CHRIST THE KING (B) John 18:33b-37

Transcription

1 CHRIST THE KING (B) John 18:33b-37 Our Scripture passage comes from the Gospel of John 18:33b-37. In this extraordinarily profound scene we read about the kingship of Jesus proclaimed in the context of our Lord's dialogue with Pilate. This passage offers some import ant insights into what it means for us to be the Lord's loyal and faithful subjects. One of the first things to notice about this passage is how quickly the trial of Jesus actually turns into the trial of Pilate! This change in perspective is accomplished by the initial exchange of questions between Our Lord and the Roman Procurator. Pilate begins by asking Jesus a simple and objective question: ''.Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus responds by challenging Pilate with a personal question: "Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?" The Gospel of John contains several moments when Jesus asks questions, and all of these occasions represent ongoing causes of reflection and discernment for the Christian life. These questions began with Jesus' inquiry of Andrew and another disciple (Jn 1:38) and continue throughout the Gospel. Each of these questions is meant to clarify and focus our faith as disciples just as it did with the faith of those to whom Jesus first addressed them. In this passage our Lord is asking Pilate to decide between a faith that is based on hearsay (what others have told him about Jesus) and a faith that is based on personal encounter and response (what he can say about Jesus on his own). Pilate has heard a lot about Jesus, but this is the moment when he meets Jesus for the first time and our Lord is offering him the relationship of faith. For this reason it is really the trial of Pilate rather than the trial of Jesus because the question to be resolved is how Pilate will respond to this opportunity: whether he will remain distant from Jesus and limit his knowledge to objective titles of faith or whether he will enter into a personal relationship with the Lord and make His own profession of faith. As the story unfolds we see Pilate distance himself from the Lord by stating the source of His knowledge as being that of others ("your own nation and the chief priests"). Pilate further demonstrates his distance from Jesus by insisting that our Lord answer his question (Are you the King of the Jews?) rather than following the discussion Jesus has initiated (His Kingdom is not of this world). That reluctance of Pilate to follow Jesus in the conversation can be symptomatic of a mistaken discipleship in which we sometimes expect Jesus to follow our lead rather than following the Lord's lead. As disciples today, we inherit a great tradition of faith and benefit from what others have told us about Jesus. Like Pilate, we are called to make these objective statements of faith our own in a subjective (personal) commitment to the Lord. While our personal relationship is always guided and informed by objective statements, it is the subjective encounter with Jesus that animates and makes concrete those statements. Being a disciple isn't just a matter of knowing what others have said about Jesus, it also requires that we make those statements our own and in doing so, recognize and respond to the presence of the Lord Who is active and present in each moment of our lives. That responsive ness and obedience is what it means to be a loyal subject of Christ the King. The Saints give great examples of what it looks like when a disciple integrates objective statements of faith into a personal (subjective) response to Jesus Christ. Pilate gives us an example of what happens when we resist such integration. 1

