Past Sermon

Sermon Title: "Thy Kingdom Come "
Date: November 26, 2006
Minister: Rev. Charles E. Ensley, Jr.

Lesson:  John 18:33-37

If real estate is all about “location, location, location,” then we may likewise consider the “setting” of today’s passage from John with keen interest.  We are reading it on the last Sunday of the Christian liturgical year, at the end of fifty-two Sundays of hearing about the work of God throughout history, in Israel, in the time of Jesus, and in the early church.  We’ve reflected on how we fit into that story and its purposes, even though we live in a very different place and a very different time.  And so we end the Christian year—if not the calendar year— as we should, acknowledging the One on the palm of whose hand our very names are written, and extending peace from the Jesus who is Lord not only over us but over every Caesar who claims otherwise.  Thus, the church has called this Sunday “Christ the King Sunday”, or, more recently “Reign of Christ Sunday.”

For some of us, this name may remind us uncomfortably of triumphalist Christianity, with memories of paintings of Jesus holding a sword and wearing armor and looking like one more late Roman or medieval warrior.  Each week, our church secretary Maureen asks me my sermon theme so she can select some appropriate clip art for the back page of the Carillon.  You should have seen some of this week’s choices!  One had Jesus wearing a bejeweled crown and highly decorated robe.  I said it made him look like one of the Wise Men.  “Christ the King Sunday” may remind us of “Onward, Christian Soldiers,” a beloved hymn, but one heavy on militaristic imagery, even though it was written as a Sunday School marching song in England in the mid-19th century.  It may remind us of times such as the Crusades when “Christ the King” meant that we should kill anyone who disagreed with us, and, as long as we’re at it, keep their land, too.  But this is a version of Christianity that has frightened many right out of the more rigid, fundamental churches, and some of those have returned to United Church of Christ congregations, hoping that somewhere here, in all of that, there is hope and a better understanding of Jesus’ compassionate love and mercy.

Let us look a bit closer at today’s dramatic interchange between one who as governor claimed to have control over all within his kingdom, and One who claimed his power came not of this world.

Jesus was charged with treason against the Emperor.  For people said Jesus claimed to be “King of the Jews.”  So, Pilate put the question to him.  Jesus responded, not with words of power, but words of truth.

What does it mean to be a king?  Is it the old model of absolute power?  Or is it Christ’s leadership of service?  These questions are the essence of Pilate’s and Jesus’ dialogue.

As Roman governor of Judea, Pilate was both judge and jury in capital cases.  His question was direct:  “Do you claim to be king of the area I govern in the name of Caesar?”  An affirmative answer would have sealed the fate of Jesus, since he would be branded as a political revolutionary. (33)

But the phrase “King of the Jews” had a spiritual meaning that might have escaped Pilate.  To probe Pilate’s understanding, Jesus answers a question with a question, and he was a master at this:  “Who are your witnesses about me?”  Dismissing Jesus’ question, Pilate retorts by pressing his point:  “What have you done?”  In other words, Pilate wants a direct witness from the source Himself, not from his accusers. (34-35)

Jesus responds with a speech about his arena, in other words, “his kingdom”.  Jesus’ arena is not that of popular culture or politics; if it was there would be a bloody revolution. (36)

Pilate still presses the point:  “You are a king, aren't you?”  Jesus gives in on a semantic point (“You’re the one who says so, Pilate”) but finally gives Pilate a direct witness:  Jesus speaks the truth.

How does the truth Jesus speaks and the truth the “world” speaks differ?  The truth of the world is transient in nature; it changes with the season and the political landscape.  It speaks to ambition and power, to possessions and pleasure.  The truth of the world is, at best, shallow.

But the truth Jesus speaks is one of the heart.  The truth of Jesus is more than facts; it is one of fidelity.  God is “true” to us; that means, he is faithful.  God shows us his fidelity through his Son and the power of his Spirit.  When we are true to God in return, we “live in truth” (that is, in relationship).  Since God is eternally faithful, God’s truth goes beyond the transient nature of politics, fad, and fashion.

There are many who talk of their faith in an attempt to advance their career, especially in politics, but also in church circles.  Sometimes the truth they espouse in Jesus’ name is not always the truth they live by in their behind-the-scenes political maneuverings, or in their own personal lives.

I have always been intrigued when saying the Lord’s Prayer by that phrase:  “Thy kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven.”  To me, that suggests that while Jesus’ power and authority may have come from his heavenly Father above, his kingdom is to be in and of this world as we live and experience it in our day-to-day lives.  Do we make God’s kingdom come here on Earth, as it apparently already is in heaven?

Why wait until heaven?  Don’t we want to live here and now as if Christ were present among us?  Do we deal and interact with other church members as if Christ’s kingdom has come here on Earth?  Are our encounters with bank tellers, receptionists and fast food cashiers, as well as our business dealings in much more formalized situations ones in which we would not be ashamed to have Jesus standing next to us? 

Reign of Christ Sunday coming just a week before we prepare for Christ coming again in the seasons of Advent and Christmas is a divine stroke of ecclesiastical scheduling.  The Christ on whose reign we focus this Sunday is the same one who birth we begin to celebrate next Sunday.

When you walk out of here today, and go back tomorrow morning to the classroom or the board room or your cubicle, or even if you work via telephone and computer from home, you will be questioned, challenged, perhaps even accused.  Do not fear.  At the front of my calendar, I clip this old preacher’s greeting to a new day:  “Lord, help me remember that nothing is going to happen to me today that You and I together can’t handle.”

Do not fear.  Jesus has been there.  He has been in every situation you’ve ever faced.  He has faced this world and all of the world’s accusations and he has triumphed.  Jesus reigns.