Feast of Christ the King, 2009

JOHN 18:33B-37
DO YOU NOTICE THE STRIKING CONTRAST BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND READINGS AND THE PSALM, WHICH REFER TO A TRIUMPHANT, POWERFUL, EVERLASTING KING; AND THE GOSPEL, IN WHICH JESUS STANDS BEFORE PILATE, UNDERGOING THE TRIAL WHICH WILL EVENTUALLY LEAD TO HIS CONDEMNATION AND DEATH. LAST WEEK WE HEARD JESUS HIMSELF REFER TO HIS SECOND COMING; YOU WOULD THINK THAT THIS KIND OF GOSPEL READING WOULD BE MORE APPROPRIATE HERE.
BUT THERE WE HAVE IT, A PRISONER, DRESSED IN RAGS, COVERED IN BLOOD FROM BEING LASHED, STANDING BEFORE THE POWER OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE REPRESENTED BY PONTIUS PILATE – CERTAINLY NOT A KINGLY FIGURE.
IF JESUS CAME AS A KING, RIDING OUT OF THE SKY SURROUNDED BY ANGELS, YOU CAN BET THAT WE WOULD ALL BE FLOCKING TO THE NEAREST CONFESSIONAL AND SUDDENLY LEARNING TO PRAY AGAIN. WE WOULD SUDDENLY REMEMBER ALL THE COMPROMISES, ALL THE TIMES WE FAILED TO ACT, ALL THE SINS WE'VE COMMITTED – AND WE WOULD BE ON OUR KNEES BEGGING FOR FORGIVENESS. IF JESUS CAME SLOWLY, OVER THE COURSE OF A FEW DAYS, WHAT HUNGRY PERSON WOULD NOT BE FED, WHAT SICK PERSON WOULD NOT BE COMFORTED, WHAT LONELY PERSON WOULD NOT BE BEFRIENDED? WE AND THE REST OF MANKIND WOULD BE DESPERATELY TRYING TO REMEMBER WHAT JESUS COMMANDED, AND THEN WE WOULD BE OUT THERE TRYING TO DO IT. KNOWING THE END OF THE WORLD IS COMING WOULD DEFINITELY GET OUR ATTENTION AND FOCUS OUR MINDS.
BUT I THINK JESUS COMES TO US MORE LIKE HE COMES TO PILATE. HE COMES, ALLOWING US TO HAVE COMPLETE FREEDOM TO ACCEPT OR REJECT; BECAUSE THE ONLY WAY WE HAVE A CHANCE TO BE GODLY IS TO HAVE THAT GODLY FREEDOM, THE FREEDOM WHICH CANNOT BE COERCED, THE FREEDOM WHICH ALLOWS US TO BE IN CONTROL. EVEN IN CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE THE BODY IS THREATENED, THE REAL ME, THE GODLY ME, CAN ALWAYS CHOOSE, EVEN DEATH. IF JESUS CAME OUT OF THE SKY WITH TRUMPETS BLARING AND ANGELS RUNNING INTERFERENCE, OUR FREEDOM WOULD BE COMPROMISED; HOW WE REACTED TO HIS COMING WOULD BE A SIDE EFFECT OF FEAR, A CONSEQUENCE OF THE DESIRE TO PLEASE; IT WOULD NOT FLOW FROM LOVE.
SO LISTEN TO PILATE. HE ASKS THREE QUESTIONS. THE FIRST IS “ARE YOU THE KING OF THE JEWS?” NOW PILATE IS BEING SARCASTIC. HE KNOWS THAT THE JEWS HAVE NO KING. PILATE KNEW THAT THE MAJORITY OF JEWS LIVED ELSEWHERE, ESPECIALLY IN NORTHERN ISRAEL, BUT INDEED, SCATTERED ALL THROUGH THE EMPIRE. AND PILATE KNEW THAT THERE HAD BEEN REBELLIONS IN THE PAST, AND THE ROMAN LEGIONS HAD MADE SHORT WORK OF THEM. AND HE KNEW THAT IF JESUS ANSWERED “YES” PILATE WOULD SIMPLY ORDER HIM TO BE CRUCIFIED; AND IF HE ANSWERED “NO”, JESUS WOULD LOSE WHATEVER POPULARITY HE HAD WITH THE PEOPLE, WHO HOPED HE WOULD LEAD THEM TO A NEW ISRAEL.
BUT JESUS DOES NOT REALLY ANSWER THE QUESTION. HE SAYS, “IS THAT YOUR QUESTION, OR DID SOMEONE TELL YOU TO ASK IT?” IF PILATE SAYS IT IS HIS QUESTION, HE WILL BE ADMITTING TO THE POSSIBILITY THAT SOMEONE MIGHT BE IN COMPETITION WITH THE EMPEROR. AND IF HE SAYS IT IS THE QUESTION SOMEONE ELSE TOLD HIM TO ASK, HE WILL BE UNDERMINING HIS OWN POWER.
THEN PILATE SAYS, “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?” AND JESUS REPLIES THAT IF HIS KINGDOM BELONGED TO THE WORLD, HIS FOLLOWERS WOULD BE FIGHTING FOR HIM, BUT SINCE THEY OBVIOUSLY WEREN'T, HIS KINGDOM COULD NOT BE OF THE WORLD. AND IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT IF HIS FOLLOWERS WOULD BE FIGHTING TO KEEP HIM FROM BEING HANDED OVER TO THE JEWS, HE COULD NOT VERY WELL BE KING OF THE JEWS, COULD HE?
