When was the last time you “Quid est veritas?” yourself?

Musings on Truth, Part 1 of Many

There is a scene on the day of Jesus’ execution, after an unfair trial conducted at night by the spiritual leaders of the day, Jesus has been delivered to the Roman governor. After questioning Jesus of purpose, Pilate quips "Quid est vertias?", Latin for "What is truth"? But then, without waiting for an answer, he walks away.  

Since that passage first caught my eye while I was in college, I return to it often, thinking about its relevancy, playing the scene out in my head, and even after 15+ years, my imagination begins to transition to something with Tom Cruise yelling at Jack Nicholson, demanding "I want the truth!".

With the events at the Capitol this past week, there were a lot of people on both sides of the political spectrum demanding "I want the truth!", but may I ask, "can we even handle the truth?" (queue most circulated meme ever about this topic)

The governor, Pontius Pilate, was not an elected representative of the people, but a delegated enforcer from Caesar, to be his instrument in delivering Pax Romana, Roman Peace, to the region. This peace is achieved by silencing all opposition, removing all voices contrary to the divine Caesar, and brings unity by dividing humans from humanity through oppression and violence. Truth, to the Romans at this time, wasn’t something to be sought after or achieved through enlightenment, but is poured out from above (queue the angelic singing), from the mouth of Caesar and the praises of his worshippers, with the vision that his divine voice will be carried throughout all the Roman empire and with time, into every human heart. With enough volume and repetition, and a little dash of violence when just a little more pizzazz was needed, truth would prevail. With such a glorified leader, a powerful army, and a rapidly growing kingdom, how can validity of this truth be denied.

Then enter Jesus. 

A man surrounded by controversy, accused of questionable heritage, education and associations. 

A man of action, passionate and at times angry, but merciful and never provoked to violence. When Pilate asks him what has he done that his own country would request capital punishment on him, he replies:

“My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered…You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world – to bear witness of the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”

Do we understand what he is saying? 

This man is proclaiming kingship, but of a kingdom above the scraps and squabbles that had ensnared humanity as they claw their way to significance over one another. He doesn’t require the blood of his servants to defend or uphold his kingdom. 

His kingdom’s reign will see no interruption due to the actions of others. One might say that the claims of this kingdom is independent of the support for or even opposition that can come against it.

Truth is not defined by how much support it is given by its followers. Truth is not defined by its ability to out-power opposition and silence protests. Truth never needs volume to get its message across, nor force to penetrate deep into the hearts of its listeners. Truth is ever-present.

 The only limitation of truth is that it isn’t able to be found if it isn’t sought after.

Franciscan teacher Brian McLaren (check him out at www.cac.org) wrote in a 2012 book Everything Must Change, that our perspective of the world, referred to as our framing story, 

“...gives people direction, values, vision, and inspiration by providing a framework for their lives. It tells them who they are, where they come from, where they are, what’s going on, where things are going, and what they should do.” 

In respect to our nation, let alone the world, the framing story we have participated in proclaims that our purpose is to accumulate an abundance of possessions and to experience maximum pleasure, that we are in a “life-and-death” competition with one another to out-consume, out-grow, and out-last. This framework doesn’t foster any logical reason for reconciliation, collaboration, or non-violent resolution, and shows no differentiation for religious beliefs. Doesn’t this sound eerie familiar to the Pax Romana? This is the peace of winners, not losers. 

Again, enter Jesus. 

A man proclaiming to be born for such a time as this. A time when this deadly framing story is gripping the hearts of humanity. A time when this thinking is causing humanity to backstep to our primordial nature, questioning or even forgetting their purpose and dependence on another. Jesus brings a new framing story, a truthful framing story.

His framing story begins with an opening proclamation that a good, wise and loving Divine presence created humanity to be a part of a free and responsible creation, where virtue, collaboration, peace and kindness for one another is the heartbeat of our society. That we are partners, not defenders, of the wisdom and character of God. This framing story’s plot is specifically written with us in mind, asking if we will participate, knowing that our participation will bring hope to our society.

Jesus raises this question to us in the same way he did for Pilate on that bloody day, asking us,  "are we ready to reframe our story, competing with one another over self-made kingdoms of scarcity while abundance surrounds us?” Most religious beliefs are centered on one tenet – awareness, raising the question – “Are you aware of what’s happening?” Are you aware of the miracle of life within you, that the way your heart beats, the way your lungs fill with air, the way your eyes quickly perceive light no matter how dark it may be, this is a miracle. Jesus invites Pilate to hear a new story, a truthful story. How does a man of great power, great strength, and pride, respond? He cynically states “What is truth” and walks away, not wanting to hear the answer or stand in the presence of the answer.

My friends, are you pausing long enough to hear the answer?

Is your search for truth reached the “my life depends on it” effort yet?

Or is your search for truth limited to 140 characters for simple easy reading?

We are in a revolution. 

Although for some it will be a celebratory day to have a change in leadership in our country this month, this has little to do with this revolution. 

Our revolution is one against the threat to human intellect and ability to search for truth. 

We easily forgo the innate human nature of curiosity and learning, replacing it with an easily swallowable pill of infatuation of media to do our thinking for us. This isn’t a rant against Facebook, Twitter, or any other platform. Social media is great, allows us to communicate with one another, and spark new ideas and inspirations. This isn’t a rant against news sources, whether Fox, CNN, or whatever. 

This call is to us as individuals and as a society – what is our source of truth, and what story are we listening to? 

Do we realize that we are becoming illiterate of who we are, where we come from, and where we could be going? Are we so deft to not recognize the fragility of our lives and our dependence on one another? Similar to the One Ring’s grip on Frodo Baggins, the heaviness of power and evil cloud our thoughts and perceptions of the world, missing the beauty and life that surrounds us and invites us to participate in.   

The great literary American prophet Ray Bradbury (joking but in all seriousness) in his book Fahrenheit 451 raises the question – will we forfeit our human gift of curiosity and learning for conformity and censorship? In a novel that portrays all opposing thought being sent to the government-sponsored fires, Bradbury states in an interview several years after publishing that

 “There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches,” until eventually all the books were burned, the minds shut and the libraries were closed.

But rather than experiencing government censorship, we are subjecting ourselves to self-censorship of truth because of the effort involved to explore it. Truth is found when we question it, poke it, explore it, investigate it, similar to the strongest and purest faith being found when we have doubt.

I have strong feelings about the incident this past week at the Capitol and the appropriate consequences that should ensue, but the storyline that I envision for my country has little to do with that narrative. It has little to do with Mr. Trump as President (for a few more days), or Mr. Biden as he accepts the presidency later this month. 

The storyline that I am seeking is the pursuit of truth, beginning with the recognition of the divinity in one another. 

A truth that enables us to take ownership of our wrongs, and ability to extend mercy when it is in our power. 

A truth that doesn’t require a Republican or Democrat in office, but collaboration of all, towards a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Not a government of only law and order, but joined with the sweet salve of justice and mercy. 

Can you see this type of government? Can you envision what daily life would look like?

It’s a challenge to see it, because its not of this world. But its times like these that we need to be reminded of the presence of truth, to be made aware that it is there for the seeker, and although it may be difficult to find and often allude us, we owe our lives to pursuing it.

Ask, “Quid est veritas” and then spend your days searching for the answer. It's way better than waiting for the rant from your favorite politician, even though it may be less than 140 characters.