You Can Handle the Truth

John 8.31-47

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’ They answered him, ‘We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, “You will be made free”?’


Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there for ever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word. I declare what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father.’


They answered him, ‘Abraham is our father.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did, but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are indeed doing what your father does.’ They said to him, ‘We are not illegitimate children; we have one father, God himself.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word. You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God.’


Reflection

Do we want to be free? Really free? That’s the unasked question that haunts all of us who read this passage.


Our society talks about freedom, choices, and liberty. But Jesus isn’t talking about the right to choose one’s leaders, or, far less consequentially, to pick the latest cell phone model, something marketers spend a lot of time trying to convince us is of paramount importance. Instead, he’s talking about being free to live as God would have us live. To live that life requires us to acknowledge the truth: we’re not in charge, and our priorities need to be set by God. Accepting this reality can be tough. Indeed, it brings to mind that great scene from “A Few Good Men” where Jack Nicholson snaps, “You can’t handle the truth!”


Sometimes, it may seem we can’t handle the truth. But one of the messages of Lent is that we can, if we’re willing to take a step back and prepare ourselves. Fortunately, we’re not alone – we have our church, we have our faith, and, most important, we have God to help us.


The truth? We can handle it!

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