The Solid (And Disturbing) Foundations of Truth?
Rev. Erik Swanson
February 1, 2026
You can watch the sermon here.
Twenty years ago, in 2006, an unlikely documentary won an Oscar: An Inconvenient Truth. Al Gore used that film to name what many people didn’t want to hear — that human activity was damaging the planet and that climate change demanded serious, even radical change. What strikes me most now isn’t just the message, but the title. It really was — and still is — an inconvenient truth. It asked leaders and citizens alike to re-examine how we live, consume, and govern, and many dismissed it precisely because it was uncomfortable. Yet its power came from the fact that it was still true.
Today’s Inconvenient Truths
That phrase, “inconvenient truth,” feels painfully relevant today. Climate change is one example, but so are racism, sexism, abuse of power, and systemic injustice. We often claim to value truth, but we resist it when it threatens to disrupt our comfort or challenge our identity. We don’t want truth to actually change us. In this moment especially, truth feels increasingly inconvenient. We are witnessing an active effort to obscure, distort, and hide it — something humanity has always struggled with, but which feels starkly visible now through outright lies, censorship, and the criminalization of those who report or protest. If we want to engage the deeper reality — the reality of Spirit — we must keep seeking what is actually true.
Subjective And Objective Truth
That means recognizing the difference between subjective and objective truth. Some truths are personal preferences — what sport we like best, for example. But there are also deeper, more objective truths that do not change based on opinion. Killing an unarmed person is murder. The wealth of this country was built in part on slavery. Indigenous peoples were dispossessed, betrayed, and subjected to genocide. The United States continues to act as a colonial power. There is genocide in Palestine. These truths may be uncomfortable, but they remain true regardless of how much we deny, spin, or rationalize them. I have had to face uncomfortable truths myself, including the reality that some of my ancestors owned plantations. Avoiding these truths does not lead to healing; facing them is the only path toward growth, repair, and unity.
Truth Is Hard To Face
Truth is hard to face. I don’t enjoy sitting with the realities of what is happening in this country right now, but that doesn’t make them less real. ICE showing up at a local high school, or the rise in trafficking and abuse surrounding major sporting events — these are not pleasant facts, but they matter. If we don’t face them, we cannot change them.
The Truest Lens
I may not fully understand what it means to say that God is the deepest truth, but I do believe that God’s vision — rooted in love, compassion, and justice — is the truest lens we have. That vision helps us discern deeper truth and resists exclusion by reminding us that all people are loved and belong. Through prayer and reflection, we can move beyond ego, spin, and bias toward what is most real.
Seeking The Truth
The truth does long to set us free — but not until it is finished with us. Once we begin to see it, we cannot unsee it. My hope is that in this moment, painful as it is, we are being shown who we really are so that we can finally face it, heal, and move toward real equity, integrity, and unity. May we commit to seeking the truth — even when it is inconvenient — and allow it to transform us. Amen.