That Pesky Little Thing Called "the Truth"

     The truth.  Or lack thereof.  Our news has been inundated with it of late.  Let's see... there was the whole "hands up.  Don't shoot."  of the Michael Brown fame and Ferguson Missouri.  Not to belittle those instances where the police (or anyone for that matter) oversteps their authority, but this was seen imitated in congress, at NFL games, on T-Shirts, national news broadcasts, and in protests and demonstrations since.  There is only one problem:  It never happened.  An entire movement in this country began and perpetuated on a lie.

     This is perhaps one of the most notorious and visible examples,  but lest we forget all of the apparent lies and mistruths that current presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has been caught in of late, (Google Hillary Clinton's lies and you'll get links as far back as 2008 - too many to provide a link here).  Of course there's also the new "Baghdad Bob," - we can call him "Baghdad Barack," for all of his distortions of the truth when it comes to the handling of the ISIS threat. (remember Baghdad Bob from the 2003 second gulf war, claiming that Iraq had repelled the allied invaders as the allied tanks were rolling through the streets behind him?)  Josh Earnest, the U.S. press secretary, seems to have trouble telling things like they really are.  And of course, there is also the accusations of rape and sexual abuse that seem to abound in today's culture.  This is not to diminish those who truly do suffer such abuse, but lately it seems fashionable to simply cry "rape" when in fact, it never happened.  The most famous current example would be "mattress girl" - who, as facts come out because of a lawsuit filed by the alleged perpetrator, she was nothing more than a scorned and spurned college coed who decided to get even when the gentleman in question would not succumb to her sick and perverted sexual advances.  The result?  She destroyed and sullied another's life and reputation.   And yes, she carried a mattress around Columbia University for a year, calling attention to a very serious matter, but once again, all based on a lie.

     Lies in politics are called "spin."  Lies in society are often referred to as "little white."  Truth becomes stretched.  Lies in a court of law are not supposed to happen, but yet the courts are inundated with lawsuits in which one side (often both) must necessarily be lying.  The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.  So whatever happened to the truth?  Why does the legend of George Washington not hold sway at all here in 21st century America?  Why have we adopted a teleological ethic where "the end justifies the means," and therefore it is perfectly acceptable and permissible to lie to gain what one wants?

     Now there is no need to begin quoting Scripture when it comes to the truth.  Jesus speaks of the truth often, and when the world is caught up in its own lies, it is doing the bidding of the father of lies:  the devil.  Most people still seem to have an inkling that lying is not acceptable.  And yet it permeates our society.  Worse, the lies are accepted and acted upon, and often the results are horrible.  Lives are ruined, towns are destroyed, hard working citizens are vilified, and the world is left a worse place than before.  Lies lead ultimately to pain, accusations, bondage, powerlessness, and fear.  Truth always leads to healing, grace, hope, freedom, power, and peace.

     So where do we go from here?  What can be done collectively to get back to the heart of the matter, namely the "truth?"  Jesus does say "you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free."  The implication is that in living, believing, or perpetuating lies will continue to bind us collectively, and keep us as slaves to evil.   As Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, "God's truth judges created things out of love, and Satan's truth (lies) judges them out of envy and hatred."

     It would follow that to recapture a greater sense of truth means we must first recapture what it means to love our fellow man.  Love is, after all, the greatest of the three remaining virtues (faith, hope, love - 1 Corinthians 13).  In fact, lies are self-serving.  Love is not.  "It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." (1 Corinthians 13:5-7)

     Yes.  To recapture truth in society, we must also relearn how to love one another.  And by the way?  The greatest example of that love would be given in God's Son.  "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

A Celebration. AND a Warning.

What follows is an expanded version of a paragraph from our Sunday bulletin, as we began worship in our new building last Sunday (May 10).

Why does this congregation exist?  People want to think this all began with two factions holding profoundly different beliefs.  It did not.  This has little to do with failed votes to leave another denomination, hostilities between warring factions, two hermeneutics, or methods of operation and interpretation, at work within a denomination that, as former ELCA Bishop Mark Hanson said "were opposed to one another and yet equally valid."  It is not about people.  Not about buildings.  Not about denominations.  Not about personal practices.  It's not about us at all.

Rather, It began with the establishment of the church with the apostles’ commission to go and make disciples and baptize – all in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Much has happened in the nearly two millennia since:  Empires and kingdoms have arisen, only to fall again.  Kings, emperors, tyrants, and despots have come and gone.  The church has formed, only to be under constant assault by the ancient adversary:  the devil.  Congregations have begun, only to disband once again.  Magnificent buildings have been erected, only to crumble into the depths of history.  Wars have been fought, sometimes on a global scale.  Competing ideologies have led to all of these.  But the one constant in all of this was and is the Word of God, that often stands in stark contrast to the troubles of our past and present. 

