Christ the King Rev. Sandy Lacey November 24, 2024
Today we hear from John’s Gospel. The setting is immediately after Jesus is arrested at the end of his ministry. His disciples have abandoned him, and Peter has denied knowing him three times. He has come before the Jewish religious leaders and high priest who are furious with his teachings and want him out of sight and out of mind . . . forever. And Pilate, the Roman Governor is trying to determine if Jesus is a revolutionary that will spell trouble for him and Rome. I do not know about you, but I find today’s text a bit jarring to read right before we begin the church season of Advent next Sunday. Next week we begin to look for the coming of Jesus as we prepare for Christmas, while this week we look at the final moments of Jesus’ life. It is jarring and a little odd to read this text now when we have been hearing Christmas music since halfway through October. Today we celebrate Christ the King Sunday, signified by symbols of a cross and a crown. We are invited to wonder about the relationship between a crown (signifying a ruler with majesty/power) and a cross (signifying a gruesome and awful death – the form of capital punishment in Biblical times.) With both symbols, today we are invited to do a bit of imagination – to imagine a different kind of reign than the typical reign that a crown symbolizes. Instead of a reign characterized by domination, violence, and economic exploitation, we are invited to imagine Jesus’ reign characterized by love of God, neighbor, and self; equity; obedience; and non-violence. This version of kingdom, God’s kingdom, according to Jesus, is the truth of our lives – what we are here to be and do. The three-year cycle of lectionary texts from which I mostly preach, has this year’s text for Christ the King Sunday from the Gospel of John with an expanded interchange between Jesus and the Roman authority figure, Pilate. In this text, unlike what we find in other years when Matthew or Luke is the lectionary text, we get a fuller picture of Pilate and some of the angst he feels at the position in which he is placed. He is a governor of a Roman territory and it is his responsibility, above all else, to keep the peace. And the Pax Romana, the “peace of Rome” is all about keeping people in their place and not disturbing the status quo. Insurrectionists, riots were not to be tolerated and would be met with swift punishment. The religious leaders knew that well, knew Pilate’s responsibility, knew the trigger points to encourage his involvement, and they used it to their full advantage. The Jewish religious leaders of that day had a problem with Jesus because he did not follow the rules. He insisted the larger picture of a person’s need is more important than a particular rule. He said such things as “humankind was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made for humankind.” Therefore, some rules could be broken on the Sabbath, like healing people or feeding people because God cares more about people than rules. Not only did Jesus expand the Jewish understanding of the Law, he also did scandalous things like eat with tax collectors and prostitutes; he also said they were the ones getting into heaven before the self-righteous religious people. Jesus had all kinds of people following him; he really did have friends in low places and he even suggested (and sometimes outright said) that he and God the Father had a special relationship. Jesus liked to stir up some good trouble, as the late John Lewis talked about. Jesus’ life-giving ministry sure upset the wrong people in his day, the people with power – so something had to be done to shut him up. And it all begins here – by bringing him to the Roman power authority and suggesting that this rabble rouser is likely to cause unrest. The clincher argument for the religious leaders is to tell Pilate, “by the way, he says he is a king.” They knew that would raise the eyebrows of the Roman official because there is only one king – the king/emperor of Rome. They were good, these Jewish religious leaders. They knew what buttons to push with Pilate . . . but Pilate was not convinced. In the end Pilate’s capitulates to their desire because of his captivity to his wealth and power. He had a real dilemma. If he acquiesces to the powerful religious leaders, he risks killing an innocent man. Or, If he treats this man according to his conscience and lets him go, he risks losing his position because these powerful religious leaders know how to cause a scene. Rome would take a dim view on a governor who could not control his people. So, Pilate finds himself between a “rock and a hard place.” Pilate seems curious about this man who does not seem threatened by him or his power. But like most people with power, Pilate is entrapped by the love of his position and by what others think of him. So, he will do the unthinkable; he will allow an innocent man to die to protect his position. Never underestimate the control of money and position – it can cause all manner of evil. For Pilate, the Emperor of Rome is king and he will bow to him. His current position of power and authority is also a king/ruler of his life. Jesus, on the other hand, will not bow to anyone or anything other than to God, the Father. And that will lead him to an execution, which makes him a completely different kind of King. He will be known for his sacrifice and love. Jesus tells one of the disciples, Thomas, just a few chapters later that he is “the way, the truth and the life” and to follow him. Thomas asks him, “Lord, how can we know the way?” Jesus’ response to Thomas is the same as his answer to Pilate and his direction to us – “I am the way, the truth, and the life. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate will ask Jesus an interesting question, “what is truth?” He is not the only one who asks that question. In an age when everything seems to be relative and truth is subjective to the person telling and hearing it; what is truth? We wonder the same question as we each have our favorite news source that speaks our language. What is truth? Joseph Small in his work on The Great Ends of the Church, says “the paramount truth in our world is not a fact, a doctrine, or a private belief. The truth is a person, Jesus Christ, who is God with us and for us. The truth is the way and that way is life.”[1] It is not just an intellectual exercise; not a particular belief; it is a life lived in faithfulness to the person. So, Jesus’ life and way is the measuring stick for determining truth. This King, the only one we are to bow to, is truth so when we live as Jesus did, we live the truth also. And how did our King live? Open and welcoming, Jesus associated with unlikely people, the ones who make us uncomfortable. He associated with the sick, the poor, the alien, the children, the fishermen. And instead of acquiescing to the powerful, he confronted the powerful of his day. He did not bow to the religious right of his day, the powerful, the government, the institution of the church. He bowed only to God and in doing so, he brought life, meaning, and purpose to many. He gave his all to God. He did this at great risk to his own life. The risks we take to do the right thing pale by comparison. If we are to be loyal subjects to our King, we must do what Jesus did. We must welcome the stranger and alien in our midst; we must work to help heal the sick and lonely; we must work to help the poor; we must speak truth to power. We must live our lives in gratitude and service, with joy and purpose. It is not some ethereal ideal to discount and dismiss, but a life to live. In living Jesus’s kind of truth, we recognize Jesus as King; and we cannot help but be joyful. The world around us may say truth is relative or that Jesus would never want us to sacrifice our position and power. But we know differently; to follow Christ the King and live his truth means that it will cost us something. What a King he was and is – a king like no other. Not dressed in royal robes, no jeweled crown, no temple palace all his own, no territories to invade and capture, no armies to command – and yet, a King who chose to invade our hearts and minds; a king who chose to show us a different kind of community; a king who does demands something from us. But certainly no more than what he was willing to give. Now that is a King worth celebrating and following! It is our history at Rockledge Presbyterian Church and with God’s help, it is our future too. Today is commitment Sunday in which we pledge our time, resources, and talents to help further God’s kingdom right here and right now. I pray that you will choose to be part of God’s big dream for God’s people in this place. Let us each choose today whom we will bow to and whom we will serve. AMEN.
[1] Joseph D. Small, Preservation of the Truth. (Louisville, KY: Witherspoon Press, 2005.) p. 13.
Today we hear from John’s Gospel. The setting is immediately after Jesus is arrested at the end of his ministry. His disciples have abandoned him, and Peter has denied knowing him three times. He has come before the Jewish religious leaders and high priest who are furious with his teachings and want him out of sight and out of mind . . . forever. And Pilate, the Roman Governor is trying to determine if Jesus is a revolutionary that will spell trouble for him and Rome. I do not know about you, but I find today’s text a bit jarring to read right before we begin the church season of Advent next Sunday. Next week we begin to look for the coming of Jesus as we prepare for Christmas, while this week we look at the final moments of Jesus’ life. It is jarring and a little odd to read this text now when we have been hearing Christmas music since halfway through October. Today we celebrate Christ the King Sunday, signified by symbols of a cross and a crown. We are invited to wonder about the relationship between a crown (signifying a ruler with majesty/power) and a cross (signifying a gruesome and awful death – the form of capital punishment in Biblical times.) With both symbols, today we are invited to do a bit of imagination – to imagine a different kind of reign than the typical reign that a crown symbolizes. Instead of a reign characterized by domination, violence, and economic exploitation, we are invited to imagine Jesus’ reign characterized by love of God, neighbor, and self; equity; obedience; and non-violence. This version of kingdom, God’s kingdom, according to Jesus, is the truth of our lives – what we are here to be and do. The three-year cycle of lectionary texts from which I mostly preach, has this year’s text for Christ the King Sunday from the Gospel of John with an expanded interchange between Jesus and the Roman authority figure, Pilate. In this text, unlike what we find in other years when Matthew or Luke is the lectionary text, we get a fuller picture of Pilate and some of the angst he feels at the position in which he is placed. He is a governor of a Roman territory and it is his responsibility, above all else, to keep the peace. And the Pax Romana, the “peace of Rome” is all about keeping people in their place and not disturbing the status quo. Insurrectionists, riots were not to be tolerated and would be met with swift punishment. The religious leaders knew that well, knew Pilate’s responsibility, knew the trigger points to encourage his involvement, and they used it to their full advantage. The Jewish religious leaders of that day had a problem with Jesus because he did not follow the rules. He insisted the larger picture of a person’s need is more important than a particular rule. He said such things as “humankind was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made for humankind.” Therefore, some rules could be broken on the Sabbath, like healing people or feeding people because God cares more about people than rules. Not only did Jesus expand the Jewish understanding of