Alright, I'll fess up. Jesus gave me a whuppin this time. I think I spent more time on this sermon than any other that I've ever preached. I rewrote it three times, got two people to proofread it, I even added some things in when I was up a-preachin, and still, it felt subpar to me. My thoughts: Christ the King Sunday was only an idea in 1925, which makes it way too contemporary for the church(read: BS reasoning which just vents frustration). Allow me to preach at you:
John 18:33-37 Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" 34 Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?" 35 Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" 36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." 37 Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that 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."
There’s a part of this reading that I get a little hung up on. Jesus replies to Pilate in his witty manner that if his kingdom were from this world, then his subjects would be fighting to keep him from being arrested. At the beginning of this chapter, you may recall, Peter grabs a sword and strikes the ear of the High Priest’s servant. Peter, from all accounts that I can gather, is a follower of Jesus and is trying to keep him from being arrested, so why, Jesus? Did you forget in the process of about 25 verses that Peter, a good disciple, was willing to do all that he could in order to save you from being arrested? Is Peter not one of your subjects?
In a humorous parody of the Terminator movies, the comedians at Mad TV made a poke that I think makes a serious point. The character pretending to be this futuristic machine made to look like a human travels back in time, to the first century, in order to protect Jesus. At the last supper, this machine takes out his shotgun and blasts Judas, so that he can’t betray Jesus. Jesus walks over to Judas and gives him a defibrillator-like shock and brings him back to life, and the terminator promptly pulls out his shotgun again and stops Judas. “Dang it!” Jesus yells, “Stop doing that! Don’t you see, this is necessary!” It may sound kind of funny, but I always thought that if I could go back in time, that’s exactly what I would want to do, and you might think this too. I would want to stop Jesus from dying, just like the fake terminator, just like Peter.
In the exchange between Jesus and Pilate we get an idea of the problem with the definition of Jesus as a king. Pilate is asking Jesus whether he is the King of the Jews, and if he is in fact the King of the Jews, why have his people dethroned him. We do a great disservice to ourselves and Christ as a whole here if we limit Pilate’s question to this small group of individuals in the first century. Certainly Pilate has this thought on his mind, though. Why are your people rebelling against you? How about that, why are your people rebelling against you? If that doesn’t make you shift in your seat a little bit, let me make sure that you understand who Jesus’ people are. We are the ones who have taken on the name of Christian. We are Jesus’ followers. We are the subjects of Jesus’ kingdom. Why are we rebelling against Jesus? What did we do to stop him from being arrested?
It would be fitting for a band of rebels to try and storm Pilate’s palace and try and rescue their king. That’s what Pilate would expect, and I think that’s what we would expect if we were captured. But that’s precisely the text on which I get hung up. If my kingdom were from here, that’s exactly what would happen. All of my subjects would come tearing down these walls and prevent me from being crucified, but that’s not how we do things in my kingdom. Preposterous! A nation that would not die trying to save its king?!?!
The temptation has always been in the church to leave Jesus to be king of Sundays. To let Jesus rule when all is happy and well, and say that when things are going poorly that things are tainted by humans, or by Satan. Let Jesus govern your lives for a few hours on a Sunday morning so that you can feel ok for a while, before heading back in to work the next day. Christ the King Sunday is meant to flip that around, to get us focused on the fact that God not only has a say in our life after death, but also in the way we relate to one another and the way we go about our business on this earth.
What I find remarkable in this story is that everything is part of the plan. The beating, the trial, the persecution, the rebellion, the worst that humanity can offer is all part of the plan for redemption. Is it so far of a stretch to imagine, then, that the plan for the kingdom is still in place today? I think it’s easier for some to imagine than others. After all, it’s easier when you are the CEO of a company to say that God has planned this all out, than to sit at the bedside of someone dying and say that the kingdom is here. But I think Jesus as King is an example of the latter situation. That Christ, laid aside his crown of glory and honor, and left his seat which sat perched above the world, and dove into it, picking up the crown of thorns, and becoming a new example of Christ the King. One that travels with us every step of our lives and not just on Sundays.
This exchange between Jesus and Pilate reminds me that God is in control. Everything seems completely out of whack, and despite my desires to try and find a way to rectify the wrong that has happened, to prevent Jesus from being arrested and killed, what I’m really doing is trying to take control, and tell God the way that I want things to be.
