Fascists to the Left of Me, Communists to the Right…

This sermon was preached on Christ the King Sunday, November 21, 2021 based on John 18:33-37.

Jesus was pushed into the  room by one of the guards.  He looked tired.  For hours, the chief priest Ciaphas asked question after question after question. He had been up all night and wasn’t in the mood to have to do the same thing all over again with another leader, much less this particular leader.

He wanted to sit down, but the two guards wouldn’t allow it.  He even wanted to let out a sigh, but he knew if he did that, he would see blows to head from the guards.  

A door at the back of the room opened and revealed a stout man wearing a toga.  It was Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea.  He carried a disinterested look on his face.  Pilate had a reputation that went before him.  He was considered one of the most brutal of the governors.  He had already been recalled to Rome because his rule was so callous and brutal.  There was even talk that he might be recalled to Rome again because of his governance.  “Leave me,” he said to the guards. They nodded and walked to the side door to see themselves out.

Pilate looked at Jesus up and down with a sneer.  “So,” he said. “Are you the King of the Jews?”  HIs words dripped with sarcasm.  Jesus looks back at Pilate with a knowing glance. “Are you saying this on your own, or did others tell you this about me?” Jesus said this in a calm voice which seemed so out of place with the situation he was in.

A frown appeared on Pilate’s face. “Do I look like a Jew?” he spat. “Your people and your high priests turned you over to me. What did you do?”

Jesus replied calmly that his kingdom is not like everything you see in the room they were in, including Pilate. “I’m not the world’s kind of king.”

Pilate grew impatient. He didn’t have time for these games. “Are you a king or not?” he demanded.

“You tell me,” Jesus shrugged.  “Because I am King, I was born and entered the world so that I could witness to the truth. Everyone who cares for truth, who has any feeling for the truth, recognizes my voice.”

Welcome to Christ the King Sunday.  This is the last Sunday of the Church Year and it always takes place the Sunday before the first Sunday of Advent.  This is a pretty young holy day in the life of the church.  It was created just a century ago in 1925 by Pope Pius XI.  The pope was living in an interesting time in the aftermath of World War I. He saw some troublesome ideologies that were total in their practice.  Every aspect of a person’s life was supposed to be in service to the state under these ideologies.  Pius could look east and see new Soviet Union that was a communist nation where the state is everything and anything.  He could look around him in Vatican City and know that Italy was under the rule of the fascism of Benito Mussolini.  He could look to the North and see Germany as communists and fascists fought for control.  He realized he was living in dangerous times when rulers were seeking to be gods in the world. 

Our text today has Jesus facing Pilate, the governor of Judea.  Pilate represented the power of Rome.  He ruled for 10 years and historians believe he was a rather brutal ruler.  In fact he was such a merciless leader, Rome had to call him back twice.  He didn’t really care if Jesus was innocent or not, he just thought this was a good time to make fun of Jewish aspirations for self-rule.  Didn’t Jesus know who was in charge and who would always be in charge? He puts Jesus on the dock, expecting Jesus to answer his questions.  But Jesus never does.  He responds with questions or he responds in ways that make no sense.  Pilate is looking to put down one more revolutionary.  But Jesus was talking about a sense of power that was beyond Pilate’s understanding. Jesus boldly announces that his kingdom doesn’t have the trappings of power that Pilate and others are used to.  There is no pomp and circumstance. No armies.  It is a kingdom made up of some not-so-bright men and others that you might not want to hang around with. It is a kingdom made up of you and I, people who stumble into church late, who wonder at times if they will say the right words, the ones who feel that life outside this church is a disaster. 

Pilate thought he was questioning Jesus, who was a pretender to the throne.  In reality, it was the other way around.  Pilate is the pretender to the throne and Jesus is the one true king of all. While we are part of God’s kingdom, we are also standing in the place of Pilate as well.  Our loyalties at times can be divided.  We might say we worship God as king, Jesus as Lord, but our hearts are elsewhere.  We claim Jesus as king, but we might really serve the forces of nationalism.  We claim Jesus is Lord, but we worship what used to be called political correctness, lying in wait for someone to say the wrong thing or think the wrong thought.  We say God is our king, but we are in service to the political tribes in our increasingly tribal nation, seeing leaders on the left and the right as godly leaders and as tickets to worldly power. We might say we love God, but too often we are tempted by the rulers of this age.

Pope Pius saw that these ideologies of communism and fascism demanded total obedience when he knew that Christians must give their all not to the Stalins or Mussolinis of this world, but to Jesus Christ.  Every aspect of our life is under the rule of Jesus.  We don’t serve a Sunday only God.

Jesus is the King that is not like any other king.  This is the king that gives his life for others, giving up power to become a servant.  Jesus comes and breaks our definitions of what is and is not a king.  Jesus comes and asks us to follow and see him as our king in all aspects of our lives.

Jesus is Lord. That is a radical term.  In the early days of the church, it meant that Jesus was the King, the Emperor, and not whoever was in power.  Jesus was the true King over Ceasar or any other king.  

We enter Advent where we await the arrival of a different kind of king boy among farm animals. We wait for our Lord, our king that is more powerful than any king, prime minister or president. Jesus is Lord. Caesar is not.  That’s enough to wipe the smirk off the Pilates of this world. Thanks be to God. Amen.