21 November 2021
Sermon ~ Cristo Rey
Everything about the Gospel reading from John 18 is very symbolic and full of meaning. The words have both a surface level meaning, and a deeper spiritual meaning. What Pilate and some Judean leaders intend for trial and condemnation are flipped into a coronation and evangelization.
Pilate calls Jesus into the palace. Pilate unwittingly brings Jesus into a palace, a place for royalty and kings. He is vesting Jesus with royal power and place. Pilate asks Jesus earnestly and out of curiosity, “Are you the king of the Jews or Judeans?” It sounds less like an accusation and more like a genuine curiosity. One has to wonder if Pilate has learned about the history of the Jewish people, and the expectation of a Messiah, a king?
Jesus then asks Pilate if he is asking on his own behalf, or because others have told him. What Jesus is doing here, is learning about Pilate, and assessing where he is on his own journey of faith. It’s remarkable that Jesus doesn’t escalate things into a confrontation, but calmly seeks to get to know Pilate, arguably the most powerful man in all the region, not as someone to be feared, but as another human being to minister to. Jesus wants to know if Pilate is just, “doing his job” or if he has a deeper interest or longing to connect with the divine.
Pilate seems to detect the personal nature of Jesus’ question, and no doubt the penetrating gaze of Christ upon his soul, because he deflects the question by pointing to obvious talking points. He says in some words, “Do I look like a Jew to you?” In other words he tries to deny his personal interest or involvement. He tacks to the position of, “I am an outsider simply ruling your bizarre people.” He says that Jesus’ own people, nation, and religious leaders have handed him over to Pilate. By saying this, Pilate is at the same time trying to depersonalize himself, and insinuating that Jesus is being rejected, judged, and ostracized by his own people. He tops it off with, “What have you done?” In other words, what have you done wrong in order to incur this wrath from people you’d think would want to love and care for you? All of this would be enough to make the feelings and reactions of most any person flare, but that’s not what happens to Jesus.
Jesus responds with, “My kingdom is not of this world.” When we read and hear or even see bumper stickers with the phrase, “Not of this World,” our immediate impression is spiritual. Jesus’ kingdom is a spiritual kingdom from heaven and God and therefore not of the physical earthly world. But that is only a fraction of what Jesus is saying. His words are very political and confrontational in nature. You can imagine Jesus maintaining a peaceful calm composure with a docile bowing of his head, but the words that he utters cuts to the heart of Pilate and the entire geo-political reality of the epoch. “My kingdom is not of this world.” Rome and it’s Caesar were the rulers of the entire world. Their power was so absolute, and their ideology was so binding that if you weren’t in the Roman Empire you didn’t exist. You were a barbarian nobody that didn’t matter. “The World,” in the time of Rome meant precisely that which was under Roman rule. So when Jesus says, “My kingdom is not of the world,” he is actually facing Rome head on, and saying, “Who I am and what I am doing is so completely different than what you have ever known or think is possible with all of your ‘civilized’ education.”
Jesus then goes on to say, “If my kingdom were of this world, that is the Roman known world, then my people would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Judeans.” We know from history that Rome had the most brutally advanced military apparatus of the day and used it liberally. The Pax Romana, the peace of Rome, was established by violently annihilating all opposition. Last week we reflected on Rome’s destruction of the Temple as part of it’s strategy of establishing “peace.” So what Jesus is saying here, is that his kingdom and his power does not depend on brutality and violence. Jesus’ power originates from some other source.
The other word Jesus says here that needs to be unpacked is “Judeans.” This word can also be translated as “Jews.” We all know that words carry multiple meanings. Jesus says that if his kingdom were like that of Rome his people would not let him be handed over to the Judeans. Judeans are the Jewish people who live in Jerusalem and the area around it. It also means the ruling class, the people who run the temple and have “negotiated” some kind of a political understanding with Rome. It is a total perversion and misreading to think that Jesus is saying that he is being handed over to people of the Jewish religion. That simply wouldn’t make any sense because Jesus and his disciples are all Jewish, and practiced the Jewish religion. What Jesus and his original disciples were not, however, was from the geographical area of Judah. He was from the north, from Galilee, an area populated with Hebrews, Samaritans, Phoenecians, etcetera. So when Jesus says that he wouldn’t be handed over to the Judeans, he means handed over to certain elites who had aligned themselves with the Roman world.
This response of Jesus which is not apologetic, nor defensive, draws Pilate in so that now Pilate genuinely is curious. He asks, “So you are a king?” One can’t help but wonder if Pilate had his own misgivings and disillusionment with Rome. For him to have his position he was no doubt a well connected and thoughtful person. Had his years of service and endurance of royal intrigue and conniving begun to wear thin? Was there a part of him that yearned to be a part of something different, some other kingdom that might fulfill him in a way that his heart longed for?