Of course, pointing out the troubles this world has is nothing new, and warnings of the conditions today have been given.  "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power." (2 Ti 3:1–5).  Even Thomas Jefferson said "God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever."  (quoted on the Jefferson Memorial)  Here he indicates that we will either be one nation under God, or apart from God, simply one nation going under.  It doesn't become any more of a warning than that.  And the warnings from Scripture demonstrate that little has changed in 2000 years, or even 4000 years, where the common practice of history is that affluence breeds apathy.  These are the things the warnings attempt to direct us away from.  They also attempt to direct us toward the one constant:  God's Word.

Its all about the message.  This world needs it.  Mother Basilea Schlink (a Lutheran nun from the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary) was firmly convinced that the rise of natural disasters since the 1980's is God’s wake up call for us.  Max Lucado wrote a book about 10 years ago called “It’s not about me.”  But the reality of the world is that self interest is all that matters, and little else.  And while we celebrate the building, mothers’ day, and so on, its not about any of them either.  Or look at the disciples.  They are in the presence of the Messiah, and what does Jesus catch them debating?  Which one of them is the greatest (Mark 9:33ff).  Nothing has changed since the time of Christ.


The world is indeed crumbling.  Mother Basilea witnessed the destruction of Germany first hand as allied forces bombed it to dust in the effort to eliminate the evil of the Nazis and Hitler.  We see today that the rise of affluence breeds not only apathy, but an appetite for more satisfaction of self interests.  It is time to, once again, recommit ourselves to the pure word of God and its proclamation.  It’s not about us, or about this building, or anything but the love of God, given to us.  It is the only thing that can rescue us from this dark world, and the only thing to proclaim without ceasing to others.  

It was in recent history that a handful of people set about the task to establish a small congregation in a small town in a small portion of the Great Plains, with the intent to carry out the commission given to those first apostles.  What you see here today is but the beginnings of that commission, despite that this building is now nearly complete.  In the grand scheme of history, it is doubtful that this “Trinity Lutheran Church” will even be remembered.  But that is not what is important.  What is important is found buried in the entrance slab to the right of the front doors:  A Bible.  And in that Bible?  A commemoration:  “The Bible in this foundation is placed as an eternal reminder that all who enter should hear nothing else than the Word of God, and all who leave this place should do nothing else than live by it.”

Though nearly complete, it is not complete yet.  And it will not be, until such a day as those conditions are met:  where nothing BUT the Word of God is proclaimed within its walls, and the people who leave these doors do nothing but LIVE by that same Word.  

The Collapse of Freedom

Recent attacks on the so-called "Mohammed Art" event in Texas demonstrate something very clear:  People are using their freedom in a very irresponsible fashion.

I'm beginning to suspect that doing so is yet another symptom of the decline of America.  It's not all that new:  We've got such "so-called" art (under the same guise of 'freedom of speech') as Maplethorpe's "Piss-Christ" (which stretches the limits of vulgarity and credibility under any category) which also greatly offended the Christian community in America.  Then you've got "vaginal knitting" (you really can't make this stuff up), which simply stretches the bounds of good taste and a whole host of other fronts.  And then you've got the recent "Charlie Hebdo" attacks in Paris, and now the Mohammed 'Art' exhibit in Texas, which was apparently nothing more than a cartoon exhibition in the flavor of the more famous "Charlie Hebdo" cartoons, mocking Islam's Mohammed.

Everyone wants to make these all about free speech.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  This is not about free speech.  This is about using free speech in a highly irresponsible and disrespectful fashion.  Does the constitution protect the right to free speech?  Yes.  Does the abuse of such freedom also demonstrate the decline of society?  Absolutely.  You see, with freedom comes responsibility.  And to use freedom responsibly means that one will not intentionally offend another group or mock closely held beliefs just because one can.  And yet, this is what we see happening all over the world in abundance today.  This is not to say that the revenge being carried out by Muslims is justified - nothing could be further from the truth.  Christians have endured numerous attacks on our cherished values and beliefs without the extreme violence that terrorists are carrying out in the name of Islam today.  What am I saying here?  The abuses of "freedom of speech" occurring all around the world, including here at home, are further signs of the decline of civilization.

At the very least, Christians should recognize that there is a higher calling above the simple cries of "freedom of speech."  St. Paul tells us that we are indeed set free (It is for freedom Christ has set you free).  However, what follows is that freedom (a deeply held and cherished value in America, and one ingrained in the fabric of the Declaration of Independence) is not something to be abused, but something to be taken very responsibly.  St. Paul also writes following that verse:  "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other."

Once again, Scripture demonstrates how we ought to live as Christians and simply as a world community.  But it also contains a prophetic warning as to what will happen if we do not live that way.  We are at a crossroads:  Will we be responsible in our freedom, endowed as a gift of our God?  Or will we continue down the path of moral, spiritual, and ethical decline with such abuses of freedom as we've been seeing in abundance lately?  I pray for the former, but I fear we are indulging the latter.  If that is true, then we've learned nothing from all of the failed nations, empires, and civilizations who have gone before us and suffered the same fate.