Rev. Dr. Sandra Bochonok.

“While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sum of money to the soldiers and said, ‘Tell people, “[Jesus'] disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.” And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.’ So they took the money and did as they were directed; and this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.” Matthew 28:11-15

What is the price of truth? We are not told how much money the soldiers received, but it was a large sum. To the poorly paid soldiers, it probably represented a small fortune. The soldiers agreed to accept the money and lie about what actually happened at the tomb where Jesus had been buried. Certain religious authorities were now desperate in their attempts to silence the resurrection event. All conspired and agreed to perpetuate an intentional lie. All agreed to circulate the story among the Jewish people. Lies beget lies.

What was the truth? Jesus had risen from the dead. Death had been conquered. God was moving in mysterious and powerful ways that disturbed religiously powerful men. They tried to cover the truth with money and deception. They tried to lie to the world.

Over the years, I have worked with religious leaders representing many different faith traditions. Most are devout, sincere, God fearing, honest, and holy leaders. Yet our religious institutions are fallible. Sometimes the truth is subconsciously or deliberately silenced and hidden in order to maintain the status quo and please the financial donors. Such was my experience while studying evangelism during my Doctor of Ministry program. For an elective, I chose to attend one of the famous Billy Graham schools of evangelism. During that week of intense study, I was in conversation with a Graham employee about the possibility of teaching an inclusive gospel, which would welcome people of all sexual orientations. He totally discouraged any further conversation with the comment, “Our funders barely support our inclusion of women at this school of evangelism. We’d lose them in a minute if we supported your proposed workshop!”

While religion can deepen our faith experiences, it can also corrupt us. God is bigger than all our combined religions. Religion can sometimes fail us in our search for truth. Well-intentioned people have used religion to inflict deep suffering on people who believe differently. They have demonized certaingroups such as gays and lesbians, crusaded against those whom they call infidels and pagans, and burned books that offered different outlooks on life.

Yet it must also be said that religious organizations have done much good as they have fed the hungry, cared for the destitute, provided for the orphan, and worked for improving conditions for the impoverished.

Religious corruption is not new. It is good to question our religious authorities and our own motives thoroughly. Leaders and believers representing all world religions are vulnerable. Bribery, deception, and lies can affect all our cherished religious institutions and leaders.

Perhaps it is enough to simply sit with the tension of these verses and consider where we are in the story. Perhaps we too, have been tempted to lie, deceive, bribe, and cover the truth somewhere in our lives. This is a wonderful opportunity for personal reflection and confession of sin. We need these moments of soul care. Each of us has an enormous capacity for self-deception.

God, as I linger quietly in your loving presence, speak to me about truth and deception, honesty and bribery. Amen.

from “Living as the Beloved” published by Chi Rho Press Used with permisson

http://www.ChiRhoPress.com

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