“Christ Standing before Pilate, First Interview” by Tissot
Pilate said to Jesus,
"Are you the King of the Jews?"
Jesus answered, "Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?"
Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.
What have you done?"
Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not here."
So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?"
Jesus answered, "You say 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."
John 18:33-37
Homily
Back in October in the heat of the
presidential campaign I was scrolling down my Facebook page when I came upon
this simple posting: a crown and beneath it the words, “No matter who is
president, Jesus is king.” I reposted it with my comment that I would post it
again the day after the election. I thought that after that bitterly fought
election we would need a reminder of who really rules.
But the image that John gives us,
should make us think long and hard about this King and his kingdom. Jesus is
standing before Pilate. A Galilean carpenter, bound, standing before the
representative of the Roman emperor in all the splendor of his position.
Despite the appearances, Pilate is no match for Jesus even, if he does have the
power to condemn or release him. When asked what he has done to be handed over
Jesus replies,
"My kingdom does not belong to this
world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over.”
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over.”
In answering Pilate, Jesus says that
his kingdom is not of this world. It is a kingdom not fought for by means of
warfare. Rather, it testifies to truth. It will not kill
for the truth, it will die for it. If Jesus is king, he
will be a suffering king. He will not demand ransom. He will be
ransom. He will win, not by spilling the blood of others, but by offering
up his own.
“My kingdom does not belong to this
world.” Where is his kingdom then? The Kingdom of God is a condition. Its
symptoms are love, justice, and peace.”
“The Kingdom of God is within
us, for the word of God is in our mind, on our lips and in our heart.”
“It exists in every home where parents and
children love each other. It exists in every region and country, that
cares for its weak and vulnerable. It exists in every parish, that reaches out
to the needy.
“It happens whenever someone feeds a hungry
person, or shelters a homeless person, or shows care to a neglected
person. It happens whenever we overturn an unjust law, or correct an injustice,
or avert a war. It happens whenever people join in the struggle to overcome
poverty, to erase ignorance, to pass on the faith.
We are often warned in scripture that
we should disregard the ways of the world. This world glorifies
power, might, strength, wealth, and physical beauty. It despises weakness,
poverty, and that which is unattractive. We are constantly lulled and
lured by the world’s false promises that never really are
fulfilled.
The kingdom of God on the other hand
goes beyond
the superficial pettiness of this world to the depths of the heart. We recognize
in Jesus a kingliness that summons nothing less than the loyalty of a free
human heart. In our baptism we receive a share in the kingship of
Christ, the “lord of life" whose ambition is not to dominate humanity
but to save and serve it.
In this coming week may we be the ambassadors
of the King of kings proclaiming the Good News of his kingdom
to all we meet by our words and deeds.
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