Jesus responds to this question by encouraging Pilate to keep moving forward in faith. Jesus invites Pilate to make a confession, almost daring him, “You say it. I am a King! I was born for this, and have come into this world, your world, to speak the truth. And everyone who belongs to the truth, listens to me.” You can tell that Jesus has led Pilate to this moment of truth. Because Pilate even for a moment let down his guard and posture of inquisition, he has begun to truly listen to Jesus. So Jesus is saying, “You are halfway there! You are listening to me. You must be someone who belongs to the truth, who believes in truth.” No doubt the possibility of there being truth had to have been a totally radical and liberating idea for Pilate. Why? Because truth is what is marred and suffers under totalitarian authoritarian regimes. The entire Roman apparatus was built on a lie! Caesar claimed to be the Son of God? Caesar claimed to have been divinely begotten and appointed to rule? Lie after lie! Fear and intimidation were the true currency of Rome. Someone like Pilate would know and understand the complete absurdity of it all. Most people like Pilate who had clawed their way to a position of power had all but given up on the reality of truth, and had accommodated themselves to an amoral and relativistic view of reality. Now, here, in this palace, this peasant carpenter, from Galilee totally defenseless and without any earthly measure of power with just his simple words offers new life and possibility. The only problem is that to reach out and grab it, Pilate must acknowledge his own culpability in a corrupt and demonic institution.
And that’s only as far as the gospel takes us. What does Pilate do? That’s for another time. For another day. A Friday, in fact, approximately five months from now on Good Friday we will read the rest of the story and see what Pilate does. But for now we must pause and ask ourselves why are we reading this today? Why on this Sunday before Thanksgiving and our last stop before Advent are we reading about the crucifixion. Isn’t this supposed to be Christ the King Sunday afterall?
Perhaps the reason we don’t read on about Pilate is because today we are supposed to ask ourselves, is Jesus our king? Are you willing to call him Lord. Are you willing to confess with your lips that he is your king. Are you willing to do what Jesus was asking Pilate to do? To see beyond the security and comfort we find in Earthly things to hitch our wagon to the peasant king from Galiliee? There is something about Jesus that is irreducibly disruptive to the established order. His kingship will always and for all time destabilize earthly manifestations of power. Jesus kingship necessarily questions and criticizes what we otherwise take for granted:
Even religion itself. I submit to you today, that to have faith Jesus is not the same thing as to put your faith in a religion, not even in Christianity, or Lutheranism, whatever that means. Our religious institutions including our little hamlet here in North Upland isn’t something we believe in. We believe in Jesus, and it just so happens that the Holy Spirit as called us together to be in fellowship one with another. When you decide to become a member of a church, I hate to break it to you, but you are taking one more step toward becoming a pastor. It’s true. When a person wants to be a pastor, the first thing the Bishop will ask is, what church or congregation are you a member of. Many are the times when a person who felt called to ministry had to first go, find a church, and go through the process of membership. And so for those who are members, and for those who are becoming members you have taken a significant step in following Jesus and becoming his disciples and ministers. And as ministers of the gospel you are called to do exactly what Jesus does in this Christ the King passage, namely, evangelism.
Evangelism is what Jesus is doing to Pilate. His responses are so unusual to Pilate because its as if Jesus isn’t even aware that he is on trial. In another moment Pilate even says to Jesus, “Don’t you realize I have the power to kill you or not?” Jesus doesn’t seem to be preoccupied by this. His only concern with Pilate is to see if he can share the good news with Pilate. To proclaim the gospel to Pilate. The truth! And what is the truth? What is the gospel? What is the thing that you are sent out as newly minted members and minister of the gospel?
Just this. You are saved by grace through faith, and not by your works. Pilate you might have had good connections and a cunning mind, and brutal blow to those who have wronged you, but none of that scores any points with God on high with ancient of days. The Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, has created you, forgiven you, and given you eternal life out of pure unconditional grace. So that whether you are a Caesar or convict you are God’s child. Whether you are a CEO or a welfare recipient, you are God’s beloved child. Whether you are a Nobel Prize winner, or are still learning how to read, you are God’s most precious beloved child. For whom God died for on the cross to keep you as a part of the fold no matter how far you wander. We are to be sons and daughters of God, kings and queens of an upside down kingdom who demonstrate our power through love and unceasing evangelism and proclamation of the Gospel.
I thank you. I thank you that you are taking this step of courage to say, “yes.” I will go on this journey of discipleship. I will claim Jesus as my Lord. I will be like him and seek to evangelize and invite all people even my enemies to join me in fellowship. I thank you, long standing members of Grace, for so amazingly modeling service to God, and hospitality. Now we continue to learn from each other, and to teach one another the best of what we have learned. We help one another to set aside those habits which haven’t given us life.
The other day I was talking to a family member. They were sharing with me some troubles that they were going through. And their troubles were real and significant. After they shared there was a little pause or lull in the conversation, so I said what I normally say at such a moment. Would you like me to pray for you? Now I knew when I asked, that this would be a bit of stretch because this particular family member has always been a bit critical of organized religion. Sometimes people tell me they don’t like organized religion. To which I say, “well you’ll really like my ministry then!” So I asked this dear family member of mine if they would like prayer, knowing that they are not a church goer, and they said pretty quickly, “No.” It kind of stung a little. But then they said, “But you can pray for me.” So I did. And I have been. And that’s exactly what ministry is. We offer and invite, you never know what the response will be, but when the door opens, even just a little, we can share God’s love and God’s word. And that’s all God needs!
God is the one who is, who was, and who is to come.
God is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning, and the goal.
God is grace, justice, and a peace that passes all understanding.
All of our days and all of our toil rests within the infinite span of God’s all encompassing grace. Amen.
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