The Danger of Rejecting Truth

Just one week ago we sat in Church commemorating Jesus in the Tomb. Holy Week witnessed Him arrested, tried, crucified, buried and then gloriously resurrected. We came out in thousands to celebrate. All this was just one week ago. Will we be in Church tomorrow?

It can be too easy to excuse ourselves from being in Church, especially the Sunday after Pascha, because we spent ‘so many’ hours in Church last week. But here’s the deal. Every time we choose to skip Sunday liturgy we are rejecting the truth of His resurrection.

Every Sunday is a celebration of His Glorious Resurrection, year-round. The truth is impossible to ignore at this point, so many centuries after ‘the first’ Pascha. The joy of Pascha should be enough to last more than a few days of eating lamb.

It gives us life. It heals our wounds. This was true ‘then’ no less than it is true today. The Jews denied the truth of Christ to hold on to their ‘situation’ with Rome. The Jews felt it more important to maintain the political order than to follow the truth or God. They paid the price.

In those days, while the healed lame man clung to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s, astounded. And when Peter saw it he addressed the people, “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And his name, by faith in his name, has made this man strong whom you see and know; and the faith which is through him has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.”

Acts 3.11-16

Today’s reminder from Acts should be enough to ‘get us’ in Church tomorrow and every Sunday. Peter and John were in the Temple when they healed the lame man. There were in the Temple when they chastised the Jews for denying Christ. What would they say to us today?

The only way to be healed by God is to embrace truth. He is the Truth. He is life. He is everything we need to survive our ‘situation’ with the world. Yet, we still choose to side with the murderous society than side with truth. There’s still time to change our minds.

It is only Saturday. It isn’t too late to choose to be in Liturgy tomorrow ‘even though’ we spent so many hours in Church last week. Consider the alternative. The Jews denied the truth and ended up outside the Church. We shouldn’t think we risk the same danger.

Christ is Risen!