Sermon - Year B - Christ the King - Nov. 22

09 - Sermon - Year B - Christ the King - Nov. 22 

Text: John 18:33-37

Welcome to the end of the liturgical year.

Today is the last Sunday in Pentecost. The long season of green.

Today we celebrate “Christ the King” Sunday. Or... sometimes it is called the “Reign of Christ” sunday.

And... I can’t help but think of this day’s story as a clash of Kingdoms. The Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of this world. This is to say... how God would like to order things and one day will order things, vs how we have them ordered them now. 

We call today “Christ the King” Sunday because it is this Sunday that we look closely at the trial narratives of Jesus. We see the Dialog of Pilate and Jesus... we hear Pilate’s struggle to figure out what kind of King Jesus is...

And we hear from the book of revelation where it is written ““I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” 

This is a sneak peak at the end of the story which is vitally important so that we can understand what is happening in the now. Revelation gives us a glimpse of how God is going to bring all thing to a close.

As much as Christians want to believe that the Kingdom of God is fully here and we could somehow fully live a new reality... we know that the full realization of the Kingdom of God is a not yet reality. This belongs to what will be, but is not fully realized yet. We live in a reality of only getting a taste of the Kingdom that is coming.

And so, reflecting on these texts in light of the clashing of Kingdoms, I can’t help but think of the famous wrestler, Calgary’s own “Brett the Hit Man Hart” who had the slogan. “I am the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be!” Which was catchy but... not really true.

But this story of epic forces colliding was always the theme developed in all those old wrestling matches. The Hart family had the Hart foundation, and they would be fighting against some other great force in the world of wrestling... some other group of wrestlers who would be clashing in the ring. “The Legion of DOOM”, or “The British Bulldogs.” Two kingdoms locked in battle - right on network TV.

These teams were built up through the 80’s and 90’s and developed fan followings that were huge, and very profitable for the owners of the different wrestling federations. People flocked on mass to watch the conflicts unfold.

Through countless hours of pretend wrestling and bad interviews and commentaries, fans watched these different forces clash as announcers coining famous phrases “Let’s get ready to rumble!” “That’s what you call a malfunction at the junction”

Kingdoms collide... struggle occurs, people get hurt. In the attempt to be the best... to take all that was been given to you and build up a foundation, things quickly get out of hand.

Brett Hart’s own brother you’ll recall was killed when there was a malfunction in a harness that was supposed to lower him down to the ring... in an attempt to create the best show for the fans... to be the best wrestler... he fell to his death.

And the clash of Kingdoms takes on bigger and more catastrophic consequences.

Our own Canadian Forces are even this day fighting in Afghanistan and... the death toll is over 130 soldiers on our side and... we all know that our troops our much better trained and equipped than the people they are fighting so... the death count on the other side is going to be much much higher.

Yet, Canadian Forces remain resolute and, from the Government of Canada web page we see that they have set the following priorities

Canada’s Priorities from the web page:

Canada is focussed on a targeted set of objectives in keeping with proven Canadian strengths and consistent with Afghan objectives and the efforts of the international community.

The first four priorities focus primarily on Kandahar. Canada is helping the Government of Afghanistan to:

• maintain a more secure environment...
• provide jobs, education, and essential services, like water.
• provide humanitarian assistance to people in need, including refugees.
• enhance the management and security of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

And all of this is happening in a war zone. The Kingdom of Canada has internal debates and opinions on Canadas role are openly debated as people keep dying. Our best efforts as a nation don't seem to be enough. This internal debate is the Clashing of many Kingdoms... many interest groups... none of which can fully represent the Kingdom that Jesus is claiming... Jesus Kingdom is not from here.

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In the trial  narrative of Jesus.

Jesus, “King of the Jews”, is before Pilate. 

Pilate doesn’t really get it. In every interaction, Jesus and Pilate are talking past each other as much as they are talking to each other... each of them using the word “Kingdom” but meaning completely different things.

Pilate tries to make some sense of what sort of King Jesus is, and Jesus speaks the line that Pilate could not understand.

“My Kingdom is not from this world.” 

