If someone were to ask you who Jesus is, what would you say? If we were to spend time meditating on the name of Jesus or a title that we use for him, I think we would all find that none of them are adequate. How do you describe the indescribable?
On this, the last Sunday in the season of Pentecost, we are asked to examine who Jesus is… It is a question that we will get asked again and again as we enter into Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. My hope for all of us, is that as we think about Jesus, our ideas will be challenged. If we get too comfortable, if Jesus becomes our pal, then perhaps we need to do some more work…
It seems to me that the conversation between Pilate and Jesus could be one of many places to start our own quest… Let’s remember that Pilate is a political animal. The high priest sent Jesus to Pilate because of Jesus’ teachings, which are religious teachings… Throughout his ministry, Jesus did nothing to threaten Rome; he even paid his taxes with the coins of Caesar. But when Jesus comes before Pilate, Pilate is not concerned about religious matters; Pilate is not Jewish; religious law is Herod’s business. Unless something becomes a threat to Rome’s authority, Pilate is willing to let it be. So, Pilate puts the “problem” of Jesus into political terms: “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus, always ready to confront worldly ideas, let’s Pilate know that there is indeed a kingdom, but it is not of this world; that whatever happens in this world does not ultimately affect who Jesus is. Jesus then turns the tables on Pilate to talk about testifying to the truth… We don’t have Pilate’s question that follows in this morning’s gospel, but we know it from Good Friday. Pilate asks, “What is truth?” Truth, as we come to learn, is Jesus… all of him… even as he goes towards his death after being sentenced by Pilate for a political crime that he did not commit.
Christ the King, is an interesting title, especially when we take this conversation between Jesus and Pilate into consideration. Jesus looks anything but kingly here, especially as the story continues. What images come to mind when we think about kings? We tend to think about crowns, and gold, and jewels, and political power… Maybe we think about philanthropy as we think about the royal family in England… what we DON’T think about is a wandering carpenter who preaches that the poor will have good news proclaimed to them, or who goes around touching and healing those whom society has forgotten. When we hear the title King, we don’t think about the God of love who creates because of love; we don’t think of God who puts aside being God in order to become human so that God and humanity can become joined as they were before…
Jesus’ very existence challenges all that we think about what it means to be king. For Pilate, and I daresay for us, king is certainly a political title that brings with it all manner of worldliness. And here’s the thing…. We like worldliness. We like stuff, we like security, we like stability and we tend to admire those who can help us to achieve our goals. We, like Pilate, are political animals who put a great deal of clout into systems and causes… and I’m not trying to say that’s all bad… This is the world that God loves, that God created out of love, and sent his Son to save; but it’s not what our lives as followers of Jesus are primarily about. Jesus’s message, while it certainly has political consequences, has nothing to do with the human systems that we have put in place. The kingdom of God does not look like any political party’s idea of worldliness… but it IS the kingdom that God has set in motion here in our time and place… and you and I are the workers who are to help bring it about. It is not easy work, it is not glamorous work… but it is the work we have been given… it is where you and I will find life… it is where all of God’s creation will experience the love and mercy of God… Jesus came to testify to that truth, and to show us what it looks like… and he was rejected.
Pilate insisted that the charge above Jesus’ cross read, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. It may be that Pilate was once again mocking Jesus and his followers. The charge is a political one that brands Jesus as an insurrectionist. Does Pilate have any idea that he has stated a truth that shall be proclaimed for eternity? This truth comes out of the most unlikely of places; even the disciples had trouble grasping this truth. How could the throne of a king be the source of pain and torture? Somehow, some way, it is the only throne that makes sense in the kingdom of God. Suffering unites us and everything we do as disciples is interpreted through the cross of Jesus… there is no resurrection without the cross.
What do you think of when you hear the name of Jesus? As we enter the holy season of waiting… I pray that we may come to a deeper understanding of who Jesus is… I pray that unlike Pilate, we will not be motivated by our fear of losing power… Instead, may we empty our hearts and our souls, so that Jesus can fill them with his love for the world. May we replace power with generosity, fear with love, taking with giving… May we become subjects of the one king who is all truth… Jesus of Nazareth.