A reading from the gospel according to John 18:33B-37

33B Pilate said to Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?”
35 Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?”
36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”
37 So Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

Reflection: Testify to the truth

We live in a world where truth is elusive. Studies have shown that we all tell a lie almost on a daily basis. Even in answering the question “how are you?”, we lie and say we are fine when in fact, we are not. The truth is lying has become part of our habit and we wonder why there is so much confusion and misunderstanding all around us.

Indeed, the world today is full of lies, fake news and half-truths. We are bombarded day in and day out with all sorts of information including disinformation and misinformation that compete for our attention. So we long to know the truth. It is refreshing to hear that Jesus comes to offer us the truth. Let us listen to Him and make Him the king in all aspects of our life.

When we allow Jesus to rule our thoughts, words and actions, we submit ourselves to live in truth, honesty and humility. We accept the truth that we are sinners and humbly ask for forgiveness. We endeavor to be truthful about ourselves and our relationship with others. Moreover, we develop the courage to tell the truth no matter who gets hurt. In this way, we become truth warriors.

In John 8:32, Jesus said that truth will set us free. To be sure, when we strive to be truthful as we can be, we are not afraid or ashamed of ourselves and therefore we are free to enter into lasting relationships. In addition, we contribute to more and better understanding among people resulting to less confusion in this world. When we have a world where people stick to the truth, the Kingdom of God will be well-established.

Let us therefore strive to be truthful and to fight for the truth no matter what.