the Vicar writes

Within a few hours recently, I saw two different headlines about the same event, the election of the Mayor of London. One said, "Boris lead halved", and the other said, "Boris forges ahead." By the time you read this, you'll probably know the end of the story!

Perhaps the most famous, or infamous, headline of recent times was on 2nd May 1982, during the Falklands War, when The Sun newspaper blazoned out "Gotcha!" after the sinking of the Argentinean ship General Belgrano. It was changed in later editions, but has never been forgotten.

Newspaper headlines, the openings of the news on television and radio, the quick sound bite, all have an enormous influence on us. We very often take them as telling us the whole truth, and don't bother to dig deeper, and find out more. And sometimes, headlines are deliberately trying to mislead us.

Everyone will have seen those advertisements which say "Up to 50% off every item". Taking nothing off satisfies that statement, and it's not definite that you'll get 50% off, but that's what you're meant to believe, and that's what tempts you to buy.

Getting at the truth is not always easy, and sometimes we're lazy about it, and let things slide. But truth is something that we should take very seriously, both in what comes to us, and in what we give out to others. If our Christian faith is to be a living part of each day, and if it has really changed our lives, then facing the truth and telling the truth is important.

Jesus Christ himself said "I am the way, the truth, and the life." (John 14:6), and proclaimed the truth about God and his love for every human being. He showed the truth of all he said on the cross, and in the triumph of the resurrection, and he called on his followers, and that includes you and me, to share that truth with others.

He said to every follower of his, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." (John 8:32). It's a long way from the bewildered cry of Pontius Pilate at the trial of Jesus, "What is truth?" (John 18;38). If he'd taken more trouble to dig deeper, he would have seen that the truth was there in front of him, in Jesus.

Truth is an important part of the Christian faith. Don't be misled by less than the whole story, and don't mislead others. Remember that Jesus Christ brings his own truth to every one of us, and that truth makes us free. Try it, and you'll know it's true!

Michael Edge

May 2008