Word to the Wise
Sunday, November 24, 2024 - 34th or Last Sunday in Ordinary Time - B: The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King
[Dan 7:13-14; Rev 1:5-8; John 18:33b-37]"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty." [Revelations] Jesus answered [Pilate], "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]
The full liturgical title of this final Sunday in Ordinary Time is "Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe!" The title is long and a bit "showy" but it explains why Jesus and Pilate were talking on two different levels. Pilate was thinking of the emperor of the Roman Empire and Jesus was talking about all of creation! Pilate was being political, Jesus was being theological. Pilate's power was limited to the territory over which he was "Prefect." Jesus' power is over all creation - the "universe." "Time" and "space" are terms we humans use to orient ourselves - when and where! Jesus lived within that orientation for a brief period to save us but he was not ultimately subject to it, as his resurrection demonstrated!
After Jesus spoke the words quoted above about witnessing to the "truth," Pilate uttered his famous statement, "What is truth?" For Pilate, the truth was his position as Prefect. For Jesus, it is his position as "the Alpha and the Omega" - the beginning and the end! The real "truth" was facing Pilate but was beyond his understanding. That truth might be a challenge to any of us who are earthbound and not inclined to think beyond our planetary world - our space and time, our where and when. The "universe" is a term we throw at the stars! We use the image of "king" much in the way Pilate did - royalty and pomp and political power. But that image is a puny attempt to describe the "truth" that is Jesus.
Today is the last Sunday of Ordinary Time. Advent begins next weekend. The universe will disappear in favor of a small place on our planet in the MIddle East when we anticipate the human birth of the Alpha and the Omega! AMEN