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Christ the King Sunday, 11/25/2012
Sermon on John 18:36, by Steve Saxe
Autocrat & Antipolitical
36 Jesus answered, ‘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 to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.'
Perhaps you aren't aware that President Obama has bowed to people at least eight times during his presidency. Public reaction to his behavior has ranged from disdain endorsement. Some saw his respectful bows as "a metaphor for his approach to foreign policy."
Thus the President of these United States bowed eight time: most recently before Mexican President Filipe Calderon at the 2012 G-20 Summit. He greeted children w a slight bow at a school in Mumbai,India in November of 2010, and one week later, while in Japan he bowed to a "man and woman in traditional Japanese robes," Then there was his infamous bow to Saudi King Abdullah, on April 1, 2009 in London, where, on the very same day he also bowed to her majesty Queen Elizabeth II, monarch of the kingdom that was our nation's former Lord and Master. Later that same year he bowed to the emperor of Japan. President Obama has even bowed to Nancy Pelosi & to the mayor of Tampa.
Not all Americans are enthusiastic about it: one blogger wrote
American presidents, who have been put in charge of a democratic nation that specifically broke from royalty, particularly should not bow to kings and queens. We need our presidents to appreciate and be polite to other cultures and leaders. But the president of the United States is the leading political figure in the world. He must command respect. Let others bow to him.
Whatever one may think about our president's posture to foreign dignitaries, you know that Lutherans who embrace catholic tradition also bow. At our places of worship, we bow out of respect to the Triune God as we approach the altar, we bow to each other, and -some of us at least- bow as the processional cross is brought into the nave at the beginning of the Divine Service. As catholic Christians, we do so because all of us readily admit that Jesus Christ is both Lord & King, and we demonstrate that reality with the way we change out posture.
Christ is our King, but what exactly does that mean? As citizens in a democratic republic, I am not certain that we have a feel for what rule under a king is like. On the other hand, perhaps we might be able to better understand a king who does not come from this world; because we don't have all the negative baggage that usually comes with kings who DO come from this world.
The emphasis of the readings for this feast on Jesus' rule is certainly clear. Yet at the same time, the Gospel seems strange for this last Sunday of the church year that we call Christ the King Sunday.It's about Jesus' trial before Pilate; and while most Kings do not stand trial, there are some notable exceptions: Louis XVI of France & Charles I of England both stood trial and were were beheaded.
The King we claim to honor in our worship this day is the Church's Head, and He too was put on trial and executed. Many modern American Christians -perhaps you are among them- still try Him in their rejection of submission to any churchly or worldly authority. After all, we are free...or so some think.
But we acknowledge the reign of XC as King, and in the Gospel we have the paradoxical paring of Jesus on trial; with an emphasis upon His Kingdom! , ‘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 to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.'
In John's gospel, three of the five times in which the word "Kingdom" is used are in vs.36. Throughout the trial itself, the idea of Jesus being a king occurs 10 times! We know that when Jesus had arrived in Jerusalem for the Passover, the people had hailed him as king.
If He is a king, then He sure has a strange way of showing it! We know the verdict to His trial! Like the kings of France and England mentioned earlier, Jesus of Nazareth was condemned and put to death: crucified!
Let us recall the taunts while he hung upon the cross: "IF you are the King of the Jews..." That charge of being "king of the Jews" is included in all four gospels. So we may wonder, just what kind of King is this, and what kind of rule? The Revelation of Saint John presents our King as an autocrat, for He is described there as the "ruler of kings on earth."
Our first reading from Daniel is even more explicit in its description:
14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
It all sounds impressive & assuring, but it's not what we see....at least not now. We who confess Jesus Christ as our King see a world that rejects his good & gracious rule. We see the daily news with it's random violence and & find ourselves fearfully looking for more competent " saviors." But let us understand that Jesus' rule is a different thing altogether! For when Pilate asks: What have you done?' Jesus sidesteps the question and doesn't really give an answer: ‘My kingdom is not from this world.' Pilate didn't get it! He knew what kings did & did not do. As Roman Procurator of Judea, it was his job to make certain that no one challenged Caesar's authority, and so his ideas about kings & Kingdoms were rooted in this world! They were grounded upon the world's love of influence and power seen in money and military force.
Yet Pilate's question was of the wrong sort. The real issue was not what Jesus had done, but rather His identity, His origin and what He would do before that day's end.
We who confess Christ as God may well conclude that His kingdom on earth is autocratic, but this Gospel forces us to admit that His rule is not secured or kept in power here by divine force. If we are to talk about Jesus' power, well..it's unlike that held by any other king on earth. Jesus rule, His use of power is hidden in the cross! That's His very throne! Thorns were His crown and nails his scepter, and the glory & splendor of His Kingdom is seen in a self-giving love displayed in the sacrificial offering of Himself! The righteous for the unrighteous; the sinless for sinners; the King for subjects who put Him on trial!
Jesus' Kingdom here on earth is ruled by grace; a kind of love that none of us deserves, but that God abundantly offers! And it is found only on the cross, for there alone does Jesus triumph and reign over our real enemies: sin, death & devil! Of such enemies Pilate had NO clue! Do we? How do we esteem or measure Jesus' Kingdom rule?
Would we find worldly political power in XC our King? Many want political signs of success through majority votes at congregational meetings, and District or Synod assemblies.
Or perhaps we see Jesus reign in big, mega-church crowds with balanced budgets, building programs & exciting worship? Those things have the support of the people!
But our King gives a resounding "NO" to all such human desire for control & power. "My kingdom is not from here.' We who live by faith will eventually get to see His Kingdom come. "and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him."
So, we can bow now, in reverence to His divine mercy for our salvation, or we will bow then, when He comes again in power & glory. He desires the former.