Fellowship United Methodist Church (Troy MI)

Just by being who he is, Jesus sits in judgment on those who think they are sitting in judgment on him. (See: Pulpit, 2009, p 34)

We are self-made people and thereby we have saved God the trouble. From the records of the number of people who vote, we don't even want a president and certainly wouldn't know what to do with a king. It's the control that we don't want a king to have over us.

Pontius Pilate was a representative of the domineering forces of the Caesar of Roman rule. The citizenry had only the freedom that he allowed. That wasn't much. Among his duties was the responsibility to put down any threat to Rome. Diplomacy and negotiation was not their method. It was brutish power.

Governments of all kinds, democratic or autocratic, are constantly in a state of looking for opportunities to expand territory, or their control. Governments understand visible boundaries and well-trained armies. Governments do not understand the kingdom of God and Jesus as King. Pilate did not understand why the Jews would hand over their king to him. Even though he was in charge of the area, he was down the ladder a few rungs from Caesar. He never did get it completely, even though there is evidence that he knew he had done something wrong by allowing Jesus to be treated the way he was. We would like to believe the inscription "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" that was placed on the cross was evidence of his belief in Jesus. It is just as likely that it was a bureaucrat mocking the Jews and displaying his power over them. It would have looked good on his resume that he was able to conquer and destroy an upstart challenger to Rome.

Apparently the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane had some confusion about their being in Jerusalem for something other than the Passover. It is rather certain that others besides Peter would have had a weapon of some sort hidden beneath their cloaks. Jesus informed Pilate that had his kingdom been of this world he would have given the word to his followers to join the battle against the soldiers who came to arrest him. Can you imagine the consternation of those men when Jesus ordered Peter to put away his weapon? On top of that, he reattached the ear of the enemy.

They didn't understand that the kingdom of God is not of this world. Neither do we. Christians continually rationalize the right to go to war to defend Christian principles. There can be no such thing as a "Holy War". War cannot be holy. There is no place in holiness for war. It has taken me a long time to come to that position. When we could go to town on Saturday afternoon and could afford the 5 cents for a movie, we saw either cowboys shooting people or we saw war propaganda of World War II. It becomes a part of your psyche to believe in that stuff. There is no magic potion that will remove it in an instant.

There have been a couple of instances in my life that helped me toward my present position. The house we lived in most of the time while we were in the Philippines was at the end of a two-track lane with weeds higher than my head on each side. Taxi drivers would not often drive in there at night for fear of getting robbed. When we had a jeep I began carrying a hammer between the seats. Then I got a bolo, a long knife that most Filipinos carried. It was for my protection, I rationalized. Crime was rampant. One day I looked at that knife and realized that I would not use it on anyone. It was removed from the Jeep.

The other incident came when we bought our house in East Detroit in 1971. The previous owner had left a shotgun in the garage. I had to make a decision about that gun. One day, a brother from Arkansas came to visit. I gave him the gun for hunting. He had heard about the reputation of Detroit as the Murder Capitol of the World. He was grateful for the gift to use for hunting but he protested that I should keep it for protection. My response was that I wouldn't use it to shoot anyone and therefore there is no need to provide them with a weapon to use on me.

The Kingdom of God is not of this world and therefore the people in it are not like the people who have foremost allegiance to the kingdoms of this world.

In a world of deceit and lies it is difficult to know what truth is. We are accustomed to hearing what is the expedient thing at the moment. What we are told as being true today may not be the same tomorrow.

It is not easy to go beyond our senses to get to the truth that came to earth in the form of Jesus the Christ. It is a leap of faith to believe that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever when everything around us is in a state of transition. It is difficult for us to believe that Jesus of Nazareth, in the days of the Caesars, would be the same truth to us.

