‘[Jesus said] whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’
Matthew 25:40
Brothers and sisters, there once lived a man, a good youngish man, a man regarded by many ordinary folks as their saviour, a king amongst men. He seemed to do good things, had compassion; especially for the poor and disadvantaged. He fought against political pressures and evil and stood up to his enemies and they had to retreat. His authority was recognised and respected, although only grudgingly in some quarters. He had many followers and supporters, especially his inner circle of men. Crowds followed him wherever he went. If a town or city knew he was coming, they would make lavish preparations and could not wait to hear what he had to say. But after only three years into his mission, he was brutally executed. It was the actions of one man who brought him down, a fellow citizen, a man whose name will forever be notorious in history. Shortly after his act of treachery, he himself died a violent death. The world as people knew it, changed from that day on. Of course you know the man to whom I am referring, it is obviously… John F Kennedy, President of the United States of America, who was assassinated 61 years ago last Friday, on 22/11/63 in Dallas, Texas, by Lee Harvey Oswald, who was himself assassinated a few days later by one Jack Ruby. Oh, did you all think I was talking about somebody else? Another man who was regarded as a saviour and had similar qualities? Maybe you were thinking I was referring to Jesus of Nazareth!? Ah, I can see where you’re coming from! You see, Pilate had the same trouble when he was faced with deciding Jesus’ fate. His understanding of a king was similar to yours. Here before Pilate was a man revered by many as their saviour and as a King. Yet he had no army, no obvious power, none of the trappings of a king…no wealth, women; lands. If he was a king, who were his subjects? How had he become a king?
Kings ruled with absolute authority and took without asking; kings could be ruthless; you wouldn’t get anywhere by being soft on your enemies. Yet this Jesus troubled Pilate. “So you are a king?” He was desperate to find a way to release Jesus, because Jesus troubled him. In fact Pilate’s wife had dreams about Jesus and warned Pilate to have nothing to do with “this man.’ Troubled Pilate might well be - and for good reason. Because this Jesus was a king, is a king, and always has been. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Lord Almighty." Even more puzzling, Jesus says to Pilate, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.” Okay, so Pilate had heard about the miracles and the teachings and how this man had sided with sinners and the poor and afflicted.but that behaviour was hardly the actions of a king!? No wonder Pilate was bemused and troubled. What makes someone a king in our eyes? Our King Charles inherited the title from his mother Queen Elizabeth, as did she from her father and so on right back to William the Conqueror. We tend to apply worldly values to people who impress us with their charm, personality; wealth and the means to get things done. President Kennedy wasn’t a king; he didn’t inherit his presidency; he was elected by the people. Yet for many Americans, he was regarded as royalty. They don’t have monarchs in the USA, but he came as close to being one in their eyes as you could get. Was he the kind of truth Pilate was seeking after? Looking at the kings and queens in today’s world, would we prefer to follow them instead of Jesus Christ? Which would we prefer, a Kennedy style king, with all the faults of a fallible human being, or the who came as our servant, our friend and saviour, in order that we may believe in him and accepting him as our king, to gain eternal life?
When I spoke at the beginning, I assumed, and probably rightly, that you all thought I was talking about Jesus at first. I worded it deliberately to demonstrate how we must beware of false Gods and idols. In 1963 when I was ten years old, John F. Kennedy was a great hero of mine, but he was nothing like perfect! He was a womaniser for a start, and was a shrewd manipulative politician as well. Yet he epitomised the character of a leader that people followed and believed in. And in a bizarre way, in America right now, Donald Trump is being heralded in the same way by his followers - but trust me, he is no king! And let us remember that the kingdoms of this world are temporary and usually come crashing down one way or another (Persian empire, Roman empire, Ottoman Empire, British empire!?). Jesus’ kingdom on the other hand, when he returns to claim it for his own, will be a new creation, where the faithful will live in peace forever. When Jesus replied to Pilate and talked about his kingdom, Jesus implicitly acknowledged that he was indeed a king, although he didn’t use those actual words.
Only kings have kingdoms, but Pilate couldn’t understand the concept of the Kingdom of Heaven. Bizarrely, let us not forget that Pilate commanded the title, “King of the Jews” was to be nailed at the head of the cross, even if he didn’t understand the real irony! What are we to make of this strange kingdom where wealth in human terms is unknown and the king is a servant of all? It sounds very much like a contradiction in terms, as after all “King” is opposite to “servant.” How is it possible to have a king who washes feet and who cares nothing for earthly power? And how and why do millions of people follow him? Perhaps the secret lies in the crucifixion. For Jesus, only one thing mattered – to remain in the most intimate and perfect relationship with God. Against that, nothing else was important. He was prepared to give up his life, to die, rather than move away from doing God’s will. But it was through that death that Jesus really came into his own. He discovered a new and different and glorious life, a kingdom life. And that’s what he promises again and again for us, his followers. “Don’t worry about earthly power or wealth or anything else,” he urged. “Do as I have done. Be prepared to die, to let your safe and comfortable and secure life go, in order to stay close to me.”
“Take up your cross and follow me, for those who lose their life will find it, while those who try to cling onto wealth and power and comfort and security and all those other very human things, will lose the only thing that matters – the kingdom.”
Today as we celebrate the feast day of Christ the King, let’s not forget what sort of a king we’re celebrating. Some hymns we sing today want us to focus on Jesus the King and ruler of all sitting in heaven attended by angels and about to return to earth in power and glory. As appropriate as that is, I would suggest, that we don’t forget to focus on Jesus, the servant of all, humble, yet somehow powerful in his humility and servant role. We do well to remember that the King we follow is very much a servant king – a king with no wealth, no possessions, no human power. A King whose life on earth was lived in the love of his father God, who gave everything for us. A risen Lord Jesus whose eternal spirit is everywhere, within us, around us, always there to nourish, guide and forgive us. He claims his royal authority over our hearts.A king who came to earth with nothing: born in a stable among animals. A king who died on a cross. A king who longs to reign in our hearts and bless us with his presence.
Soon we will prepare to remember the coming of our king into the world as an infant, as we enter into the Sundays of Advent. Born into a world of violence, greed and poverty. A world of oppression and sin. If Jesus was born again today, let’s face it; he would be entering a world that is no different to the one he came into the first time around! What is truth Pilate asked Jesus? It is the same question we must ask. Is it true that this child born in a stable could turn out to be the saviour and redeemer of the world? Is he the truth we are seeking in our lives? Dare we make him the king of our hearts and minds? I truly hope so, for his kingdom rests on it. Amen. (from Fr Peter).