Christ the King Sunday

November 25, 2018

Text for this Sunday:  John 18:33-38

Today is a lot of things if you stop and think about it.  We just had Thanksgiving…a time when most of us gathered with our families around the table to take a few moments and reflect intentionally upon the things we are grateful for...and then severely overeat.  Today is also the last Sunday in November, and still suffering from food hangover we begin to think about Christmas.  That makes me groan a little.  The hustle and bustle…buying gifts, going here and there, family meals, work parties, mailing cards, decorating, the emotional roller coaster many of us ride through this season…and before December is here, we’re already spiraling toward burn out.  But before we start that journey, I want everyone here to take a deep, cleansing breath.  For the rest of this worship service, I want you to put all of that out of your mind.  Be present here.  Be engaged here.  Because before Christmas, before the business, before the presents and family get together’s and work parties and school parties and all of those things, we have today.

Today is the last Sunday in our Season after Pentecost, which started not long after Easter.  The Season (or Sundays) after Pentecost is a time in our Christian Calendar that’s intended for spiritual growth.  Throughout this season the lections focus on the teachings of Christ.  The paraments are green.  This is also known as ordinary time, which leads up to Advent.  I came here under assignment a little over a month after this season started.  And this season has been quite the journey.  We learned how to handle mistakes.  We learned how even Jesus suffered the feeling of rejection.  We talked about the importance of taking a Sabbath for rest and reflection.  We learned why Jesus is referred to as The Bread of Heaven.  We followed Jesus’ travels, heard the predictions of His Passion, his teachings at the Temple.  These teachings are here to shape us, form us, and foster growth in our Spiritual life. We’ve known since the restoration of Bartimaeus’ sight that the cross was looming in the distance…and here we are. 

The last Sunday after Pentecost…this Sunday…is the day we celebrate the reign of Christ the King. 

King.  That’s a word we don’t use anymore...and if any of us have, it surely referred to Elvis.  Monarchy is a notion that’s rather foreign to us.  We’ve never had a “king” to rule us…a monarch who comes into power through succession in familial lines.  We have a president…that we elect…through our right to vote.  The president doesn’t reign supreme.  We have two other branches of power that form a check and balance.  And if you don’t care for the elected president, like it or not, you have the right to be unhappy.  If you don’t agree with the laws, you have a right to access an elected law maker and have your opinion heard. 

So how do we, Americans, reconcile Christ as our King, when we don’t even know how to function with a King? 

I guess the bigger question, then, is are we recognizing Christ truly as our KING?

A similar question was facing Pilot in today’s Gospel lesson. 

Pontius Pilot.  The majestic Prefect of Judea.  A man who was immortalized (which I’m most certain he wanted through his ambition) but in ways I’m sure he would rather not be. But more on him later….

We last encountered Christ at Mt Olivette.  One of the disciples commented on the grandeur and size of the Temple, and Jesus then predicts the destruction of that very Temple.  We have not moved forward in time.  The Last Supper has happened.  Jesus has been arrested while praying in the garden.  The Chief Priests have questioned Jesus and have brought Jesus before Pilot.  And we can only imagine what they were doing to poor Pilot.  Gripe, nag, drama, drama, drama.  Jesus challenged them…he pointed them out and shined a light on their rotten nature.  So I’d say they were mad and prepared to do anything they could to get rid of Jesus.  But we also see that they weren’t willing to get their hands too dirty.  Pilot tells them if they want Jesus judged, then they should judge him with their own law.  But they came up with excuses and reasons that they just couldn’t.

So Pilot asks Jesus…are you the King of the Jews?  Jesus replied with a question, who wants to know?  You, or someone else?  Pilot, in what I’m sure is a tone laced with sarcasm and aggression, replied I am not a Jew, am I?  Your people brought you here not me.  What did you do?  Jesus’ response:  My kingdom doesn’t originate from this world.  If it did, my people would have rose up and prevented my arrest.  Sort of cryptic, don’t you think?  Kind of like asking someone what time it is, and they give you instructions on how to build a clock.  Not very helpful.  This was a yes or no question.  And when Jesus didn’t answer, Pilot continued with “then what have you done”, assuming a “no” answer in the lack of an answer.

