The King and I
John 18:33-37
Christ the King/Reign of Christ Sunday
Jay Rowland
This scene from the Gospel of John may feel a bit out of place today. As the calendar races toward Thanksgiving and Advent, we are confronted by the Passion of Christ: Jesus is standing before Pilate--a scene we’re accustomed to meeting during Lent and Holy Week, on the springtime side of winter rather than here on the threshold of another Advent winter.
Given that today is Christ the King/Reign of Christ Sunday. And given that next Sunday we begin searching anew and waiting anew for the One whose birth triggers hope and singing and celebration, it’s important to realize that Jesus entered this world, our world, to reveal God’s world; to open our eyes and our hearts to God’s presence here in our midst.
Jesus is the best and ultimate expression of God’s Great Love
God’s Great Love is how Jesus was born. It is why Jesus was born.
God’s Great love is the crown Jesus wears among us.
The crown of thorns.
So there is perhaps no scene more poignant than this scene from John’s gospel as we end another church year and look to prepare for Advent. Look and see with your mind’s eye: Jesus over there, under arrest, wounded and bruised and man-handled. A prisoner in the custody of Pilate
Pontius Pilate, that is, the man in charge of Judea for the Roman Empire. Pilate is the Emperor’s authority--comparable to a king--over this tiny speck on the map of the vast Roman Empire. Pilate answers only to the Emperor when it comes to the people and the goings-on in Judea. He has the authority to end your life or to spare your life. It fazes him not at all. He does it all the time.
“King Pilate” looks at “king Jesus” and sees no threat to his authority nor to that of the Emperor. To Pilate this is just another irritating conflict among those monotheist Hebrews who frequently object to Roman policy interfering with their religious practices. The official policy of Rome is to let conquered people do their religious thing as long as it doesn’t stir up any religious passion which might destabilize the occupation of Judea. Pilate wants this religious argument settled quietly and among themselves. That is, until the designated religious authorities insist that Jesus is guilty of treason for promoting himself as a king above the Emperor and the Empire.
That word treason elevates this situation to something more than a simple complaint among religious big shots. A charge of treason is something Pilate cannot ignore and must examine more closely. After meeting with the religious authorities outdoors for they refused to enter into his headquarters lest they defile themselves, Pilate steps back inside to face Jesus.
So begins Pilate’s brief interrogation of Jesus.
“Just what kind of King are you?” Pilate asks Jesus.
Pilate’s question lays bare the ages-old system of human-centered, earth-bound authority over and against any so-called authority of God over the everyday lives of people.
Pilate’s question prompts a question from Jesus in return, words which I understand him to say, do you ask what kind of king I am because you want to know me or are you merely curious?
Ultimately, Jesus describes his mission rather simply: “You say that I am a king. 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.”
In the very next verse, Pilate asks, “what is truth”?
Who would have ever thought that Pilate’s question would resound with such perilous consequences in recent years?!
Pilate stands tall but not alone in his verdict condemning the kingdom of God. It is a common, daily verdict pronounced and practiced nearly every day in this world. We frequently ignore or reject the kingdom of God because we are mesmerized by the legion of mirage kingdoms daily occupying our minds, our time and our interest. The chaos and the craziness of human-centered kingdoms is a result of our depleted understanding of truth, which we have painfully realized is vital to the human activity of exerting authority over other human beings.
Meanwhile, Jesus calls us away from all of that chaos, and away from everything distracting us from the harm and death being wreaked upon creation and human life.
But we hesitate to follow and heed this call. I guess that’s because when it comes right down to it, Jesus seems like a king for fools compared to the forceful talk and actions displayed by kings and presidents and leaders of nations. We are easily overwhelmed when earthly kings and leaders of nations resort to force, coercion and manipulation. And we are dismayed when our leaders utilize nearly all of their resources and privileges toward remaining in power rather than toward improving the lives of the people they govern.
Which is entirely different from and foreign to the kingdom of God.
Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world, so neither is his “power”. “His is not power over people, it’s power with and for people.” I see more and more references to the term kin-dom, emphasizing our human kinship under God rather than the term Kingdom with its emphasis upon authority and conformity. “When we do the work of the kin-dom in this world, we witness Jesus’ power through people”, rather than power enacted upon or over people. 1
To answer Pilate’s question what kind of king is Jesus? My answer--inspired by scripture, Handel’s Messiah and my own experiences with Jesus--is this:
Jesus is a king of sorrows, acquainted with grief.
He is a king of pain. Human pain.
Jesus is a king who regularly travels the valleys of shadows and death, continually crossing back and forth while leading us, his beloved to higher ground along the way to bask in the glory of creation and savor the beauty of life, the fruits of the Spirit and the goodness of people.
Jesus is a king who is the Source of incredible power, a power we are in some ways accustomed to and yet always yearning for--a sort of constant, ever-present power we rely upon but often overlook, like sunshine. Jesus our king radiates Life and thrives on Love and the love of God’s people.
King Jesus is the only viable alternative to all of the mirage kingdoms clamoring for our allegiance.
King Jesus comes to save and shield our life with his own body, with his own pain and with his very own blood, infusing the very blood flowing through every vein of our bodies.
King Jesus is the unlikely, unseen king who stands with us in every experience of injustice and betrayal, in the rooms and hallways of diagnosis and treatment, in the lonely valleys of darkness and confusion where death prowls and taunts the innocent. Jesus is the only king who will stand there in that place of threat with us. Come what may.
I recently read a description of the Kingdom of God and Christ the King written by a contemporary theologian named Frank Thomas published in Christian Century . I found it so practical and meaningful I decided to use it as our Affirmation of Faith today. If it touches your heart as it did mine, you can speak the words yourself in a few moments. But first, just listen and follow along in your bulletin as I speak Thomas’ words aloud:
The kingdom of God is God’s reign—not over a country or a group of people but over the whole of human history.
The realm of God affirms what is good, true, and just in every age, and it corrects what is misguided, unjust, and wrong.
It is not about a geographical country nor a particular race or ethnicity.
God’s realm does not settle on boundaries that we make … Nor is God’s realm a national or political entity.
It is a community in God’s care that lives in radical love, joy peace, truth, and righteousness.
The kingdom of God is rooted in the paradoxical name and nature of God.
The realm of God is preached and therefore inaugurated: it is here, but it is also on the way.
God’s reign is plain, but it is also mysterious.
God’s realm is open to everybody, but it is also hidden.
Though it somehow is never fully realized, it is so profound and so real that we cannot escape its claim.
The church is God’s realm in its most visible but fallible form, it participates in the inauguration of the reign of God.
This kingdom of God is the most beautiful and alluring facet of life, yet it is also the most demanding and radical thing one could ever know or do. 2
Rejoice and be glad, for we are citizens you & I of the Kingdom of God
A Kingdom created by God’s Great Love;
A world revealed by Jesus through his birth, life, death, resurrection, and promised return.
It is the reason we were born and live this life!
God’s kingdom is with us every day,
… it is there in the valleys of shadow and confusion.
… it comes alongside us to guide us and catch us and help us and save us each day.
… it is ever and always among us, moving with us along the highways and hallways of life and death in this world.
The kingdom of God is the Passion of Christ.
And the passion of Christ is the Advent of Christ.
Look for it.
Pray for it.
Imagine it.
Wait for it.
For it is coming to meet you and I in the place of our greatest need.
Thanks Be To God!
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Notes:
1 pastor Chris Mereschuk offers a timely example of the kin-dom/Kingdom dichotomy in his wonderful devotional, https://www.ucc.org/daily-devotional/thy-kin-dom-come/
2 Frank A. Thomas, in Reflections on the Lectionary for November 21 Reign of Christ Sunday, Christian Century, November 3, 2021
