It’s that season when truth is on trial.  Who is telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?  It’s enough to cry out, “SO HELP US GOD!!!”

Yes, so help us God. Help us.  Help us know the truth, we pray – the truth about who we are in relation to you, O God! 

We ask, “Will your truth, God, really set us free?  Or can we tweak the phrase a bit and say, “the truth will let us see?”

On my bike route there is a tether ball attached to a tree.  Usually, it just hangs there, attached to this huge immovable object.  Sometimes it sways in the wind.  I imagine it gets hit by a person now and then.  But when left alone, it remains tethered and bound.

It seems that truth couched in our sinful selves lends itself to deception and falsehoods, tethering us to things, events, people, places that prevent seeing the goodness, graciousness, and freedom of a loving God. 

When people define truth that ultimately requires the non-freedom of another, it is no longer aligned with God’s truth.  It blinds and binds the capacity of God’s creation, reducing us to mere pawns of power.

The Sachsenhausen concentration camp north of Berlin was designed so that it was impossible for any prisoner to escape.  Freedom was impossible.  Prisoners were tethered to an immovable object of hate.  As most of us know, the conditions of this and other concentration camps were absolutely heartbreaking and sobering.  The dehumanizing methods of torture, medical experiments, starvation, and murder were appalling.  The false truth of Hitler’s white nationalism led to the murders of millions.

As our group walked through the main gate and began walking on a path circling the courtyard, our tour guide wondered if we had noticed anything about the path.  It soon became evident that the path was very difficult navigate – given the uneven cobblestones. 

He pointed out that some of the prisoners were forced to wear various kinds of foot gear and walk until they dropped in order for the medical staff and cobblers to assess the damage to their feet.  The ultimate goal was to develop proper footwear for the German soldiers.  The prisoners were literally being used as machinery to support the military complex.  They were tethered to evil.

What’s appalling is that the townspeople most likely knew what was happening in that prison – but they, too, were tethered….tethered to fear. 

Jesus said, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”  Jesus’ disciples were confused by what he said, and answered, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone.”  The disciples either had a short memory or were very confused – probably both.  For indeed, their people had been slaves in Egypt, they had been in captivity in Babylon, and at the present, had been under the rule of the oppressive Roman Empire.  Could they truly say they had not been slaves to anyone?  Perhaps they had forgotten what freedom was really like.  Perhaps they were in denial. Perhaps they couldn’t see the forest for the trees.

Perhaps they weren’t much different than us.  We assume we are free.  Yet many are enslaved to things like wealth, pride, egos, sports, cell phones, jobs, addictions, doctrine, conspiracy theories, etc.

As you can see there are many, many ways we are enslaved.  And so, the statement, “we have never been slaves to anyone,” is categorically false amongst humans.   Jesus said, “Everyone who commits a sin is a slave to sin.”  And perhaps the bondage of sin is the most difficult for us to see.

Again, remember what Jesus said, “The truth will make you free.”  And think again about the tweak on that phrase:  “The truth will make you see!” 

Jesus says the slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever.  And so when the Son (Jesus) takes up residence in our hearts we are free indeed.  Free to be, free to see!

Free to see the pain and suffering of others, free to see the injustices, free to see the hunger – spiritual and physical, free to see the desecration of nature…but also free to see the joy of new birth, God’s goodness, beauty in forgiveness, healing of relationships, etc.

God says, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” God’s word is like a key that opens up the future.  It releases the enslaved heart.  It breaks the tether.      Martin Luther was the predominant reformer of the church back in the early 1500’s.  Luther’s journey took him down roads of great persecution and inner turmoil.  He loved the church.  He knew that Christ’s presence was still there, despite the being tethered to a static interpretation of scripture, traditions of the past, wealth, power, and greed. 

His searching of the scriptures led him to believe that the church had been tethered for some time and subsequently had lost sight of some very important truths – the main one being that we are not justified by our works, those things that we do, but by the graciousness of a God who instills in us faith.

His searching revealed once again that as followers of Jesus we are not tethered to unwieldy and immovable objects of our own making, but are washed in the waters of baptism and fed by Jesus’ body and blood through the Lord’s Supper.

This is so important to understand.  Jesus does not tether us.  Jesus’ truth frees us, washes us, and feeds us.

This past week we attended the Bishop’s Convocation in Coeur de Alene.  One of our special guests was a small dog named Pearl.  Pearl accompanied her beloved master, Kirsten, everywhere.  During our sessions she was untethered, free to roam, free to mingle and bring cheer to the participants. 

Pearl would quietly meander under the chairs, through our legs, exploring every inch of convention space.   Yet, every so often she would look back toward Kirsten, checking in.  When Pearl’s adventure was over she would return to her comfy blanket or Kirsten’s lap or just look adoringly into the eyes of Kirsten, waiting for a direction – whether to sit, lie down, or jump up. 

In one poignant moment, while we laid hands and prayed for our presenters, Pearl’s little tail wagged at the speed of a hummingbird’s wings.  She was relishing this communion of saints, this gathering of people, this inclusion of being one with humans and her creator. Pearl exemplified freedom…freedom to be amongst God’s people and see the joy of being humbly present.

Ultimately, the truth is that we are untethered, washed, fed, and free to be “little Christs” to the world, participating in the reformation of lives and God’s creation.

AMEN