2 What have other people told you about Jesus? What can you say about Jesus from your own life experience? When have you felt like you were on trial for your faith and how did you do? In what ways are we tempted to set the agenda for our prayer? How might you seek God's agenda for your prayer? Jesus responds to Pilate's question by speaking about the nature of His Kingdom rather than His identity as a King. In all four Gospels there is a high frequency of royal language in the Passion accounts which indicates that this moment serves as our Lord's most explicit Lk 23:2, 3, 37, 38; Jn 18:33, 37, 39; Jn 19:3, 12, 14, 15). Although John's Gospel does not have many references to the Kingdom of God, the Kingship of Jesus has already been introduced and alluded to in previous chapters (see Jn 1:49 and 6:15, 12:13). When we study John's rare references to the Kingdom of God, we find that both of them are in the context of our Lord's conversation with Nicodemus in John 3:3 and John 3:5. This use of the same term ("Kingdom") means that the conversation with Nicodemus and the trial before Pilate (Jn 18 and Jn 3) should be read together so as to give a deeper understanding to the dialogue now taking place with the Roman Procurator. In the conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus specified that those who wish to enter the Kingdom of God must be born again of water and the Spirit. This process involves both a visible and an invisible action and suggests the moment of Baptism when a per son is incorporated into the Body of Christ, the Church. Jesus has made no other reference to the Kingdom in John's Gospel until He stands before Pilate. This tells us that our Lord's pending Passion, Death, and Resurrection (Paschal Mystery) not only continues the conversation with Nicodemus, but actually fulfills it. The Spirit that regenerates humanity through the Sacrament of Baptism will be handed over by Jesus from the Cross and entrusted to the new born Church (Jn 19:30) gathered to Him at that moment (Jn 12:32) The Cross is the saving event Jesus described to Nicodemus when He spoke of that faith which would give eternal life (Jn 3:14-15). Beginning with the instruction of the Mother of Jesus at the Wedding in Cana (2:5) and continuing throughout John's Gospel, John the Evangelist has repeatedly described the necessary relationship between the internal and external manifestation of faith for a disciple: namely, what a person believes interiorly must be lived out in their actions (see Jn 10:27-28 Jn 14:15, 21, 23 Jn 15:5, Jn 15:7-8 Jn 15:14, Jn 21:15-17). Such integrity between faith and action is what it means to be a loyal subject of the Kingdom of God. Therefore, to be a loyal subject of Christ the King and part of His Kingdom requires both an internal experience of faith and love for God as well as an external transformation of life conforming us to the will of God. This integrated and committed act of faith is what brings us into an abiding relationship with Jesus and the Father and that relationship is eternal life. Jesus' response to Pilate cautions us, however, to realize that while His Kingdom is present in the world through the lives of faithful disciples, His Kingdom is never something that is "of" the world. Rather, His Kingdom is always from above and is a gift of the Father through the Son and in the Spirit. This caution is to prevent us from thinking that we are ever the origin of the Kingdom or that the Kingdom receives its authority and success through our efforts. We can only cooperate with God's reign in our lives but we are never the authors of it. 2

3 Jesus demonstrates in His own Passion and Death what it means to live a life that is completely conformed to the will of the Father. He is the King of Love who reigns supremely and principally from the Cross of Calvary. For this reason, it is on the Cross that Pilate actually proclaims Jesus as the Universal King of the known world by giving Him the title "King of the Jews" in the three major languages of ancient civilization; that is, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew (see Jn 19:19-20). Disciples must have the eyes of faith that can recognize Jesus as our King in this moment and the obedience of spirit to imitate His love as a faithful member of our Lord's Kingdom. Disciples must also have the integrity of faith to not only hear our Lord's voice but to follow Him with a life conformed to His teaching. The Kingdom of Jesus stands in stark contrast to the kingdoms of this world which tempt us to pursue only what has meaning in our limited experience of the current moment; it is both necessary and difficult to recognize and dismiss our attachment to any earthly desire that tries to influence our decisions or actions and to seek a life of sacrificial selfless love even as Jesus witnessed it for us on Calvary. It is in light of these insights that we must ask the question: Is Jesus really our King and are we truly His loyal subjects? If someone were to put you on trial for being a citizen of the Kingdom of God, what evidence could they put forth? How does the kingship of Jesus over both the internal and external dimensions of your life challenge you? In Baptism we become a member of Christ's body. How does this truth inspire and challenge your discipleship when you see the Body of Christ on a Crucifix? The final element of this passage offered for our reflection concerns our Lord's statement that truth is the motivating purpose for His birth, mission, and witness. In order to understand what Jesus is saying we have to recall how truth has already been used in relationship to Jesus in the Gospel of John. We were first told in John 1:14 that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and the Word was full of "grace and truth''. A few verses later in John 1:17 it states that we receive from Jesus the "grace and truth" which He embodies. This phrasing is important because it relates to the two qualities of God in Exodus 34:6-7. Thus, John is telling us from the beginning of his Gospel that Jesus is the presence of God among us and that we have access to the life, truth, and grace of God through Him. That is the reason for Jesus' birth: To reveal God, who is love, so that we can be in eternal communion with Him. The question that remains concerns how Jesus will accomplish this mission. As the Gospel unfolds we are reminded that truth is a fundamental element of Jesus' mission. We see these reminders in the description of John the Baptist's ministry (Jn 5:33) and in our Lord's statement when He identified Himself as the "Way, the Truth, and the Life" (Jn 14:6). Truth, then, is not an intellectual concept or proposition to which we assent. Truth is first and fore most a person: the presence of God incarnate in Jesus Christ. The mission of Jesus, the reason for His birth, is to reveal the truth of God's love for the world and in doing so to make God known to all people. The dialogue before Pilate indicates that the moment of Jesus' ultimate revelation of truth has begun: He is about to bear full 3