Jesus lets Pilate know that he came to bear the truth, and the truth is this, professing the love of God for all of creation. St. Augustine reminds us that Jesus did not say that his kingdom was not here, but that his kingdom was not from here. What that really means is that when Jesus humbled himself unto death on the cross, he became King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and not a King that would reign from a seat distant from his kingdom, but one that would be right in the middle of all the dirt and mud that happens to his people.
Christ is King of the good and bad in our lives. The temptation is to just let Christ be King on Sundays, when everything’s nice, but if we can get ourselves out of the way, and put our ideas of what the kingdom of God should be like aside, then we can realize that Jesus is King and in control of all that we do and all that we have and all that we are.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Sunday, November 19, 2006
A Quick Lesson on Equivocation...Sort of
A: Oh, vicar. How was Amy when you went to see her at the hospital today?
B's response either:
1) By the time I had arrived she was already gone.
2) When I got there she was already out.
3) She had left the hospital before I got there.
4) She was discharged and went home Sunday morning.
Here we note the importance of choosing words carefully. All of these answers actually say the same thing, and of course would be properly interpreted with an appropriate tone of voice. However, answer one could be interpreted as death. Answer two could be interpreted as: "Amy was already sleeping", or maybe that she was already being prepped for surgery. The third and fourth answers are a bit more clear, although they could both be stretched and interpreted to mean "put on hospice". And so, the final conclusion, which has been figured out by many before me(if you notice, everyone uses this response when asked how they are doing), but possibly not examined, is as follows:
A: Oh, vicar. How was Amy when you went to see her at the hospital today?
B: Good.
B's response either:
1) By the time I had arrived she was already gone.
2) When I got there she was already out.
3) She had left the hospital before I got there.
4) She was discharged and went home Sunday morning.
Here we note the importance of choosing words carefully. All of these answers actually say the same thing, and of course would be properly interpreted with an appropriate tone of voice. However, answer one could be interpreted as death. Answer two could be interpreted as: "Amy was already sleeping", or maybe that she was already being prepped for surgery. The third and fourth answers are a bit more clear, although they could both be stretched and interpreted to mean "put on hospice". And so, the final conclusion, which has been figured out by many before me(if you notice, everyone uses this response when asked how they are doing), but possibly not examined, is as follows:
A: Oh, vicar. How was Amy when you went to see her at the hospital today?
B: Good.
Monday, November 13, 2006
The Post to End All Posts
You would think that after waiting for over a month to post something that this meant all the humor, all the theological excellence, and all the witty wittiscisims I could muster would be compiled into one, concentrated, Super Post. Well, I aim to please so, after reading this post, just add water to your computer, and I guarantee you will have a reaction unlike any other.
Post Topics:
- Virginia Sucks
- Say Something Random, DJ
- Virginia Is the Best
- Why You Shouldn't Forward Emails to Me
- Virginia Sucks
- Why Religious Wars are Better than Football Rivalries
VIRGINIA SUCKS:
I swear, every time I look outside it looks like junk. It gets dark around 4:30 because we are on the East side of the Eastern Standard Timezone. It rains a whole heck of a lot more than they promised me it would. While I concede that Ohio may be bleaker more days of the year, I can only remember a handful of storms in my life that brought down trees. I've seen 3 here already in 3.5 months. Some they call hurricanes, some they call Nor'easters, some they call Friday.
SAY SOMETHING RANDOM, DJ:
I don’t know if I will ever answer what someone asks to their appeasement or to the satisfaction of God Almighty, but I will always be able to fill the silence following a question with words.
VIRGINIA IS THE BEST:
These people feed me. I don't mean invite to the house for a nice meal feed me, I mean professional chef cooking in our kitchen "gonna maka you some-a nice-a meat-a balls" feed me. Every Wednesday we have dinner here at the church, and I have yet to eat something that I have ever eaten in my entire life, except for a Savannah Shrimp Boat. And it's freakin good.
WHY YOU SHOULDN'T FORWARD EMAILS TO ME:
I fear for the people whose lives are in danger when these emails don't get sent. I have a bad(subjective judgment) habit of deleting those emails after I read them. I think so far I have been responsible for killing around 50 people including soldiers in Iraq, some kid with cancer in Vermont, and I think at some point, Jesus. So please, if you have any concern for these people in your hearts, let them live. However, if their lives depend on me forwarding their email, you better read them their last rites.
