embrace the truth? No! Instead of doing that Pilate asked Jesus his famous question. “What is truth?” In asking that question Pilate was sending Jesus a message. The message was simply this: “Jesus, you don’t decide what is true and what isn’t true. I decide what is true and what isn’t true Jesus, not you and I’m going to prove it by going out there now and letting them crucify you. I’m going to let them crucify you even though I know you’re innocent.”

What happened that day makes it clear that Henry David Thoreau was right. Thoreau once said that when it comes to the truth you always need two people. One person to speak it and the other person to hear it. One of the greatest blessings you can receive is when someone tells you the truth even though you don’t want to hear it.

The love that Jesus has for each and everyone of us is why he is always there to tell us the truth even though we might not want to hear it. I can give you one example where we didn’t listen to his truth and we’re paying a price for it right now. Do you know what Jesus talked about most in his teachings? Was it love? No. Was it forgiveness? No. Was it eternal life and the kingdom of heaven? No. The #1 thing that Jesus talked about in the gospels is the danger of being too attached to money, manna and material possessions. I wonder if we would be struggling with this Great Recession if we had listened to Jesus more and listened to all those television commercials less.

One of the greatest blessings you can receive is when someone loves you enough to tell you the truth even though you don’t want to hear it. Jesus loved the Pharisees which is why he told them the truth. Jesus even loved Caiaphas and Pilate which is why he told them the truth. Jesus loves you which is why he is always ready to tell you the truth. Sometimes that truth will come to you in the Scriptures that you read. Sometimes that truth will come to you in a moment of prayer. Sometimes that truth will come to you through the words of a person who loves you or a person who doesn’t like you.

It might be the friend who says, “You’ve got a problem and you need to do something about it.” It might be the father who says, “I’m sorry but what you said the other day was wrong.” It might be the grumpy old neighbor who says, “I don’t know why you have to be so inconsiderate.”

Jesus said, “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”

There’s a wonderful story in one of the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” books. It’s a story that shows you what can happen when someone tells you the truth even though you might not want to hear it. It’s a story about an elderly woman who sent a check every month to the caretaker of a cemetery. She sent him the check so he could buy flowers to put on her son’s grave. The son had been killed in a car accident at a young age. One day the caretaker was surprised when a limousine drove up to the cemetery. When the driver rolled down his window he explained to the caretaker that the passenger in the back seat was the elderly woman who had been sending him the checks every month. Her health was beginning to fail and she wanted to see her son’s grave one last time. When the limousine door opened the caretaker saw a frail elderly old woman who struggled to get out of the limousine. Because of her poor health it took them forever to walk to the grave. On their way back to he limousine the caretaker said, “You know, Ma’am, I was always sorry you kept sending the money for the flowers.” The elderly woman was shocked. “Sorry,” she whispered, “Do you realize what you are saying – (that’s) my son…” “Yes,” the caretaker said gently, “But, you see, I belong to a church group that every week visits hospitals, asylums, prisons. There are live people in those places who need cheering up, and most of them love flowers – they can see them and smell them. That grave – “ he said, “over there – there’s no one living (there), no one to see and smell the beauty of the flowers….” The elderly woman didn’t answer. After a long pause she got back into the limousine and drove off. The caretaker thought to himself, “I offended here. I shouldn’t have said what a did.” A few months later though the caretaker received another visit from the elderly woman. This time though she wasn’t sitting in the back seat of the limousine. She was driving a car herself. The caretaker couldn’t believe it. “You were right, she said. “about the flowers. That’s why there have been no more checks. After I got back to the hospital, I couldn’t get your words out of my mind. So I started buying flowers for the others in the hospital who didn’t have any. It gave me such a feeling of joy to see how much they enjoyed them – and from a total stranger. It made them happy, but more than that, it make me happy. The doctors don’t know what is suddenly making me well, but I do!”

Jesus said, “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” So, as you count your blessings this week I have a question. Are you going to give thanks for the truth that you might not want to hear but will set you free? Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes
November 22, 2009