So is Jesus the King of the Jews?  Is he claiming he is the King of the Jews…or the king of anything?  Not that I found in the Bible…directly.  Jesus does allude to his kingship by referring to his kingdom here in the conversation with Pilot, confirming that he does indeed have a kingdom, but it’s not here ruling the Jews.  And the facts presented support that…would a king be without bodyguards?  Never!  Even then (and preceding then) there were always royal guards.  But Jesus traveled with the outcasts of society…tax collectors, fishermen, carpenters, money changers, tradesmen and laborers.  None were armed with weapons and none were trained to defend or fight. 

Frustrated, disgusted, or a mixture of both, I’m sure at this point Pilot lets out an exasperated sigh and says “so you are a king?”  Jesus, again in Jesus fashion, answers “you say I am…I’m here to testify to the truth, whoever hears me hears the truth”.

What?  What does that mean?  Pilot didn’t really know either, so he asked “what is the truth”.    

While we didn’t live or witness these events first hand, you and I do have an upper hand here…we’ve all had access to the Bible since we were born.  We’ve read the texts, all of them. We’ve cross referenced them, researched them, poured over the commentaries and encyclopedias…so we indeed do know that Jesus is the King, just as the prophesy foretold.  So there’s that.  And although, again, we have no first hand experience of living under a king, we know that the subjects of the king have only the rights allowed by and must fulfill the expectations of the Monarch (if you’re going by “textbook” guidelines).

Taking all of this into account…are we living our lives in a way that reflects our acknowledgement, acceptance and obedience to Christ, as King of our lives?  Do we live out the expectations He has of us?  I’m not sure….

Do we know the expectations our King has of us? 

What are these expectations?  There’s one…love.  Jesus expects us to Love.  Over and over we’re told “love the Lord your God with all your heart…and love your neighbor as yourself”…Old Testament, New Testament…even Leviticus, so it turns out that book of the Bible might be for something other than to beating each other up.  At least 11 times and I didn’t search that hard! 

So if we take out our conditioning of our freedoms of living inside this democratic republic with the executive, judicial and legislative branches, and we try to imagine the total power of and total devotion to a King, are we able to look at each other and say “why yes…I am living a life of love as directed by my king.”?  Can we look in a mirror and say that and be honest?  That we love our neighbor as our self?  Really.  Really?  REALLY???

Do you love the neighbor that doesn’t look like you?  Do you love the neighbor that doesn’t act like you?  Do you love the neighbor that lives in sin (and if you don’t see an issue there, invite me to your glass house and let’s have a different talk)?  Do you love your neighbor that lives in a way that you don’t approve of or don’t believe in?  How about your homeless neighbor?  Your poor neighbor?  Rapist neighbor?  Drug addicted or alcoholic neighbor?  How about your neighbor who just keeps messing up their life, over and over again, and expects someone else to fix it?  How about your neighbor who isn’t a citizen?

And this is more than saying Yes, I love “those” people…because love is a verb.  It means to cherish or hold dear.  It’s an action that has a direct object.  So if we love “those” people…and “those” people can be whatever you want to fill in the blank with…because we all have persons we struggle with…if we love those people, it means we do something.  It shows in our actions.  It shows in such a way that we don’t have to tell people we love our neighbor as ourselves…our actions proclaim that for us.  It’s not easy.  I don’t think it’s even supposed to be easy.  It takes sacrifice.  Hard, gut-wrenching, serving, maddening, selfless sacrifice.  Maybe even sacrifice that involves that “amputation” we talked about a few weeks back.  We don’t like that kind of sacrifice.  We’re afraid of that kind of sacrifice.  It renders us powerless. 

But this is how we truly live into the commandment of our King.  This is how we please our ruler.  This is what Christ taught us, and continues to teach us.  And it’s only possible through Him.  We aren’t capable of this on our own…we never were. 

So to please our King, we need the help of our King.  And it’s only when we fully surrender that we can know the fullness of what Christ wants in our lives.  Let Him lead…He knows the way.

Thanks be to God.