VIRGINIA SUCKS:
There are maybe 5 people who give a crap about the UM-OSU game. If we use Dr. Jim Childs' "concentric circles are good for everything" diagram, those five represent the inner core. There are people in that group that include UM grads and people with family that work at OSU, and one guy that wishes we could watch College Football on Easter. The next level are the marginally interested. I think there might be about 20-40 people. There's an even smaller group among this small group that are merely interested because I have told them how important this game is to me. Next is the larger group of people who think that the Big Ten is always overrated. You got your SEC fans, your ACC fans. I'll buy that the SEC is pretty solid this year, but the ACC fans need to wait until Bball gets in swing before I want to hear from them. I don't have an estimate for the number in this group, but it's the majority of sports fans here I think. Last but not least is the largest group, which is the people who just don't care. These are the ones that bug me the most. Why? Because these people don't exist in Toledo. Or if they do, they hide in a hole about this time of year. It's a sad day. I'd even settle for a "F- Michigan" yelled at the church if it meant a little more excitement. Now I'll go get geared up for the third "Game of the Century" this century.
WHY RELIGIOUS WARS ARE BETTER THAN FOOTBALL RIVALRIES:
Because religious fanatics kill people because they think it's right. Football fanatics "accidentally" kick the crap out of people. They certainly don't go on a killing tirade and say that they're "cleansing". So it's about intensity. In my attempt to pull together material for Sunday School, I came across these two pictures which I think sum it up quite nicely. I think the guy n the far right might be Mr. Wilson from Dennis the Menace. You gotta love Christianity:
Post Topics:
- Virginia Sucks
- Say Something Random, DJ
- Virginia Is the Best
- Why You Shouldn't Forward Emails to Me
- Virginia Sucks
- Why Religious Wars are Better than Football Rivalries
VIRGINIA SUCKS:
I swear, every time I look outside it looks like junk. It gets dark around 4:30 because we are on the East side of the Eastern Standard Timezone. It rains a whole heck of a lot more than they promised me it would. While I concede that Ohio may be bleaker more days of the year, I can only remember a handful of storms in my life that brought down trees. I've seen 3 here already in 3.5 months. Some they call hurricanes, some they call Nor'easters, some they call Friday.
SAY SOMETHING RANDOM, DJ:
I don’t know if I will ever answer what someone asks to their appeasement or to the satisfaction of God Almighty, but I will always be able to fill the silence following a question with words.
VIRGINIA IS THE BEST:
These people feed me. I don't mean invite to the house for a nice meal feed me, I mean professional chef cooking in our kitchen "gonna maka you some-a nice-a meat-a balls" feed me. Every Wednesday we have dinner here at the church, and I have yet to eat something that I have ever eaten in my entire life, except for a Savannah Shrimp Boat. And it's freakin good.
WHY YOU SHOULDN'T FORWARD EMAILS TO ME:
I fear for the people whose lives are in danger when these emails don't get sent. I have a bad(subjective judgment) habit of deleting those emails after I read them. I think so far I have been responsible for killing around 50 people including soldiers in Iraq, some kid with cancer in Vermont, and I think at some point, Jesus. So please, if you have any concern for these people in your hearts, let them live. However, if their lives depend on me forwarding their email, you better read them their last rites.
VIRGINIA SUCKS:
There are maybe 5 people who give a crap about the UM-OSU game. If we use Dr. Jim Childs' "concentric circles are good for everything" diagram, those five represent the inner core. There are people in that group that include UM grads and people with family that work at OSU, and one guy that wishes we could watch College Football on Easter. The next level are the marginally interested. I think there might be about 20-40 people. There's an even smaller group among this small group that are merely interested because I have told them how important this game is to me. Next is the larger group of people who think that the Big Ten is always overrated. You got your SEC fans, your ACC fans. I'll buy that the SEC is pretty solid this year, but the ACC fans need to wait until Bball gets in swing before I want to hear from them. I don't have an estimate for the number in this group, but it's the majority of sports fans here I think. Last but not least is the largest group, which is the people who just don't care. These are the ones that bug me the most. Why? Because these people don't exist in Toledo. Or if they do, they hide in a hole about this time of year. It's a sad day. I'd even settle for a "F- Michigan" yelled at the church if it meant a little more excitement. Now I'll go get geared up for the third "Game of the Century" this century.
WHY RELIGIOUS WARS ARE BETTER THAN FOOTBALL RIVALRIES:
Because religious fanatics kill people because they think it's right. Football fanatics "accidentally" kick the crap out of people. They certainly don't go on a killing tirade and say that they're "cleansing". So it's about intensity. In my attempt to pull together material for Sunday School, I came across these two pictures which I think sum it up quite nicely. I think the guy n the far right might be Mr. Wilson from Dennis the Menace. You gotta love Christianity:
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