Sermon on Luke 8:31-36 | October 26, 2025
Written and read by Pastor Mary Elise Scott - Ballard First Lutheran Church
This week on NPR, I heard an interview with a man named George Retes. Retes, an American citizen, had been arrested and detained by ICE agents this summer and is currently working to hold agents accountable - although its difficult given the immunity federal agents possess.
According to Retes, he was on his way to work as a security guard at a cannabis farm outside of Los Angeles when he was forced to turn around because federal agents had blocked the road leading to the farm and a group of protesters had gathered in the spot where the road was blocked. As such, when Retes drove up, the agents forced him to reverse his car while they were also attempting to disperse crowd - all while a raid was taking place on the farm.
Retes went on to explain that as this was transpiring, the federal agents “engulfed” his car in tear gas and smoke. He testified that he couldn’t “see in general,” that his eyes “were watery,” that he “was coughing,” and he “couldn’t catch his breath.” At some point, his driver side window was shattered and a federal agent stuck his arm through the window and pepper sprayed Retes in the face. At that point, they dragged him out of the car and he explained that he went “into a rag doll” like position. He let them do whatever they wanted. He explained that he wasn’t trying to fight, that he wasn’t trying to resist.
Despite the fact that there were multiple forms of Retes’ citizenship at the scene, including a license plate noting that he was a disabled veteran, a sticker on his windshield that says he was an Iraq combat veteran, and an ID that says veteran on it, Retes was arrested, and taken to the detention center in downtown LA.
Retes went on to explain that when he was booked, they strip searched him and it was at this point that he requested a lawyer, a phone call, and a shower - letting them know that they had sprayed him with tear gas and pepper spray and that his body was burning. The agents detaining him ignored these requests and instead told him that the effects of the tear gas and pepper spray would wear off and that he’d “get over it.” Retes stated, “They put me in a cell, and that entire night, my body is on fire, nothing to help. My kids were on my mind the entire time. It was the one thing that kept me going.”
As jarring as this was to hear, this wasn’t really the part of the interview that caught my attention, instead. It wasn’t until near the end of the interview when they started talking about the op-ed Retes had written for the San Francisco Chronicle that my ears really perked up.
Apparently, in response to Retes’ op-ed about his experience, the Department of Homeland Security explained that Retes had been arrested because he “became violent and refused to comply with law enforcement.” The NPR interviewer thus directly asked Retes, “What’s your response to that?”
Retes replied, “It’s a complete lie. The proof is all there. There’s helicopter footage. They never charged me. Even though they sent out a tweet telling everyone that I assaulted agents and they paint me as a criminal, they never pursued charges. They currently aren’t charging me with anything. I felt like it was just a tactic to try to intimidate me or try to stop me from speaking out.” He went on to state, “And unfortunately for them, it’s not going to work. I mean, I know the truth, and I have no problem sharing my truth. And people deserve the truth and they deserve to know whether or not the government is lying or not.”
In another show I watched this week, The Diplomat on Netflix, the characters noted that “the truth sounds different.”
Indeed, I understood what they were talking about as I listened to this interview because listening to Retes’ account of what had happened to him sounded like the truth. It didn’t sound like he was lying. It sounded like an honest, matter-of-fact description of what had happened to him - despite the horridity of what he had experienced. Despite it all, he was straightforward and not unhinged with anger as I would have been had it happened to me. All he seemed to want was to get his story out there so that it could make a difference and prevent similar things from happening to others.
And it was the truth of his interview - and the fact that he pointed to that truth - that really caught my attention. Because, of course, I knew that this week would be Reformation Sunday and that because it’s Reformation Sunday, our text for today would be John 8 where Jesus says, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
Listening to this interview with George Retes on NPR, I couldn’t help but think that Retes knew the truth and that the truth had made him free.
Indeed, Retes said as much. In the interview, he attested to the fact that because he knew the truth - that he had just been a law-abiding citizen in the wrong place, at the wrong time that day this summer; a law-abiding citizen whom when dragged out of his car, purposely went into a rag doll like position so that he wouldn’t appear like he was trying to fight or resist the agents - that he wasn’t afraid of speaking out, of sharing his truth, of seeking a change in the system so that others wouldn’t experience the same injustices that he faced.
I’m not sure that this is exactly what Jesus is getting at when he tells the people in today’s Gospel that they “will know the truth and the truth will make you free,” but I can’t help but feel like this is what Jesus is getting at.
