In his interview of Jesus after he had been arrested, Pilate asks, “What is truth?” And so (unwittingly?) gave voice the question that presses and propels each of us every day.

Of course, most of us assume that we have a handle on the answer to the question; after all, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Case closed. And yet, Pilate was no dummy; in fact, he was probably a good deal more philosophically aware than most of us. Like most in our own generation (of which, we should be careful to note, we are a part) Pilate was fairly confident that his perspective on life, the world and life in the world was pretty much on target. And yet … he fatally missed the boat, even as he stared the answer in the face. I find myself often doing the same thing; perhaps you do, too.

It is for such as us that the words of Paul to the Colossians are particularly comforting:

See to it that no one takes you captive by the philosophies and empty deceits of human traditions that are shaped and fed by the elementary principles of the world rather than the wisdom of God in Christ. For the wisdom of God in Christ is made fully visible in the flesh and by having been united with him in his death and resurrection by the grace of God signified in your baptism, you have been made alive and reshaped and nourished by this wisdom. This is the truth by which you are made alive and in which you live with confidence and rejoicing; so, let no one jerk you around, pass judgment upon you or hold you captive on the basis of those vain philosophies and empty deceits of human traditions. (Colossians 2:8-16, DSG’s Amplified version ;-))

The truth of God comes to us in the proclamation of the gospel. It is there standing before us. Recognizing the truth in Jesus by which we have been made alive, then, let us come together with rejoicing to worship the living and reigning King in whom, by whom, and for whom all things are created and made new!

Order of Worship for 01.11.09