The truth of Jesus is that it never varied while he lived on this earth and it hasn't wavered since. It is the truth that Jesus came into the world to save sinners. It is truth that it is through him that we find our way to God. When his days were drawing to a close he informed the disciples that he was the way, the truth and the life. It took them a while, but they began to give witness to the truth they had experienced in his presence. Through the ages, men and women have also given their testimony about their encounters with the truth that came in Jesus the Christ. The writer of the Gospel of John said that Jesus was full of grace and truth. When all else is shifting like the sands by the seashore, the truth of Jesus is more steady that a rock.

A common salutation among Christians was to offer grace and peace from Jesus the Christ.

Grace is the unearned favor of God. Jesus was in the flesh the favor of God upon all human kind. God lived among human kind as a living proof that even while we are in our sins, God forgives us. To forgive before it is asked is grace. To provide the means of forgiveness is grace. To be forgiving when forgiveness is not wanted is grace.

It is likely that each one of us have felt violated by another person or persons. It could have been an insult, or gossip, or they stole something from us. It is very likely that in each instance we wanted to do something to that person, or persons, in return. That would be the most common human response. Forgiveness is not an easy thing. It is especially difficult to forgive when the person, or persons, show no remorse nor do they ask for forgiveness. We want to “teach them a lesson.” I suggest the way to teach them a lesson is to forgive them.

At Christmas time we especially talk about the peace of Christ. It seems to me that at the end of our Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion service when there is no more shopping that can be done, when most, if not all, the gifts are wrapped and placed under the tree, after the singing has been done, when the readings and the speaking has been finished, when the lights have been dimmed and we have sung the last stanza of "Silent Night" and the candles are aglow, every fiber of our collective beings seems to be filled with peace. It is not just the absence of hostility; it is an active prayer for the best good to all humanity everywhere. But, to our dismay, that feeling of peace lasts no longer than the flicker of the candle that will soon be extinguished.

In Christ there is a sense of peace beyond all human understanding. When all of our being comes to terms with the self and with God, there is peace. Maybe we could say it is a harmony with everything that is and with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

The church calendar ends with this Sunday – Christ the King Sunday. On this day, we remind ourselves that Christ is King. Christ was there before anything was; Christ came to be among the living things – the creation. Christ rose from the dead as a guarantee that we too will find our ultimate place in eternity in the company of God.

Christ is a king who expects allegiance to him above all other powers and principalities.

Pilate thought he was in charge of what was going on. He had Jesus crucified on the cross. But that cross became the throne of Jesus. They thought they were in charge when they buried him in the tomb and sealed it with a big rock. Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead.

RESOURCES: The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol 8; The Communicator's Commentary, Vol. 4; Barclay, The Daily Study Bible Series, The Gospel According to John, Vol. 2 & The Revelations of John, Vol. 1; Preaching The Revised Common Lectionary, Year B, After Pentecost 2; Homiletics, Vol. 3, No. 4 & Vol. 6, No. 4; Pulpit Resources (1994) Vol. 22, No. 4 & (1997) Vol. 25, No. 4 & (2000) Vol 28, No. 4 & (2003) Vol. 31, No. 4 & (2009) Vol. 37, No. 4; Emphasis, (2003) Vol. 33, no. 4 & Dynamic Preaching, Vol 9, No. 11; Robinson, A Cup Running Over; Holmes, When Trouble Comes; Carter, No Box Seats in the Kingdom; Kolsti, Spectators or Sentinels; Albertin, Against the Grain - Words For A Politically Incorrect Church; My Sermon, "Living in Two Worlds" 11-24-91 & 11-20-94 & “Is Jesus Your King” 11-23-97 (from which I borrowed extensively)

Nov. 1	Isaiah 25:6-9; Psalm 24; Revelation 21:1-6a; John 11:32-44
Nov. 8	Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17; Psalm 127 or 42; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44
Nov. 15	1 Samuel 1:4-20; 1 Samuel 2:1-10 or Psalm 113; Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25; Mark 13-1-8
Nov. 22	2 Samuel 23:1-7; Psalm 132: 1-12; John 18:33-37; Revelation 1:4b-8
Nov. 29	Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25:1-10; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36