For you see, to me this passage has always been a passage that fills me with wonder. I love the poetic nature of it - the assurance that the truth “will make us free.” And yet, the passage also raises questions for me - questions like what does Jesus mean by the truth? What truth? And how exactly will the truth make me - make us - free?
As usual, I don’t have the answers to these questions - none of us really could. Yet again, I wish that I could sit down with Jesus and talk about these things - really get into what he means and how I could better live into it.
And yet, as I have dwelled on this passage over the years, I can’t help but also simultaneously wonder if really the truth of this passage is pretty clear on its face - that when we acknowledge any truth that surrounds us, we are in some ways made free - the illusions and the lies no longer hold us hostage. We are free to live in the truth, no longer having to expend the energy and time and effort to maintain the illusions of life, the lies of life.
But, even so, that still doesn’t get to exactly what “truth” Jesus is talking about. Maybe it’s any truth. Or maybe he’s talking about more universal truths - truths like the one that we hear in our second lesson from Paul in the book of Romans, a truth that states, “For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Did you catch that truth? At first glance, is it a truth you want to hear? The truth that there is no distinction between any of us - that we have all sinned - that we have all fallen short of the glory of God.
Does this truth really set us free? How can it when this truth means that we can’t make the distinctions between ourselves and others - the very same distinctions that we thrive on making - the ones that we enjoy making - the distinctions that allow us to look at others and smugly stand in our superiority … The distinctions like the one we hear earlier in this chapter of John when the scribes and the Pharisees bring a woman who had been caught in adultery before Jesus and say to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”
In Jesus’ response, he points to this truth in our second lesson, this truth that there is no distinction - for we have all sinned and we have all fallen short of the glory of God. For Jesus responds by saying, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
In this response, Jesus points to the truth at the heart of our existence - the truth that we are all sinners - the truth that if acknowledged forces us to confront the fact that we, like the woman in this story, should be standing in front of everyone, waiting to be stoned. And though the story doesn’t say directly that the scribes and the Pharisees recognize this truth and that this truth sets them free, it implies it … For the author of John concludes this part of the chapter by telling us that instead of stoning the woman, they instead go away, one by one, until only the woman and Jesus are left. Indeed, there is no distinction - for we have all sinned and we have all fallen short of the glory of God.
But, this isn’t the only truth of our lessons today - the other important truth - despite the fact that we’ve all sinned, that we’ve all fallen short of the glory of God - is that despite this, we are all beloved children of God. There is no distinction. God loves us fully and completely - God loves us as the sinners that we are and as the saints that we are - the both/and, not the either/or.
This is a truth that’s hard to wrap our head around and yet, a truth that also sets us free.
I think that if we’re truly honest with ourselves - none of us particularly like acknowledging either of these truths to ourselves. We’d prefer to hide from our sinful nature, our shadow selves - fearing that they make us inadequate, unloveable, ultimately not enough.
On the other hand, though, the truth that we are beloved children of God isn’t much easier to swallow … At first glance, it might seem like the easier truth, but is it really? Don’t most of us feel undeserving of this truth - as though our sinful nature means that we’re unworthy of being God’s beloved children?
And yet, these are the truths that set us free - that allow us to always be reforming, to always be transforming, to always be made new.
Yes - there is no distinction - for we have all sinned and we have all fallen short of the glory of God. But, we are also justified by God’s grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. We are justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law. And that is freeing! That is good news!
Like the scribes and the Pharisees earlier in chapter 8, we can turn and walk away. Our works don’t save us; our faith does. And because of that, we are free to do works - in gratitude, in love, in glory of God - who loves us exactly as we are, no matter who we are.
Interestingly, one commentary pointed out that in Greek, the word truth literally means to “stop forgetting.”
To me, that’s a powerful definition of truth … Today’s lessons remind us to stop forgetting - to stop forgetting the truth that we are - all of us - saint and sinner alike, no distinction. And this truth sets us free - free to speak out, free to be ourselves, free to trust that God will be our God and we shall be God’s people - so loved by God that God puts God’s law within us. So loved by God, that God writes it on our hearts. So loved by God, that from the least of us to the greatest of us, God says to us all - no distinction - “I forgive your iniquity and I remember your sin no more.” This is the truth and may it set you free - free to attest to the truth of God, free like George Retes to speak your truth, free to be God’s beloved child, exactly as you are - free to let your light shine, free to be a beacon of God’s love and grace, God’s justice and mercy to all whom you encounter - so that too may be set free by the truth that they are both a sinner and a beloved child of God - no distinction. Amen.
