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Good morning. The apparent suicide of wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein in a New York jail has created a storm of speculation. Many have pointed out that, had he stood trial on charges of sex trafficking, he might have produced evidence implicating influential public figures. Meanwhile, those who claim to have been his victims are left with a sense that justice will never now be done. We’re living through a time of widespread mistrust in our public institutions and leaders and this kind of case contributes to that. Many wonder how it’s possible that so many individuals may have been able to operate for so long in secret networks of abuse and corruption. Allied to that is a growing sense that the quest for truth, accountability and transparency in public life has disintegrated into a morass of false news, misinformation and political campaigns designed to manipulate us on the basis of vast amounts of personal data gathered through social media. In such times, we can find ourselves doubting the very nature or possibility of truth. It’s tempting to ask with Pontius Pilate, “What is truth?” Jesus, standing on trial before Pilate, offered no response. I believe that Jesus’s silence was an expression of trust in the ultimate judgement of God on behalf of all victims of injustice. It’s not fashionable today to speak of the last judgement, and yet I find it comforting to hope that those who trample on justice and truth in this life are not inviolable, for God’s justice extends beyond the grave. I believe that on the cross, Jesus demonstrated the answer to Pilate’s question. His dying bore witness to the truth of his life. Beyond all human laws and institutions, God takes the side of the victims and suffers in solidarity with them and as a promise of justice to come. Yet on the cross, Jesus also prays for his killers: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” That prayer for me is a warning against standing in judgement on another human being, for God alone knows the secrets of the human heart. The preservation of society depends upon the effective functioning of our institutions of justice – our courts and laws – but those are not the final arbiters of guilt or innocence. Ultimately, all the wealth and power in the world will not be enough to escape that final court of justice when the truth will be known and the victims have the justice they long for.