So Pilate looks in vain for any legal reason to release or condemn Jesus. One more dead Jew would make little difference to Pilate... it’s about politics. And Jesus isn’t reacting the way a King should. Jesus isn’t playing the game of clashing Kingdoms. Where are his followers? Where is the fight? Where is the pleading and negotiation? This is why “My Kingdom is not from this world....” made no sense Pilate... and is a difficult challenge for each of us to see Jesus’ Kingdom our own realities when Jesus Kingdom doesn't come from our world...

In fact, Jesus Kingdom is so radically different than the Kingdoms of this world that it is no surprise that Pilate doesn’t get it.

Jesus hardly even protests Pilate’s questioning. Instead... he says:

“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.”

And what is truth?

And as we heard, the drama ends with all the people of God abandoning God, and claiming that they have no King but the emperor. They pick political power over the Truth that Christ is speaking. They choose their own reality instead of the vision of a new Kingdom that Christ gives them.

Christ the King and the Kingdom he promised is rejected by all people, who now turn to earthly authority to grab power they can see and feel. Instead of confronting the power that is, they take what is known even though it is abusive.

Pilate claims to have have power, but in the end is bullied by the masses. He reacts in fear for his own life and place of authority. 

---

So we see... 

Jesus, right to the end, was not going to be a traditional kind of King. 

John’s Gospel goes to great lengths to show that Jesus is King in the same way that a Shepherd watches over the flock. Jesus first priority is the flock... and not gaining power for himself. There is no power to be had... his Kingdom is not from here... his power and authority are rooted somewhere else.

These last few weeks, our Gospel lessons have focused on the Kind of King that Jesus is going to be. Michaela Bruzzese writes: 

this king weeps with those who mourn and seeks out those bound by the cords of death, calling them to the new life of resurrection (That’s the Lazarus story.) Jesus condemns a religious system that leaves poor widows destitute, and saves his most passionate criticism for those who not only exploit the vulnerable, but do so in God’s name (That was the widow at the temple.) When the disciples behold the building of the new temple in awe, Jesus assures them that it will be leveled by God’s new reign, confirming that Jesus kingdom is different. It is built not on structures of power, dominance, and exploitation, but on love and concern for the least of these.

There could be nothing more politically and personally revolutionary than to proclaim with all seriousness that you are a resident of Jesus Kingdom. 

There is no more revolutionary prayer that the prayer that Jesus taught us: Thy Kingdom come, They will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

As a citizen of Jesus kingdom... and when Jesus Kingdom comes, your personal and political life would be radically different from the kingdoms of this world:

• Always the choice for peace over war, even at great personal cost.
• Always advocating for liberation for the poor, even at great personal cost.
• Always forgiveness and never revenge, even at great personal cost.
• Always generosity over greed, Humility over Hubris, embrace over exclusion... all at great personal cost...

This is a pretty tough list to live up to...

But this list is at the same time good news... and I’ll tell you why.

Jesus Kingdom is not FROM here... so it's coming and it's power does not depend on us.

And this list of attributes is the same list that Christ the King uses to relate to the world... to each of us...

Christ brings the peace, liberation, forgiveness, humilty... as he seeks us... 

Christ is the one who is always trying to reach out and embrace... 

Christ is the one who reaches out from the cross... in the very act of being crucified, Christ the King is being what the King of the new kingdom will be... 

Christ is the one who is reaching out to all and calling for a redemption and transformation of all people and systems. Even on a cross we hear the words of the new Kingdom... “Forgive them... they don’t know what they are doing." Forgiveness at great personal cost.

So today... on this Christ the King Sunday, you can know peace... 

And there’s a special word for this:

Shalom - it means Peace, wholeness, completeness, and fair well.

Shalom my friends...

This is the message from Christ the King in the new Kingdom that is breaking into this world and all the war that we have made in it.

Shalom

Any and all who hear Christ's words, hear Christ’s shalom.

This is a proclamation of Peace, wholeness, rest... This is what it is to be a follower of Christ the King.

Each of us invited to citizenship by hearing God’s Word.

Each of us is made promises in baptism that citizenship is ours in Christ forever.

Each of us invited to civic duty in having our lives transformed to reflect the values that Christ the King shows us.

All of us invited to Christ the Kings table... it is the Lord's supper where we are fed and reminded that we are loved... and forgiven... it is Christ’s table that gives us a taste of what we know to be true in the end. Christ is, was, and will ever be the Almighty. ... all are invited.

Shalom my friends. Welcome to life in the Kingdom. 

Amen.