This week on NPR, I heard an interview with a man named George Retes. Retes, an American citizen, had been arrested and detained by ICE agents this summer and is currently working to hold agents accountable - although its difficult given the immunity federal agents possess.
According to Retes, he was on his way to work as a security guard at a cannabis farm outside of Los Angeles when he was forced to turn around because federal agents had blocked the road leading to the farm and a group of protesters had gathered in the spot where the road was blocked. As such, when Retes drove up, the agents forced him to reverse his car while they were also attempting to disperse crowd - all while a raid was taking place on the farm.
Retes went on to explain that as this was transpiring, the federal agents “engulfed” his car in tear gas and smoke. He testified that he couldn’t “see in general,” that his eyes “were watery,” that he “was coughing,” and he “couldn’t catch his breath.” At some point, his driver side window was shattered and a federal agent stuck his arm through the window and pepper sprayed Retes in the face. At that point, they dragged him out of the car and he explained that he went “into a rag doll” like position. He let them do whatever they wanted. He explained that he wasn’t trying to fight, that he wasn’t trying to resist.
Despite the fact that there were multiple forms of Retes’ citizenship at the scene, including a license plate noting that he was a disabled veteran, a sticker on his windshield that says he was an Iraq combat veteran, and an ID that says veteran on it, Retes was arrested, and taken to the detention center in downtown LA.
Retes went on to explain that when he was booked, they strip searched him and it was at this point that he requested a lawyer, a phone call, and a shower - letting them know that they had sprayed him with tear gas and pepper spray and that his body was burning. The agents detaining him ignored these requests and instead told him that the effects of the tear gas and pepper spray would wear off and that he’d “get over it.” Retes stated, “They put me in a cell, and that entire night, my body is on fire, nothing to help. My kids were on my mind the entire time. It was the one thing that kept me going.”
As jarring as this was to hear, this wasn’t really the part of the interview that caught my attention, instead. It wasn’t until near the end of the interview when they started talking about the op-ed Retes had written for the San Francisco Chronicle that my ears really perked up.
Apparently, in response to Retes’ op-ed about his experience, the Department of Homeland Security explained that Retes had been arrested because he “became violent and refused to comply with law enforcement.” The NPR interviewer thus directly asked Retes, “What’s your response to that?”
Retes replied, “It’s a complete lie. The proof is all there. There’s helicopter footage. They never charged me. Even though they sent out a tweet telling everyone that I assaulted agents and they paint me as a criminal, they never pursued charges. They currently aren’t charging me with anything. I felt like it was just a tactic to try to intimidate me or try to stop me from speaking out.” He went on to state, “And unfortunately for them, it’s not going to work. I mean, I know the truth, and I have no problem sharing my truth. And people deserve the truth and they deserve to know whether or not the government is lying or not.”
In another show I watched this week, The Diplomat on Netflix, the characters noted that “the truth sounds different.”
Indeed, I understood what they were talking about as I listened to this interview because listening to Retes’ account of what had happened to him sounded like the truth. It didn’t sound like he was lying. It sounded like an honest, matter-of-fact description of what had happened to him - despite the horridity of what he had experienced. Despite it all, he was straightforward and not unhinged with anger as I would have been had it happened to me. All he seemed to want was to get his story out there so that it could make a difference and prevent similar things from happening to others.
And it was the truth of his interview - and the fact that he pointed to that truth - that really caught my attention. Because, of course, I knew that this week would be Reformation Sunday and that because it’s Reformation Sunday, our text for today would be John 8 where Jesus says, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
Listening to this interview with George Retes on NPR, I couldn’t help but think that Retes knew the truth and that the truth had made him free.
Indeed, Retes said as much. In the interview, he attested to the fact that because he knew the truth - that he had just been a law-abiding citizen in the wrong place, at the wrong time that day this summer; a law-abiding citizen whom when dragged out of his car, purposely went into a rag doll like position so that he wouldn’t appear like he was trying to fight or resist the agents - that he wasn’t afraid of speaking out, of sharing his truth, of seeking a change in the system so that others wouldn’t experience the same injustices that he faced.
I’m not sure that this is exactly what Jesus is getting at when he tells the people in today’s Gospel that they “will know the truth and the truth will make you free,” but I can’t help but feel like this is what Jesus is getting at.
