The Truth in John

In the trial of Jesus, Pontius Pilate had asked a question which has been immortalized in the Gospel of John.
Pilate said to him, "What is truth?" (John 18:38)
Jesus did not answer him and remained reticent. Actually, Jesus had talked about "the truth" before.
Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." (John 8:31-32)
In the Last Supper, Jesus told his disciples that he would be leaving them behind for a while. Thomas asked him about the way.
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me (John 14:6).
Later in the Last Supper, Jesus prayed for the disciples and asked the Father to sanctify them.
Sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth (John 17:17).
And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth (John 17:19).
In summary, the Word of God is the truth. Therefore, the incarnated Word of God, Jesus was able to claim to be the truth. So, when Pilate asked Jesus the "immortalized" question, he was staring the truth in the eyes. Yet, he had no truth in his heart. He missed the chance to acquire the truth.
We are reading a very short piece of epistle, the Second Letter of John. However, don't be fooled by the sequence with which the New Testament books are arranged. The second letter might NOT be written after the first because the three letters of John are arranged in descending order of sizes. Similarly, the epistles by Paul are arranged from public (to Churches) to private (to individuals) and again in descending order of sizes.
This Second Letter of John was written to the elect lady and her children. However, to this day, the identity of this elect lady remains unknown. Some speculate that she was the Church! Then all of us are her children. Then, this letter of John was also written for us to read. John appealed to them to love each other, including him.
And now I beg you, lady, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning, that we love one another (2 John 1:5).
Then, John entered into a circular logic. He asked them to love. To love means to follow God's command. And God's command is to love.
And this is love, that we follow his commandments; this is the commandment, as you have heard from the beginning, that you follow love (2John 1:6).
This is easier done than understood. It is less easy to understand because the logic is circular. The logic tries to concretize love, to give this abstract concept some solid substances. To love is to follow God's commands. There are 613 such commands and Jesus summarized them into two basic laws of love.
This letter seems to suggest that there were conflicts in the community. Therefore, John appealed to them to love each other. The community was also plagued with "deceivers". Their theology seemed to deny Jesus' Second Coming in flesh. Probably, they thought that Jesus had transformed into a pure spirit after resurrection. Or they thought that the flesh was evil and the spirit was noble. So, only the spirit of Jesus would come to judge the living and the dead, not his flesh.

My dear Advocate, You are the Spirit of Truth. You proceed from the Father and the Son. I pray that You continue to enlighten us of the truth and grant us freedom. Amen.