Day of the Church Year: Christ the King Sunday
Scripture Passage: John 18:33-37
Jesus is in the halls of power. In a Roman-occupied Israel, in the city of Jerusalem, in the headquarters of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, after being handed over by the Jewish leaders, Jesus is on trial. And the way it looks to Pilate, Jesus won’t give a straight answer. In a Roman occupied Israel, it is treason to say you are a king—for no one is king but the emperor—which is why Pilate asks Jesus if he is king of the Jews. After Jesus’ evasion, Pilate follows up: so you are a king? But Jesus only implies assent and speaks of a kingdom not from this world. Herein lies the difference between king and kingdom according to Pilate and king and kingdom according to Jesus. Jesus cannot accept the premise of the question. Jesus cannot accept the premise of “king,” “kingdom,” or power that would lead others to fight for his freedom in this moment when he will surely be put to death. For Jesus’ kingdom is radically different than that of the Roman Empire, of every empire, of every age, including ours.
On this Christ the King Sunday, I long for a world where Christ will sit on a throne and use all the power at his disposal to create a just and peaceful world, one where compassion and forgiveness reign. But what I learn from Jesus this morning is that we cannot simply switch out the leaders of this world and put in Jesus. We cannot dethrone our presidents, prime ministers, and dictators and put Jesus in their place. We cannot call upon the name of God in halls of power here and now because the kingdoms of this age look nothing like Jesus’ kingdom. For starters, Jesus’ coronation as king is, in the gospel of John, literally his crucifixion. In John 19, Roman soldiers place a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head and afix a sign above him meant to mock him that reads: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. In his life, Jesus heals people, feeds people, washes their feet, befriends them. He forgives sin, frees people from bondage of many types, and restores people to their communities. In the course of his life, Jesus’ love for people so aggravates those in power that they kill him. Jesus is not looking to throw the emperor off the throne because Jesus is opposed, fundamentally, to how that power is amassed and preserved. He is healing people, feeding people, washing their feet, befriending them. He is forgiving sin, freeing people from bondage, and restoring communities. In Jesus’ kingdom, it doesn’t get better than that. That’s his reign.
Two weeks ago, those going on next summer’s soul journey to Holden Village gathered for our first team-building event. Among many other decisions, we composed a covenant to which we are holding one another accountable, things like “respect boundaries” and “no simmering in bitterness; communicate with love.” As with all human covenants, we put in writing the consequence for dishonoring the covenant. For our 2019 soul journey to Holden Village, Alison created a dunce cap to be worn by anyone who broke the covenant which was then followed by an apology to the whole group and a group hug. Two weeks ago when we gathered and discussed the consequence of dishonoring the covenant, we laughed as we remembered the dunce cap...but then we talked about how shaming that is, how punitive, how it would have the very opposite effect of restoring community. We wondered if this was really what we were about as Christians. We talked about how someone who dishonors the covenant would probably be hurting, in need of compassion, in need of love and understanding. So we decided that, instead of the dunce cap, this time, Alison and Charlie would create a LOVE button to be worn by the person who dishonors the covenant. When they wear it, one of the soul journeyers commented, when they wear it, the LOVE button will remind us that person needs more love. And of course, because accountability is necessary, an apology to the group and a group hug will follow.
In Jesus’ kingdom which is jumbled up in this present age, we participate in our own and others’ healing, feed people, wash people’s feet, and befriend them. We love our enemies and even our families, and we forgive each other as many as seventy times seven. We shroud people not with dunce caps but with LOVE buttons that remind us that while accountability is necessary, punishment is not. Love is the way of Christ’s kingdom. It doesn’t get better than that.
Yet we may still be wondering...shouldn’t Christ’s reign lead to a prosperous church? Shouldn’t God’s kingdom come in such a way that no one could mistake Christ’s reign? Why aren’t churches enormous and wealthy and leading the way in culture? How can Christ be king and yet his reign be so humble? These are questions for Christ the King Sunday. As much as I would love for churches to be bursting at the seams with people who want to hear the good news of Jesus and then follow him, I suspect the good news of Jesus is too challenging to be popular. And even if it were, the way Jesus lived and died and rose again, the way that Jesus healed and fed, washed and befriended, forgave and restored, leads me to believe that Christ’s reign is far more humble than our dreams of wealth, success, and prestige.
Christ the King Sunday is full to the brim with paradox. Christ is king, but his coronation is on the cross. If we keep participating in our own and others’ healing, if we keep feeding people and washing their feet, befriending them and forgiving them and loving them, we may indeed stumble into the kingdom of God. A kingdom where we know the power of God in love, where a lamb who is slain sits upon the throne. Thanks be to God! Amen.