Jeremiah 8:8,12 (Complete Jewish Bible) “How can you say, ‘We are wise; Adonai’s Torah is with us,’ when in fact the lying pen of the scribes has turned it into falsehood…They should be ashamed of their detestable deeds, but they are not ashamed at all, they don’t know how to blush.”
John 18:38 (CJB) “Pilate asked him, “What is truth?”
John 14:6 (CJB) “Yeshua said, ‘I AM the Way – and the Truth and the Life.”
Have we become inured to blatant manipulation of Truth? Jeremiah describes those who should be guardians of Truth re-writing it to their own ends and, when caught out, crying, ‘Fake News!’ We too in our own time hear those with global platforms who double down on denial of election outcomes and promote truth-obscuring conspiracies. Jeremiah describes those who simply ignore Truth and promote their own “truth.” We too in our own time hear those with global power who double down on their aggression, declaring that they are liberators, not invaders. When brave souls with lone voices and hard evidence dare ‘speak truth to power,’ they are the ones who are shamelessly and loudly accused of peddling lies. Jeremiah describes those who set the laws and then claim ignorance of those laws, selectively excusing themselves from penalty. We too in our own time hear those with global responsibilities minimise their own lies for political expedience.
Discerning the Truth, understanding the Truth, assessing the Truth, teaching the Truth, knowing the Truth, mattered long before Jeremiah wrote his words and matter just as much today.
This, then, is what we learn here in community. We seek answers to Pilate’s question, “What is truth?” We seek the clarity and the courage to live truly and to speak truthfully and to know the One who is the Truth.