After arresting Jesus they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest; Peteer was following at a distance. They lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and Peter sat down with them. When a maid saw him seated in the light, she looked intently at him and said, “This man too was with him.” But he denied it saying, “Woman, I do not know him. A short while later someone else saw him and said, “You too are one of them”; but Peter answered, “My friend, I am not.”About an hour later, still another insisted, “Assuredly, this man too was with him, for he also is a Galilean.” But Peter said, “My friend, I do not know what you are talking about.” Just as he was saying this, the cock crowed...

Gospelthink: Peter denies that he knows Jesus.

Justin Kemp was an alcoholic. He had realized it and was now a member of Alcoholics Anonymous. One night after a serious temptation to drink, he had gone to a bar but did not drink. In that bar that evening, a couple, Kendall Carter and her fiance James Sythe had a fight, and Kendall left the bar in the pouring rain walking away. Justin also left a little after Carter. As he was driving home, Justin hit something with his car, but assumed it was a deer and did not stop.

Later Justin was called to jury duty which involved the death of Kendall Carter. Her fiance, James Sythe was accused of murdering Kendall as she walked home after the fight at the same bar where Justin was. Justin immediately knew that he might have killed Kendall himself. He tried to get out of jury duty because of his pregnant wife, but was refused.

Horrified that an innocent man might be convicted, Justin asked his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor Larry, a defense attorney, for advice. Larry told Justin that because of his previous DUI convictions, no one would believe he had been sober, and so he would be found guilty and sent to prison.

Justin decided to work toward a “not guilty” verdict but most of the jurors favored a conviction at first. But at Justin's suggestion, one of them, a retired detective Harold argued in favor of examining the facts more closely. Another juror noted that there would have been low visibility, and yet another, a medical student, pointed out that Kendall's injuries could have been the result of a hit and run driver. Many of the jurors, begin to agree with this theory, which caused Justin to fear he may be identified as the killer.

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Thinking of the Gospel and this session of the movie:

Probably the best example of a direct lie in the Christian Scriptures is Peter’s denial of knowing Jesus. Jesus had predicted it because Jesus had a full knowledge of Peter’s human nature. Peter knew exactly what he was doing, but the moment had caught him off guard and he made his denial just as Jesus had predicted.

Justin Kemp in the movie “Juror # 2” was in a like situation. He simply didn’t know who he had hit in dark of the night and pouring rain as he went home that night. It was not a direct lie that he told, but it was a deliberate action of letting the incident go even though he knew that there was a possibility that it was something more than a deer. Rather than admit the possibility, he simply let it go without reporting anything. At that moment, his decision was a lie in that he excused himself of any wrongdoing even though there might have been.

It is not an easy thing to admit the possibility of a wrongdoing when we really do not know what happened. Our human natures give us the benefit of the doubt and declare that even though we may have done something wrong, we were not sure, and will often let it go.

A Christian will not let such a situation go. He/she will remember the Lord’s words about truth in Matthew’s Gospel: our “yes” should mean “yes” and not allow for exceptions. If there is a possibility that something is wrong, the Christian should admit it no matter what.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we often find ourselves in a situation in which we can lie and receive a better acceptance by others. Give us the grace to always accept the truth and the courage to admit it when we should. Be with us, we pray. 

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: A Christian will tell the truth even if it is a risk to him/herself.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 53 minutes)
1. What scene from this session of the movie is most striking and why?

2. In your opinion, do people lie often? Yes or no and why?

3. Is there such a thing as a “white lie”?

4. If Justin would have reported the incident, in your opinion, what would have happened?

5. Is there a situation in which a direct lie is the acceptable thing to do? Yes or no and why?

6. In your opinion, in this situation, what would most people do?

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America