AND PILATE IS DESPERATE. “BUT YOU ARE A KING, RIGHT?” BECAUSE IF JESUS SAYS YES, PILATE CAN GET RID OF THIS WHOLE PROBLEM – HE SAID HE WAS A KING, AND THAT IS AN ACT PUNISHABLE BY DEATH, AND I JUST FOLLOWED THE LAW. BUT JESUS SAYS, “YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS CALLED ME A KING HERE. I'M NOT ABOUT BEING A KING. I CAME INTO THE WORLD TO TESTIFY TO THE TRUTH. AND IF YOU, OR ANYONE, HAS ANY RESPECT FOR THE TRUTH, YOU WOULD HEAR MY VOICE.”
UNFORTUNATELY, WE DON'T HEAR THE NEXT QUESTION OF PILATE, “WHAT IS TRUTH?”
JESUS COMES TO US, LIKE HE COMES TO PILATE. HE STANDS BEFORE US, WAITING FOR US TO SPEAK. “WHO ARE YOU, WE SAY.” SOME SAY YOU ARE A GREAT PROPHET, SOME SAY YOU ARE GOD'S SON, THE THIRD PERSON IN THE TRINITY. SOME SAY YOU WERE A GREAT MAN AMONG GREAT MEN. SOME SAY YOU WERE A FOOL, A REBEL, A FANATIC.” TELL ME WHO YOU ARE, SO THAT I CAN PUT YOU INTO A CATEGORY, SO THAT I CAN DEAL WITH YOU, SO THAT AFTER I DEAL WITH YOU I CA N GET ON WITH MY LIFE.
AND JESUS REPLIES, “YOU TELL ME. TELL ME WHO YOU THINK I AM, NOT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE SAY.” AND YOU AND I STRUGGLE. IF WE SAY “YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD, THAT MEANS WE HAVE TO CHANGE OUR WHOLE LIVES, AND KEEP CHANGING THEM. IT MEANS THAT WE BETTER LISTEN TO WHAT HE IS SAYING. IT MEANS THAT WE HAVE TO RE-FOCUS OUR WHOLE LIVES AROUND THIS ASTOUNDING FACT, THAT GOD HAS TAKEN ON FLESH AND LIVES.
BUT IF I SAY THAT YOU ARE KING OF THE JEWS, I DON'T HAVE TO WORRY; I'M NOT A JEW. IF I SAY YOU ARE JUST A REVOLUTIONARY, OR A HOLY MAN, OR A PROPHET, OR A GREAT TEACHER LIKE THE BUDDHA, I CAN TAKE YOU OR LEAVE YOU.
AND THEN WE ASK, “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?” DID YOU REALLY WORK MIRACLES? DID YOU RAISE LAZARUS AND A LITTLE GIRL FROM THE DEAD? DID YOU DRIVE OUT DEMONS AND HEAL THE BLIND AND PARALYZED AND DEAF AND THOSE WHO WERE CRIPPLED? DID YOU RAISE YOURSELF FROM THE DEAD? BECAUSE IF YOU DID, YOU ARE GOD, AND I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO SPEND MY LIFE LISTENING TO YOU, LEARNING FROM YOU, TRYING TO ALIGN MY LIFE WITH YOU. BUT IF I SAY THESE STORIES ARE JUST LEGENDS, I DON'T HAVE TO CHANGE. IT'S EASIER FOR ME NOT TO CHANGE.
AND THEN WE ASK, “BUT YOU ARE A KING, RIGHT?” BECAUSE WE KNOW THERE IS SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT THE MAN JESUS, THERE IS SOMETHING THAT ATTRACTS US. IF HE IS A KING, THAT'S TOLERABLE. WHEN YOU HAVE A KING, YOU GIVE OVER SOME OF YOUR FREEDOM TO THE KING. THE KING CAN TAX, RAISE ARMIES, PASS LAWS, BUT MOST OF THE TIME YOU CAN GIVE LIP SERVICE, AND YOUR LIFE CAN GO ON WHETHER IT IS THIS KING OR THAT ONE, WHETHER IT IS A DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN. A KING IS A LONG WAY AWAY, AND MAYBE IF THIS JESUS IS A KING, I CAN THINK ABOUT HIM ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR. BUT HE REPLIES, I CAME INTO THE WORLD TO TESTIFY TO THE TRUTH. MY WORDS, MY LIFE, MY DEEDS ARE THERE FOR YOU TO LOOK AT. IF YOU SEE THEM WITH AN OPEN MIND, AND CHANGE YOUR LIFE AS A RESULT, YOU WILL BE HAPPY FOR ALL ETERNITY. BUT IF YOU IGNORE WHAT YOU SEE, WHAT YOU HEAR, YOU WILL NEVER RECEIVE WHAT I AM OFFERING TO YOU. YOU CAN LISTEN TO ME, OR YOU CAN BELONG TO A WORLD OF ILLUSION, A WORLD OF LIES.
JESUS SAID THAT IF YOU BELONG TO THE TRUTH, YOU LISTEN TO MY VOICE.. CAN WE HONESTLY SAY WE ARE LISTENING AND HEEDING HIS VOICE? OR WILL WE RESORT TO THAT LAST QUESTION OF PILATE, “WHAT IS TRUTH?” AND TURN AWAY?