This Lent we follow Jesus as he faces evil in the hours before his death. What is evil? Who is doing evil against Jesus during Passion Week? What are ways in which we are complicit in evil? Do we take evil seriously? As we experience evil in our own lives, discover how Jesus stands in the face of evil.
Invocation
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, who delivers us from all evil.
Invitation Prayer
Lord Jesus, you suffered evil at the hands of the religious establishment. Priests accused you of blasphemy. In their trial against you, they called the Good Shepherd evil. Forgive your people when we call evil good and good evil. We are sheep easily led astray. Renew us to be your people, clean and holy. Amen.
Word
Luke 22:71”Then they said, ‘Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.’”
Meditation: Confirmation Bias by Jo Saleska Lange
When I worked as a university writing instructor, I often talked to my students about confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is our tendency to favor information that confirms our pre-existing beliefs while rejecting or ignoring information that contradicts those beliefs. Everyone is susceptible to confirmation bias—it’s part of being human. Whether we realize it or not, confirmation bias affects how we interpret news stories, scientific research, and political policies.
In my writing courses, students who were unaware of their confirmation biases had trouble engaging in genuine research about their paper topics. Instead of examining multiple viewpoints and allowing new information to shape their ideas, these students sought out sources that supported what they already believed to be true. In other words, rather than viewing evidence as an opportunity to seek the truth, they viewed evidence as means for “winning” an argument.
If my former students were to read Luke 22:66-71, I hope they would see confirmation bias at work within the council of Jewish leaders. These leaders, made up of chief priests and scribes, have no desire to find out the truth about who Jesus is. Although these men are experts in interpreting scripture, they overlook all scriptural evidence that points to Jesus as the promised Messiah. Moreover, they have no interest in hearing witness testimonies that would further prove Jesus’s identity as the Christ. Instead, they have already concluded that Jesus is a blasphemer, and they use whatever flimsy evidence they can find to condemn him as such. “What further testimony do we need?” they say.
While teaching has made me aware of confirmation bias, I still fall victim to it all the time. We all do. And as we should learn from the council of Jewish leaders, this tendency can be especially dangerous when it comes to our faith. Rather than reading scripture through the lens of our personal agendas and preferences, we must seek to experience the truth of God’s word as it is written. Thankfully, when we fail to do so, we can rest in the assurance that through Jesus our God forgives.
Dear God, thank you for speaking to us through scripture. Forgive me when I approach your word with an agenda rather than with a heart for the truth. Help me to set aside my personal preferences and desires so that I can experience you more fully. Amen.
Sending
In the face of evil, may the God of faithfulness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Jesus Christ. Amen.