The Reign of Christ

My son at the age of four was obsessed with the story of the Lion King. He was particularly interested in retelling the story from the perspective of Simba, the young lion destined to be the king of all the animals, who was bullied and cheated out of his birthright by his evil uncle Scar. Every time Joel would tell the story, he would give a superpower to Simba that would put Scar into his place. In Joel’s retelling, justice was always done – even it meant punishing Scar and forcing him to be good.

I wonder if a lot of us would identify with 4-year-old Joel at times. I am guessing many of us share his deep desire for things to be right and his antipathy in seeing the little guy pushed around. Perhaps it is part of human nature to want to eradicate wrong, to come in with a show of force and kick the bad guys out.

We might even feel this way reading today’s Gospel lesson. The religious leaders had brought Jesus to Pilate on trumped-up charges of being an enemy of the state. Jesus stands trial before Pilate, the Roman governor in Judea. The scene is a face-off between Caesar’s representative, Pilate, and God’s representative, Jesus.  We are spectators of this match up, and we expect them to go toe to toe: now is the time for Jesus to reveal his power, to stop this travesty of justice, and to make things right.

But he doesn’t.

Pilate throws the first punch: “Are you the king of the Jews?”  Jesus sidesteps and says, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?”

Pilate swings again: “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and people have handed you over to me. What have you done?”

Here Jesus could have mounted a strong defense. He could have talked about how his followers were disciples, not rebels. He could have referenced healing and feeding people. He could have pointed to the fact that he came peacefully and did not resist arrest. But he doesn’t answer the charge at all.

Instead, Jesus says, “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 the to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from this world.”

Really, Jesus? No mobilizing people to call out for your release? No armed resistance? No state or religious power coming to your aid? What happened to God’s might conquering evil? Aren’t you going to do anything to save yourself?

In the other gospels, Jesus speaks often about the kingdom of God. It’s shorthand for the loving rule of God that Jesus proclaims. But in John, this is the first place Jesus speaks about his kingdom - here, in Pilate’s headquarters, in the place where Jesus is stripped, dressed in royal robes, and cruelly beaten. In the place where Pilate stands Jesus before a crowd of his own people and says,

“Will you crucify your king?” In the place where Pilate commands a sign to hang over Jesus’ head as he is crucified that reads, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.

It’s a stark contrast of the worldly kingdom of the empire, of palaces and armies and might makes right, and Jesus’ kingdom, in which God’s power is most visible in the vulnerability of Jesus’ voluntary suffering and death.

Today is Christ the King Sunday, the final Sunday of the church year. Christ the King Sunday was instituted in 1925 under Pope Pius XI. It was a time when dictatorships were on the rise: Mussolini and Stalin were gaining power, and Hitler had just published Mein Kampf. There was increasing state control of the church. The message of Christ the King Sunday was that the Christian’s allegiance was first and foremost to Christ and his reign of justice and mercy, not to charismatic leaders who seize power and govern by dominance and threats.

The message of Jesus’ reign has implications for us: if Jesus did not use his divine power to force and coerce others, if he willingly gave his life in love and service to others, then we as his followers live out that same selfless giving and the same restraint when dealing with our enemies.

One of the ministries at Epiphany that clearly embodies Jesus’ reign is the Storybook Project prison ministry. On a monthly basis, 20 volunteers visit four prisons in Ohio and record as many as 150 incarcerated persons reading a book to their children and family members who will support them when they return home from prison. Studies consistently show that close contact between family members and their incarcerated loved ones provide positive impacts for everyone, including better health, reduced recidivism, and improvement in school.

When we look at our world, we can see that punishment without mercy yields hopelessness and bitterness, and violence begets more violence. But the Storybook Projects is a ministry that interrupts the cycle of brokenness and begins to repair people and relationships. It is one example of what it means to live in Jesus’ kingdom and under his rule. In small and large ways in our personal and communal lives, we are called to acts of self-giving love. We are called to practice forgiveness, to show mercy for the powerless and those with few opportunities, to strive for a different kind of justice where everyone wins.

It is difficult work, and sometimes we just want to be like my son Joel and write the bad guys out of the story. And while there is a place for military and civil government to restrain evil, God’s ultimate goal is healing and transformation. So, whenever we let our guard down and extend an olive branch, whenever we practice forgiveness, whenever we promote the human dignity of others, whenever we practice being charitable to those who think differently, we are living under Christ’s rule and enacting his transforming love.

Jesus said to Pilate: “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.” The truth Jesus came to proclaim is that love is stronger than evil. Jesus’ resurrected life triumphs over death. We celebrate today Jesus’ power and reign, trusting that is where we and all of human history is headed, and we are part of that work in the world. May we bow before this King and this King only, and live with Jesus in his rule of justice, mercy, and love.