Today, on the last Sunday of the Church year, Christ the King Sunday, we are in John’s gospel, where we hear Jesus speaking to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor over Judea. The scene is from when Pilate is questioning him after his arrest. And Jesus tells Pilate,
My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over ... But as it is, my kingdom is not from here. (John 18:36 NRS)
Here in the U.S. most of our images of kings and kingdoms come from mythology, literature, movies or plays: we know Shakespeare’s King Lear, Olivier’s Zeus, Sean Connery’s King Arthur, or more recently Jonathan Groff’s King George in “Hamilton.” Beyond those references, most of us don’t have a working understanding of kings and kingdoms.
But Jesus and Pilate understood both, and they understood power.
The late Marcus Borg, a theologian and scholar who wrote about the historical Jesus in a number of books including one titled The Last Week, described what took place just a few days before this scene, on what we celebrate as Palm Sunday at the beginning of Holy Week.
In Jerusalem, it was the beginning of the week of Passover, the “festival that celebrated the Jewish people’s liberation from” Pharaoh who had enslaved the people of Israel centuries earlier.
The Roman governors of the region lived nearer to the Mediterranean coast, but for the major Jewish festivals, they regularly traveled to Jerusalem. Proceeding down the western Watershed Ridge, Pilate and the imperial army would have approached Jerusalem in a mighty procession with armored foot soldiers, the cavalry on horses, weapons, banners and all the sounds of a conquering army.[i]
In contrast, instead of riding high atop a warhorse, Jesus rode into town on a donkey, not as a conquering hero, but as a humble servant king.[ii] For Roman citizens familiar with the governors’ triumphant marches, Jesus’ arrival would have been a clear and obvious challenge to the status quo.
And that is the challenge Jesus presents to Pilate in this scene. Jesus is not saying that His kingdom is other-worldly or heavenly, but that His kingdom doesn’t follow the rules known to society and the world.
He is
saying,
My kingdom is neither of nor from this world. It is completely unrecognizable to you because your position and power come from human institutions and structures, and your security is found in soldiers and battalions. Your future relies on the strength of the empire.
That was, after all, the understanding of empire, kingship and kingdom in the first century, and it is persistent. It’s the origin of sayings like “might makes right” and “history is written by the victors.” As King George sings in “Hamilton”, “When push comes to shove, I will kill your friends and family to remind you of my love!”
Thanks be to God that in Jesus we know a different kind of king, and in Scripture we have the promise of a different kind of kingdom and might.
The King we have in Christ is humble and has a servant’s heart, and in His Kingdom, where we are co-heirs with Him, we are called not to earthly power or privilege, but to love.
The Feast of Christ the King is a reminder to us all that Christ our Lord is given all power in heaven and on earth and therefore, nothing is exempt from his empire. Establishing this festival day for the Church in 1925, Pope Pius XI (11th) reminded Christians that Christ, not earthly rulers, must reign in our minds, in our wills, in our hearts and in our bodies (paragraph 33, Quas Primas).
In a few months, Ascension will celebrate our 99th year as a congregation. Back in 1923, a group of folks decided that Shelby needed a Lutheran congregation. They knew that in a world drowning in bad news, the Church had Good News to proclaim to our neighbors and community, news of a Lord and Savior who is not subject to any other authority; news of a King whose weapons are love and compassion, forgiveness and mercy; news of a Kingdom where love reigns and grace is abundant. As we enter into a new Church year, may we remember who our King is and live as kingdom people here on earth.
Amen.
[i] Marcus Borg. The Last Week. 2-3.
[ii] “Passion/Palm Sunday, March 25, 2018.”
https://bishopmike.com/, accessed 3/22/2018.
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