Christ the King Sunday
Text: John 18:33-37
Pastor Jean M. Hansen
Today we’ll be singing, “Christ is the King, oh friends rejoice! Brothers and sisters, with one voice; let the world know he is your choice. Alleluia!” But what exactly does it mean for Jesus to be King and for that King to be our choice?
Our Gospel reading, which seems to be an odd choice in November since we’re used to hearing it during Holy Week, answers that first question. Let’s put the text into context. It is the last week of Jesus’ earthly life; the Jewish priest Annas and the high priest Caiaphas, along with the Sanhedrin, have decided that Jesus must die. But only Rome has the power to enact capital punishment. So, they take Jesus to the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate. Because Passover is near, the Jewish delegation cannot enter the Roman Court at the risk of becoming unclean and unable to participate in that important observance. So, Pilate meets them outside and after a tense interaction about Jesus, returns inside to meet this man who is accused of claiming to be the Son of God, or as Pilate translates it, the King of the Jews.
“So, you’re the King of the Jews, are you?”, he asks Jesus. At this point, Jesus does not look much like a king; his hands are bound, his been beat up, his clothes are dirty and torn. And, frankly, Pilate could care less if Jesus is or is not a “king”, except if there is some threat to Rome. Jesus answers Pilates questions with a round-about answer.
His kingdom is not from this world, and his way of being king is not recognizable in the here and now. Jesus does not wield the identity of a king in the way practiced among nations. There are no armies, no battles, no overthrowing leaders and taking over their territory. Or, to put it another way, quoting commentator Dr. David Lose, “Jesus is not of this world and so Jesus will not defend himself through violence. Jesus will not establish his claims by violence. Jesus will not usher in God’s kingdom by violence. Rather, Jesus has come to witness to the truth, the truth that God is love.” (1)
The truth also is that Jesus was born the Messiah, and the cross is a symbol of sacrificial love. Quoting commentator Chelsea Harmon, “And this Messiah shows us that the way God is King is not to demand and demean and defeat with force but to take up the worst the world has to offer, the cross, and to lay down one’s life of love.” (2)
That brings us then to the second question, what does it mean to let the world know he is our choice? Or, as Dr. Lose writes, “What does it mean for us not simply to name Jesus as King, but to actually expect Jesus to exercise reign over our lives?” Now, I realize that we may not be comfortable with the tone of that question because it has a domineering ring to it, or as Dr. Lose reflects, “We can talk about Jesus being Lord with some modicum of eloquence, but when push comes to shove, we’d prefer to make our own decisions, thank you very much, about how we spend our time, energy and money. Convinced of our own autonomy and independence, we are grateful that Jesus is Lord…as long as he doesn’t actually demand any significant or sacrificial allegiance.” (3)
So, I’ll ask again, what does it mean to let the world know he is our choice? Here’s one more quote from Dr. Lose, (it means) “…we are praying that Jesus’ rule of peace and justice and equity and equality would come … also to us. That we might be a part of it. That we might share the wonder of that reign with others, participate in it, feel it made real and actualized in our own lives, and experience the joy that comes from being caught up in and aligned with the purposes of God.” (4)
Or, to put it more simply, we live as people of the truth, and the truth is that God is love. That truth is reflected in who we are and what we do. It’s not difficult to discern when someone’s words, actions, choices and intentions are not loving and sacrificial, but destructive and self-serving. If Christ is King of our lives, we are drawn into a different way of being – different from the ways of the world. We love, serve and commit ourselves to the one who loved sacrificially, but boldly.
To live as people of the truth is not a passive, ephemeral way of being, but requires more intentional, thoughtful, vigorous and tireless action than any show of force or display power that threatens and manipulates to get its way.
I recently read a reflection on this text by ELCA pastor Dr. Barbara Lundblad. In it, she wrote about a student she taught who was an Anglican priest from South Africa. He told her that in the apartheid era the congregation he served refused to follow the destructive apartheid laws that discriminated against people of color. So, the entire congregation was arrested.
Dr. Lundblad thought she had misheard him, but he went on to say that all 240 members of the congregation were arrested and put in jail – from babies to a 90-year-old man. The pastor himself was imprisoned for a year. (5)
On Friday night I went to the new movie about Dietrich Bonhoeffer and was reminded of the courage of those who were in the Confessing Church in Germany in the 1930’s-mid 1940’s. They resisted Adolf Hitler’s attempts of make churches the instruments of Nazi propaganda and politics. Many Christians and churches initially had a positive attitude toward Adolf Hitler who promised to restore Germany to its post-World War I glory. But then, Hitler formed a group called “German Christians” that gained control of the Federation of Union, Reformed and Lutheran churches. This “German Christians” party supported the doctrine of racial superiority of so-called Aryans, the elimination of those who were not in that group and of all who were considered (by them) defective or undesirable, as well as the ultimate authority of Hitler.
In the movie, one of the resistance movement’s founders, Pastor Martin Niemoller, preached to a congregation filled with Nazi officers, all sitting in the front rows. He compelled them to look him in the eyes, to have the courtesy to do even that, and then clearly spoke of God, not Hitler, as deserving their devotion and of the church not being theirs to claim. As the soldiers left, what do you think the congregation did? They applauded. In the midst of that atmosphere of fear and intimidation, they applauded. Of course, Pastor Niemoller suffered the consequences of his words and spent years imprisoned in a concentration camp. He, amazingly, survived the war.
Dietrich Bonhoffer was a leading spokesman for the Confessing Church, not only in Germany, but also in England and the United States, where he had the opportunity to stay as the war and threats against his life increased. He felt compelled to return to Germany. He was ultimately executed for his involvement in a plot to overthrow Hitler, which must have been an ethical dilemma for him, and certainly was for one of his students. In the face of that decisions he was quoted as saying, “When faced with evil, there is no middle path; you either oppose the persecution of the innocent, or you share in it.”
That’s bold. It takes faith, courage and insight, all gifts of the Holy Spirit, to let the world know Jesus is our choice. As we begin a new church year, may we be so empowered. AMEN
“Christ the King B: What Does This Mean?” by David Lose, November 23, 2018, www.davidlose.net
“John 18:33-37 Sermon Commentary” by Chelsey Harmon, Nov. 24, 2024, www.cepreaching.org
“Christ the King B: Not of this World” by David Lose, November 16, 1015, www.davidlose.net
Same as #3
“A Different Kind of King”, by Barbara Lundblad, November 21, 2012, www.patheos.com