the Law, he also did scandalous things like eat with tax collectors and prostitutes; he also said they were the ones getting into heaven before the self-righteous religious people. Jesus had all kinds of people following him; he really did have friends in low places and he even suggested (and sometimes outright said) that he and God the Father had a special relationship. Jesus liked to stir up some good trouble, as the late John Lewis talked about. Jesus’ life-giving ministry sure upset the wrong people in his day, the people with power – so something had to be done to shut him up. And it all begins here – by bringing him to the Roman power authority and suggesting that this rabble rouser is likely to cause unrest. The clincher argument for the religious leaders is to tell Pilate, “by the way, he says he is a king.” They knew that would raise the eyebrows of the Roman official because there is only one king – the king/emperor of Rome. They were good, these Jewish religious leaders. They knew what buttons to push with Pilate . . . but Pilate was not convinced. In the end Pilate’s capitulates to their desire because of his captivity to his wealth and power. He had a real dilemma. If he acquiesces to the powerful religious leaders, he risks killing an innocent man. Or, If he treats this man according to his conscience and lets him go, he risks losing his position because these powerful religious leaders know how to cause a scene. Rome would take a dim view on a governor who could not control his people. So, Pilate finds himself between a “rock and a hard place.” Pilate seems curious about this man who does not seem threatened by him or his power. But like most people with power, Pilate is entrapped by the love of his position and by what others think of him. So, he will do the unthinkable; he will allow an innocent man to die to protect his position. Never underestimate the control of money and position – it can cause all manner of evil. For Pilate, the Emperor of Rome is king and he will bow to him. His current position of power and authority is also a king/ruler of his life. Jesus, on the other hand, will not bow to anyone or anything other than to God, the Father. And that will lead him to an execution, which makes him a completely different kind of King. He will be known for his sacrifice and love. Jesus tells one of the disciples, Thomas, just a few chapters later that he is “the way, the truth and the life” and to follow him. Thomas asks him, “Lord, how can we know the way?” Jesus’ response to Thomas is the same as his answer to Pilate and his direction to us – “I am the way, the truth, and the life. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate will ask Jesus an interesting question, “what is truth?” He is not the only one who asks that question. In an age when everything seems to be relative and truth is subjective to the person telling and hearing it; what is truth? We wonder the same question as we each have our favorite news source that speaks our language. What is truth? Joseph Small in his work on The Great Ends of the Church, says “the paramount truth in our world is not a fact, a doctrine, or a private belief. The truth is a person, Jesus Christ, who is God with us and for us. The truth is the way and that way is life.”[1] It is not just an intellectual exercise; not a particular belief; it is a life lived in faithfulness to the person. So, Jesus’ life and way is the measuring stick for determining truth. This King, the only one we are to bow to, is truth so when we live as Jesus did, we live the truth also. And how did our King live? Open and welcoming, Jesus associated with unlikely people, the ones who make us uncomfortable. He associated with the sick, the poor, the alien, the children, the fishermen. And instead of acquiescing to the powerful, he confronted the powerful of his day. He did not bow to the religious right of his day, the powerful, the government, the institution of the church. He bowed only to God and in doing so, he brought life, meaning, and purpose to many. He gave his all to God. He did this at great risk to his own life. The risks we take to do the right thing pale by comparison. If we are to be loyal subjects to our King, we must do what Jesus did. We must welcome the stranger and alien in our midst; we must work to help heal the sick and lonely; we must work to help the poor; we must speak truth to power. We must live our lives in gratitude and service, with joy and purpose. It is not some ethereal ideal to discount and dismiss, but a life to live. In living Jesus’s kind of truth, we recognize Jesus as King; and we cannot help but be joyful. The world around us may say truth is relative or that Jesus would never want us to sacrifice our position and power. But we know differently; to follow Christ the King and live his truth means that it will cost us something. What a King he was and is – a king like no other. Not dressed in royal robes, no jeweled crown, no temple palace all his own, no territories to invade and capture, no armies to command – and yet, a King who chose to invade our hearts and minds; a king who chose to show us a different kind of community; a king who does demands something from us. But certainly no more than what he was willing to give. Now that is a King worth celebrating and following! It is our history at Rockledge Presbyterian Church and with God’s help, it is our future too. Today is commitment Sunday in which we pledge our time, resources, and talents to help further God’s kingdom right here and right now. I pray that you will choose to be part of God’s big dream for God’s people in this place. Let us each choose today whom we will bow to and whom we will serve. AMEN.
[1] Joseph D. Small, Preservation of the Truth. (Louisville, KY: Witherspoon Press, 2005.) p. 13.
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[1][1] Joseph D. Small, Preservation of the Truth. (Louisville, KY: Witherspoon Press, 2005.) p. 13.