4 witness to God, who is love, so that the truth of God can be revealed to the world. This witness will take place on the Cross of Calvary, and that is why Jesus' final words in John's Gospel (Jn 19:30) are a proclamation that the reason for His birth, mission and witness are now "finished" (the Greek term tetelestai more properly means "accomplished, perfected, or fulfilled"). Our Lord's revelation of God's love is offered to everyone, including Pilate. The question remains as to how each of us will respond to this great gift and invitation. Jesus knows that not every one will accept His truth, and for that reason He goes on to say that everyone who does belong to truth listens to His voice. The act of "listening" means more than just hearing; it means to respond with acceptance and obedience. This is an important statement because it connects the interior act of believing ("belongs to the truth") with an exterior conformity of life ("listens to my voice"). The text of 1 John 3:18-19 reminds us of this necessary connection between belief and practice when we are cautioned to love not only in word or speech but indeed and truth. It is only by the conformity of our life to the voice of Jesus that we can truly know if we belong to the truth of God's love. Jesus is the only one who can reveal the true nature of God because He alone knows God since He has come from above (see Jn 3:31, Jn 5:19 and Jn 8:26). In the verses that follow this passage we read of Pilate's dis missal of Jesus' witness when he says, "What is truth? (Jn 18:38). Jesus has offered Pilate the same invitation He offers us: to accept that truth of God, which is eternal and from above. Pilate responded by dismissing our Lord's offer of revelation and rejecting truth as an eternal reality. In doing so, Pilate demonstrates that attitude present in our own world, which rejects any claim to objective truth in favor of subjective opinions. For Pilate, a decision (or judgment) does not need to be based on the objective revealed truth of right and wrong but can be made according to the subjective goal of whatever is the most expedient or profitable solution to a momentary problem. We see Pilate demonstrating this rejection of truth when he declares Jesus innocent (Jn 18:38) yet allows our Lord's fate to be determined by the unjust public opinion of the crowd. Pilate doesn't want a world that is governed by revelation and subject to God's values; instead, he wants a world that is self-determined where right and wrong can change according to the fickle whims of human desire. Such a world is fundamentally opposed to the revelation of Jesus who offers Himself as the only "Way, Truth, and Life''. This choice for self-determination and self-definition of right and wrong demonstrates not only the unbelief of Pilate but is a caution for all disciples to consciously avoid these same tendencies in our secular world and culture. By turning away from the invitation Jesus offered, Pilate condemned himself. We cannot remain indifferent to our Lord's claim that He Himself is the embodiment of the eternal truth of God. We must either accept that claim and choose to live by it, or we will reject it in favor of self-determination and self-definition based on the expediency of each situation. It is our response to the truth of Jesus that will determine whether we pass the trial of faith or not. When Pope Pius XI established the Feast of Christ the King, he stated, "When once men recognize, both in private and in public life, that Christ is King, society will at last receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony. 4

5 What forms of liberty, order, peace, and harmony do we try to establish in today's society without appealing to the objective truth of God's revelation? How do these values differ from Jesus' values? Which values in today's society could help realize the ideals of God's Kingdom? How can you promote the blessings of liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace, and harmony in your own personal life, family, and faith community? What is the truth about God that you most appreciate when you see a Crucifix? 5