John 18:33-37
This morning, we are in a courtroom. The accused has been brought forward to be interrogated by a judge, and not just any judge. Pilate represents the might of Empire, his position a reminder to the occupied nation that their lands, their wealth, even their bodies were not their own. Pilate holds the power of judge, jury, and seemingly reluctant executioner. There is no separation of powers here. There are no attorneys and no witnesses, no press in this courtroom. The accused man is Jesus of Nazareth, who was arrested with no rights and no evidence collected, taken by force and treated brutally. What exactly he is accused of, we are never told. We have only Pilate’s question- Are you the King of the Jews?
It is a strange and holy irony that our lectionary, the schedule of readings assigned for each Sunday on a 3 year cycle, brings us into a courtroom today. In the past week, several significant court cases have been covered in the news. One, a trial of a young man who caused the deaths and injury of others in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Another, a trial of three men who caused the death of a man named Ahmaud. And third, a man named Julius Jones, who awaited his execution which was scheduled for Thursday, November 18th. Mr. Jones was granted clemency by the governor of Oklahoma mere hours before his death by execution was scheduled to take place, calling off the execution and commuting his sentence to life without parole. In all of these cases, regardless of the outcome, the voices of death and grief are loud. The Holy Spirit has chosen to draw our attention to the trial, judgment, and sentencing of Jesus of Nazareth amidst these realities. On this day, known as Christ the King Sunday, our last week before entering the holy season of advent, we are in a courtroom. Christ our King is on trial, and our entire reality is defined by his sentencing.
Like so many who came to Jesus over the course of his ministry, Pilate asks Jesus a question. The question is loaded, but expects a simple yes or no answer. Are you the King of the Jews? It is a strange question to ask someone who has been betrayed, interrogated, and thrown over by his own community. Are you their king? What Pilate is really asking is, are you a threat? Are you, Jesus of Nazareth, homeless wanderer with a bunch of teenagers and outcasts following you around, a threat to the Emperor of Rome? Are you a threat to me?
As he is wont to do, Jesus does not give the response his questioner is looking for. He asks a question of his own, a question that carries within it a kind of invitation. Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me? Jesus wants to know Pilate, not just his position as governor and judge but who he is and what he’s heard of the Gospel. Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me? Jesus is giving Pilate an opportunity to go deeper, to know Jesus, not for what others accuse him of but for the Good News he has to share. But Pilate’s question remains his priority- are you a threat? What have you done to land yourself here, and what do your actions mean for the Empire? Pilate declines Jesus’s invitation to go deeper, to know and be fully known, as so many with power and authority do when the truth means relinquishing control. So you are a king? Pilate continues to place Jesus within the confines of human systems of power, defining kingship by might and violence and oppression. Pilate understands Jesus to be a threat to his own position of authority, and emphasizes this by repeatedly calling Jesus a king. The truth is, Pilate is more right than he could have known.
Jesus tells us again and again that his kingdom is not of this world, and the same is true of his kingship. We often misunderstand, as Pilate does, and see Jesus as either a king like those earthly kings and rulers of history, or as a spiritualistic otherworldly prince whose royalty has more to do with our imaginations than our daily lives. Neither of these captures the truth of the reign of Christ.
“You say that I am a King.” Jesus returns the accusation to Pilate, because Pilate’s definition of a king has nothing to do with Jesus. “For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.” In this courtroom built on oppression, imperialism, militant occupation, and hierarchy, Jesus testifies to the truth. He does not do this with an interrogation of witnesses or a presentation of evidence or by an emotional testimony. Jesus testifies through his very selfhood, through his existence, to the salvation he brings by his birth. The kingdom over which he reigns is not a kingdom constructed by war and violence and maintained by policing and incarceration and execution. Its citizens are made by adoption through baptism, not by birth or pledges of allegiance or oaths to a nation. Its laws can be summed up in love, and its justice looks like accountability and reconciliation. Jesus’s enemies fear that his ascension threatens their power and authority. The truth is, it does. Not in the way that political rivals threaten to divide loyalties or the way combatant nations threaten to overcome one another with competing interests. The kingdom of God threatens all systems of power and authority because the Truth of Jesus undermines every system and culture that claims the power to exploit, exclude, oppress, and execute its citizens. Jesus testifies to the truth in the halls of power, so that we can do the same, sure in the knowledge that we belong to a greater kingdom.
Our faith language carries in it a lot of language that reminds us of the trial of Jesus and every courtroom in which Truth is being interrogated. Like Jesus, we testify, and endure trials. We are called witnesses, citizens, with Jesus as our final judge. When we talk about our faith outside of the walls of our churches, we call it testifying, and we celebrate the witnesses and testimonies that have led us to Jesus. It can be easy to forget the context of these words, when we use them so frequently and interchangeably with other words like evangelism, outreach, mission, and faith sharing. But to be a witness to Christ is a title as old as our faith. The disciples at the last supper and in the garden, the women at the cross and at the tomb, the apostles on the road to Emmaus were all quite literally witnesses of the death and resurrection of Jesus. They were witnesses of his healings and his miracles, to his teaching and his preaching and his moments of deep emotion and grave foresight. They witnessed Jesus do these things, and they told everyone they came across and everyone they could find. The word witness does not just mean someone who saw or heard something. Witnesses are those who experience something and give a testimony about what they experienced. Witnessing is not a passive experience of personal salvation. To be a witness is to stand up and tell the truth as you have experienced it. It is our time to testify, to use our words and our bodies and our resources and our gifts to witness to a kingdom more just than any in this world. The world continues to put the truth of the Gospel on trial. Will you take the stand?
Mother A Writes 