For you see, to me this passage has always been a passage that fills me with wonder. I love the poetic nature of it - the assurance that the truth “will make us free.” And yet, the passage also raises questions for me - questions like what does Jesus mean by the truth? What truth? And how exactly will the truth make me - make us - free?
As usual, I don’t have the answers to these questions - none of us really could. Yet again, I wish that I could sit down with Jesus and talk about these things - really get into what he means and how I could better live into it.
And yet, as I have dwelled on this passage over the years, I can’t help but also simultaneously wonder if really the truth of this passage is pretty clear on its face - that when we acknowledge any truth that surrounds us, we are in some ways made free - the illusions and the lies no longer hold us hostage. We are free to live in the truth, no longer having to expend the energy and time and effort to maintain the illusions of life, the lies of life.
But, even so, that still doesn’t get to exactly what “truth” Jesus is talking about. Maybe it’s any truth. Or maybe he’s talking about more universal truths - truths like the one that we hear in our second lesson from Paul in the book of Romans, a truth that states, “For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Did you catch that truth? At first glance, is it a truth you want to hear? The truth that there is no distinction between any of us - that we have all sinned - that we have all fallen short of the glory of God.
Does this truth really set us free? How can it when this truth means that we can’t make the distinctions between ourselves and others - the very same distinctions that we thrive on making - the ones that we enjoy making - the distinctions that allow us to look at others and smugly stand in our superiority … The distinctions like the one we hear earlier in this chapter of John when the scribes and the Pharisees bring a woman who had been caught in adultery before Jesus and say to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”
In Jesus’ response, he points to this truth in our second lesson, this truth that there is no distinction - for we have all sinned and we have all fallen short of the glory of God. For Jesus responds by saying, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
In this response, Jesus points to the truth at the heart of our existence - the truth that we are all sinners - the truth that if acknowledged forces us to confront the fact that we, like the woman in this story, should be standing in front of everyone, waiting to be stoned. And though the story doesn’t say directly that the scribes and the Pharisees recognize this truth and that this truth sets them free, it implies it … For the author of John concludes this part of the chapter by telling us that instead of stoning the woman, they instead go away, one by one, until only the woman and Jesus are left. Indeed, there is no distinction - for we have all sinned and we have all fallen short of the glory of God.
But, this isn’t the only truth of our lessons today - the other important truth - despite the fact that we’ve all sinned, that we’ve all fallen short of the glory of God - is that despite this, we are all beloved children of God. There is no distinction. God loves us fully and completely - God loves us as the sinners that we are and as the saints that we are - the both/and, not the either/or.
This is a truth that’s hard to wrap our head around and yet, a truth that also sets us free.
I think that if we’re truly honest with ourselves - none of us particularly like acknowledging either of these truths to ourselves. We’d prefer to hide from our sinful nature, our shadow selves - fearing that they make us inadequate, unloveable, ultimately not enough.
On the other hand, though, the truth that we are beloved children of God isn’t much easier to swallow … At first glance, it might seem like the easier truth, but is it really? Don’t most of us feel undeserving of this truth - as though our sinful nature means that we’re unworthy of being God’s beloved children?
And yet, these are the truths that set us free - that allow us to always be reforming, to always be transforming, to always be made new.
Yes - there is no distinction - for we have all sinned and we have all fallen short of the glory of God. But, we are also justified by God’s grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. We are justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law. And that is freeing! That is good news!
Like the scribes and the Pharisees earlier in chapter 8, we can turn and walk away. Our works don’t save us; our faith does. And because of that, we are free to do works - in gratitude, in love, in glory of God - who loves us exactly as we are, no matter who we are.
Interestingly, one commentary pointed out that in Greek, the word truth literally means to “stop forgetting.”
To me, that’s a powerful definition of truth … Today’s lessons remind us to stop forgetting - to stop forgetting the truth that we are - all of us - saint and sinner alike, no distinction. And this truth sets us free - free to speak out, free to be ourselves, free to trust that God will be our God and we shall be God’s people - so loved by God that God puts God’s law within us. So loved by God, that God writes it on our hearts. So loved by God, that from the least of us to the greatest of us, God says to us all - no distinction - “I forgive your iniquity and I remember your sin no more.” This is the truth and may it set you free - free to attest to the truth of God, free like George Retes to speak your truth, free to be God’s beloved child, exactly as you are - free to let your light shine, free to be a beacon of God’s love and grace, God’s justice and mercy to all whom you encounter - so that too may be set free by the truth that they are both a sinner and a beloved child of God - no distinction. Amen.
