Which do we need most - fairness or truth?

Probably more than at any time in history, we have a sense that all people, whoever they are, ought to have the same chances in life, ought to be treated fairly, ought not to be discriminated against or suffer from prejudice. That is what we aspire to but still, it isn’t the case in this world. Methodist ministers now all, rightly, have to do Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training, to make sure that we are aware of the issues of discrimination. We are working hard in the church to ensure that people are treated fairly whoever they are and whatever their background. And that is because in our world, people suffer from unfair treatment because of their race, their religion, their physical ability or appearance, their gender, or because they are disposed to be attracted to someone of their own sex, all the time.  And in Jesus’ day no one imagined it ought to be any different – of course a slave was treated differently from a Roman citizen! Of course a woman was treated differently from a man! It is only as a result of the influence of Christianity over the centuries that we have come to the way we think now, even if Christianity itself is rejected by many (baby, bathwater, anyone?)

So what Peter says in Acts 10. 35, “I very clearly see that God shows no favouritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right”; was radical. It is not who you are or what you are, but what you do, that makes the difference to God.

This important truth, that God accepts everyone, is reinforced by the way that the first person who sees Jesus risen again in the garden is not one of the 12 apostles, but is another of Jesus’ followers, someone whose word carried no weight in a court of law at the time, and who could hold no position of trust in a synagogue, and certainly not in the temple, and who as an unmarried woman would have been shown less respect than a woman who was married and had children.

We don’t know much about Mary Magdalene, the woman who was the first to witness Jesus’ resurrection. We don’t know her age. We can deduce that she was probably unmarried and childless, because she is identified by the place she came from, Magdala, a fishing town on the Sea of Galilee, rather than as wife or mother of someone else. We know she was wealthy enough to provide, along with some other women, the finance for Jesus’ travelling ministry, because Luke says so (Luke 8.2-3). There is no evidence she is connected with the unnamed sinful woman described by Luke in chapter 7, although that idea has taken hold of people’s imagination over the centuries; but we are told she was released from 7 demons. In today’s language, we might understand Jesus to have healed her from a mental illness.

Mary, as an unmarried woman who had ‘had demons’ would have suffered discrimination and prejudice as a matter of course, and so it’s understandable that she found in Jesus the acceptance and love that she needed. There is such wonder and love in the way she responds to hearing her name and such tenderness in the way Jesus speaks to her when she meets him in the garden after the resurrection (John 20.16). I think it is one of the most powerful moments in all of the Gospels.

But it is not enough that Jesus accepts all people; it is not enough that we find acceptance and love in Jesus.

The element that makes all of the above work is truth. The way the resurrection is described, the way the life of Jesus and his death is described in all of the Gospels, emphasises that these are real, historic events that actually happened. Peter, in Acts 10, sets out his thoughts on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ not as an interesting story but as world-changing events, witnessed by a particular group of people who can testify – and the word is taken from the language of the law courts – to what they have seen and heard.

I’ve said that our society thinks a lot about fairness and acceptance of people, so we are quite fashionable in our thinking on this. But when it comes to truth, it is a different matter. We live in a world where truth is seen as relative especially when it comes to faith – “if belief in God helps you, that is lovely, but my truth is different”.

We also live in a world where people hear or read entirely different version of current events – where people’s opinions are based on entirely different versions of the facts! Which version is true? Do you believe the Daily Express, or the Guardian? What are you seeing on social media when you scroll through facebook, twitter/x, or telegram? Less and less there are shared stories that everyone hears. How we deal with this is not an easy question, but no wonder there is division, division which the news media loves to stir up and exaggerate. Politicians, emboldened by the success of Donald Trump, have become more blatant over the last few years, in spreading stories which are not true, and not even caring because they know it will appeal to many and increase their power. And we see in other places people denying and deliberately or sometimes self-deludedly, distorting the truth. Did the terrorists who attacked the Crocus theatre in Moscow come from Ukraine? Is there really no evidence of impending famine in Gaza, as I heard an Israeli military spokesperson claim last week?

The truth of the Gospel stories, in contrast, is something we can rely on and build our lives on. Extraordinary and ‘incredible’ (that over- used word) as the story of the resurrection is, it has, over the last 2 millenia provided a firm foundation for living, acceptance by God and forgiveness for many.

Let’s celebrate this Easter that our God, a God who shows no favouritism, is risen from the dead and is still alive for us today. That is a truth that makes all the difference.

Amen.