Implications of Empire

A friend recently shared a N.T. Wright lecture with me via podcast. I was struck by his reflections, as has been increasingly common in my life with Wright's work. With the current Empire of the West, led by the waning efforts of the American economy, we find importance in the Gospel of John. In John 18:38 we encounter the representative of the Empire of Rome asking Jesus a question. Pilate, the representative, asks, "What is truth?" Do you remember Jesus' response? I certainly did not. And I did not remember because the writer of John does not include Jesus' response. Instead, the writer goes on to tell the story of Jesus' journey to the cross, as if the writer highlights that Truth is not best articulated through words of information, but rather through the atoning actions of the one who ushers in the Kingdom of God. So as the emerging post-modern West continues to struggle over the question of Truth, maybe the actions of Christ over the course of the final three chapters of the book of John, can become part of the conversation.