Telling the Truth

On Saturday, December 5, 2015, Father Michael McGhee preached a sermon on Telling the Truth for the Second Week of Advent.

 

Malachi 3:1-4

Canticle 16

Philippians 1:3-11

Luke 3:1-6

 

Telling the truth is not just a matter of facts, but a way of life. A truthful life is characterized  by patience, gentleness, forgiveness, to name just a few. Living a truthful life together means life will be a bit messy, but the freedom it offers a community makes the hard work worth it. There may not be a more fear inducing phrase in the Church than “speaking the truth in love.” Although the Apostle Paul used it to speak of how we grow up (Ephesians 4:15), in todays church, it usually means that you are about to get beat up by a list of your faults— and you can’t get angry because it was offered in “love”.  “Being truthful is not only about speaking hard things, but discerning the whole picture with gentleness, humility, and patience. A person’s gifts and flaws often come packaged together, and it is important to discern the difference between weakness and wickedness.” (Pohl, Living into Community). To live truthfully means we must acknowledge our sin; however, we must tell the whole truth. We must speak of Grace.

 

The belief in an all-knowing God should inspire the search for truth; the awareness of our human limitations should make us modest about the claims that we have found it, however.  We ‘know in part’ (1Corinthians 13:12) first because we are finite beings…. ‘We know in part,’ second, because our limited knowledge is shaped by the interests we pursue and filtered through the cultures and traditions we inhabit. - Miroslav Volf