“NOT YET TRUTH”
JOHN 16:1-15
16:1 “I have said all these things to you
to keep you from falling away.
2 They will put you out of the synagogues.
Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering
service to God.
3 And they will do these things because
they have not known the Father, nor me.
4 But I have said these things to you, that
when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.
“I did not say these things to you from the
beginning, because I was with you.
5 But now I am going to him who sent me,
and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’
6 But because I have said these things to
you, sorrow has filled your heart.
7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is
to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not
come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
8 And when he comes, he will convict the
world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
9 concerning sin, because they do not
believe in me;
10 concerning righteousness, because I go
to the Father, and you will see me no longer;
11 concerning judgment, because the ruler
of this world is judged.
12 “I still have many things to say to you,
but you cannot bear them now.
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will
guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but
whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are
to come.
14 He will glorify me, for he will take
what is mine and declare it to you.
15 All that the Father has is mine;
therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Sometimes the truth is
obvious and sometimes it isn’t.
For example: 2+2=4. That truth
is obvious but suppose you had to answer this question; “Has the time come for
me to move into an assisted living facility or should I stay where I am?” Or this question, “Should I attend
Boston College or Cornell University?”
Or this question, “Is global warming real or is it just a lot of
unproven science?” Or how about
this one? “What would Jesus say
about the death penalty and illegal immigration? Would he say ‘yes’ to one and
‘no’ to the other or ‘no’ to one and ‘yes’ to the other or ‘yes’ to both or
‘no’ to both?”
Sometimes the truth isn’t
obvious. Consider if you will the
debate that took place one day between a minister, priest and a rabbi. They kept going back and forth in
their attempt to decide when life actually begins. The minister said, “I
believe that life begins the moment you’re born.” “Oh no,” said the priest. “Life
begins at the moment of conception.” The rabbi shook his head. “You’re both wrong,” he
said, “life
begins when the dog dies and the last kid moves out of the house.”
Sometimes the truth isn’t
obvious and here’s something that might surprise you. Sometimes that’s the way Jesus wants it. I say that
because
of something that Jesus said to the disciples at the Last Supper. Jesus said, “I still have many things
to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” but “When the Spirit of truth
comes, he will guide you into all the truth…he will take what is mine and
declare it to you.”
Jesus told the disciples the
truth but he didn’t tell them the whole truth. So, with that in mind you could
say that what happened at the Last Supper is similar to what happened in the movie
“A Few Good Men.” Do you remember
the famous scene at the end of the movie? Lt. Daniel Kaffee, the character played
by Tom Cruise, shouts “I want the truth.”
At that point Col. Nathan R. Jessup, the character played by Jack
Nicholson shouts back “You can’t handle the truth.”
Jesus told the disciples the
truth but he didn’t tell them the whole truth. Why? Because he
knew that they couldn’t handle it.
He knew that they weren’t ready for it. That’s why Jesus gave the
disciples the truth in bits and pieces.
He gave it to them when he knew that they could handle it. The same thing is true for us.
Take for example the question
of women in the church. Things were very different back when the Apostle Paul
was doing his thing. In his first
letter to the Corinthians Paul wrote “…women should keep silent in the
churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as
the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask
their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.”
Now some people might hear
that and long for the good old days.
Some of our Congregational ancestors though heard the Spirit of truth
say something very different to them.
It happened back in 1852 and it led them to ordained the first woman
minister in this country. Her name
was Antionette Brown, Rev. Antoinette Brown. At her ordination service Rev. Luther Lee preached a sermon
and in it he said, “our sister in Christ, Antoinette L. Brown, is one of the
ministers of the New Covenant, authorized, qualified, and called by God to
preach the gospel of his Son Jesus Christ.”
Jesus said, “I
still have many things to say to you but you
cannot bear them now…When the Spirit of truth comes , he will guide you into
all the truth… he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”
By
the way, I recently read something that suggested that when it comes to
ordination God’s truth may be very different in the future. The article wasn’t meant to be
taken seriously but it does make you think. The title of the article was “WHY WE OPPOSE THE ORDINATION
OF MEN.” The article listed
several reasons why men shouldn’t be ordained. Why should men not be ordained?
·
Because a man’s place is in the army
·
Because no real man wants to settle an argument by turning the
other cheek
·
Because women won’t respect a man who wears a long flowing dress
·
Because men are too emotional to be ministers. Their conduct at football
games and
political conventions shows this to be true. Their tendency to resort to force and violence also render
them unfit to be ambassadors for Christ.
·
Because some men are so handsome they will distract women
worshippers.
Finally, why should men not
be ordained?
·
Because if the Church is the Bride of Christ how silly is it to
have a man be a bride.
Jesus
has given us the truth but he hasn’t given us the whole truth yet. That’s why it’s surprising to see
so
many people these days who are convinced that they know the whole truth. You
see it in pompous politicians and arrogant commentators on talk show
radio. You see it in condescending
religious leaders and narrow minded activists who are convinced that their
cause is right, people who are against abortion and people who are for same
gender marriage as well as the people who are for and against the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan.
When
it comes to the truth, however, only Jesus knows the whole truth. So, what does
that mean for us? It means that
you have to be humble and honest.
Harry
Emerson Fosdick was one of the great preachers of the last century. He was also the first pastor of
Riverside Church in New York City.
In his book “Dear Mr. Brown,” he makes the point that you have to be
humble when it comes to God and the truth that comes from above. In the book he
writes, “Recently, I visited once more my island of the coast of Maine and fell
in love again with the sea. Now, I
do not know the whole sea. It is
very great. I never sailed the
tropic ocean where the Orinoco and the Amazon pour out their floods through
primeval woods. I never watched
the Antarctic sea where today pioneers press their perilous way over the polar
ice pack. Wide areas of the sea
are to me unknown, but I know the sea.
It has a near end. It
washes my island. I can sit beside
it and bathe in it and sail over it, and be sung to sleep by the music of
it. So it (is with) God.”
When
it comes to the truth that comes from above you have to be humble. You also have to be honest and accept
the fact that the truth isn’t always going to be what you want it to be. A Civil War solider knew that and it
led him to write an inspiring poem.
They found the poem in one of his pockets after he was killed in battle.
This is what he wrote in his poem.
I asked God for
strength, that I might achieve,
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked God for
health, that I might do greater things,
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for
riches, that I might be happy,
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for
power, that I might have the praise of men,
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all
things, that I might enjoy life,
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing
that I asked for
- but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite
myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among men, most richly blessed.
A lot
of our problems today are caused by people who insist that they not only know
the truth but that they know the whole truth. Those who are faithful, however, know that that’s just not
true. Sometimes in our quest to
know the truth Christ comes to us and says, the same thing he said to the
disciples. He says, “not yet.” “I
have many more things to say to you but you cannot bear them….but the Spirit of
truth will lead you into all the truth.”
All you have to do is be honest and humble and wait. Amen.
Rev.
Dr. Richard A. Hughes
May 30, 2010