Word to the Wise
Sunday, November 26, 2006 - Feast of Christ the King
[Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation 1:5-8; John 18:33b-37]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."
The feast of Christ the King is an ironic event. All four gospels indicate that Jesus did everything he could to avoid being identified as some kind of political leader. He repudiated any indication on the part of his followers that showed a notion of a worldly "kingdom." So, what do his followers do once he's gone? They set up a feast of Christ the King! In his dialogue with Pilate, Jesus makes it clear that "my kingdom does not belong to this world." As soon as he uses the word, "kingdom," Pilate, ever political, asks, "Then you are a king?" Jesus response to that leading question is to call attention to his mission and not to his title. Perhaps this offers us an opportunity to understand this feast in a new way. Is it the title or the mission that the term, "king," refers to? We have an expression in English: "a ruling passion." If a passion for God's truth is at the center of our lives, then Jesus may properly called our ruling passion. In that sense, he could be called a "king." In his ministry, he constantly pointed to "the kingdom of God," but not to some "king." The kingdom of God is one of justice, love and peace, as the Preface of Christ the King points out. Jesus leads the way in this. We follow as disciples. Pomp and circumstance have nothing to do with it - only the steady hard work of discipleship. AMEN