We all have those songs that remind us of our childhood. Thoughts of these songs sometimes bring with them smells and tastes, the faces of long-forgotten friends. Songs can also conjure up regrets. Maybe it is the thing we never got to say to someone or the things we never did with a loved one now gone. We may even get sad feelings from an upbeat song because of the good memories that we no longer share, memories we have left to only ourselves.

What good is it if we have all this world has to offer but lose our souls in the process? Those who are called to follow Christ have a much higher aim than anything that this world can offer. As such our values and ethics are not to be determined by the world in any way that conflicts with the divine revelation of God in His Word. We must be willing to let it all go.

Jesus’ disciples had abandoned him. His closest friend had betrayed him. The religious leaders had cornered him. The question came in a conversation between Jesus and Pilate: “What is truth?” The question is often understood as a rhetorical one in the context of this passage. However, Pilate was not seeking an answer; he was making a statement. It was a statement that perfectly captured the secular worldview of knowledge. Friedrich Nietzsche suggested that this verse was “the only saying that has any value” and Pilate was the “solitary figure worthy of honor” in the entire New Testament.[i] If you are not familiar with that name, you might be familiar with Nietzsche’s most infamous quote: “God is dead.”[ii]

“Who do you say that I am?”

Jesus and his disciples were alone. The conversation began with Jesus asking what others had said of his identity. Some supposed he was a new prophet or some kind of incarnate apparition of a former prophet. Jesus then posed this very question to his disciples. Peter, never the shy one, spoke up, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” He was right.

It seems like the days of face to face conversations are almost vanishing. With the ongoing pandemic, even times together feel much less “together.” But this peculiar trend did not start with Covid-19.

Over the past several years, social media has given distant friends a common “space.” Families separated by job relocations can now see each other’s faces and be a part of each other’s lives even from a distance. The technology that has made this possible is a wonderful thing at times, but it has also brought some unexpected distancing.