Dn 7: 13-14
Rev 1: 5-8
Jn 18: 33-37
The Word for Sunday: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/112215.cfm
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power
corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."
That
famous line, first coined in 1887 by the British historian known as Lord Acton
has been used to described the reality of what happens when power is either
grabbed by those who have not the best of intentions or to those in whom power
and position have been too narrowly concentrated. History has proved this to be true. Think of the Roman Emperors who declared
themselves to be gods or the self-proclaimed French leader Napoleon who really
wasn’t French at all or the notorious German dictator Adolf Hitler who was responsible
for unspeakable suffering on millions of innocent people. But, they are gone and their rule of terror
and corruption is ended as a dark historical memory. Yet, what they promoted
still lives on.
History
also has shown us that while there have been a few good and even saintly kings
and queens, for the most part too much power does corrupt and what could be a
benign ruler over people often has become a rule by fear or intimidation. We might say that Queen Elizabeth of England
is much loved by the British. Well, she
may be in many parts but it is probably because she has no power. Her rule is symbolic and historical but she
has no power to effect law as head of state.
Yet,
this Sunday on the last one of our liturgical year, the Church turns our
attention to another king. One
proclaimed to be “King of the Universe.”
For those who have had a lust for power such a position and claim would
have been a further hope. Yet, Jesus is
a king. In fact he preached on the kingdom of God numerous times in his public ministry. He taught many parables on what the “kingdom
of God is like.”
In
Matthew 13 we hear the kingdom of God is like: a sower with seed in the field,
wheat and weeds growing together, a mustard seed, like yeast in bread, like a
hidden treasure in the field, good and bad fish caught in the same net. These are not proclamations of a dictator but
the words of a wise teacher which seem to invite us to personal transformation.
All
of which makes us wonder what sort of “King” is Jesus? In fact this title is not one that Jesus ever
claimed for himself. He was proclaimed
as King by the adoring crowds as he entered Jerusalem after the raising of
Lazarus from the dead. Jesus could have
stopped the frenzied crowd but he did not – he rode in on a donkey with olive
tree and palm branches waving, a scriptural image of the Messiah.
So,
what sort of king is Jesus? Certainly he
had all the power of the Universe at his beck and call. He healed the blind, fed 5,000 hungry and
desperate people with a bit of bread and fish, he calmed a ferocious storm on
the Sea of Galilee by his command, walked on water towards the frightened
disciples in the boat, and he raised a man back to life who was known to be
dead for four days. Such power could only be labeled absolute. But, Our Lord was anything but corrupted by
it. In fact she shunned it and often
wanted to heal away from the crowds. So,
he is a humble king.
The
second reading of our Mass from the book of Revelation says: “Jesus Christ is the faithful witness . . .
and ruler of the kings of the earth. To
him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, who has made us
into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever
and ever.” (Rev 1: 5-6).
This
is a ruler who did not call for the blood of others but shed his own blood for
the sake of his flock. He is a ruler who referred to himself not as despotic
King with a lust for power but a Good Shepherd who would give his life for his
sheep. (Jn 10: 11). This is a leader who would gather to himself the lost, the
forgotten, the rejected and abandoned and invite them to experience not a jail
cell or a gas chamber but infinite mercy, forgiveness and love. He is a teacher
who touched the deepest hunger in the human heart for value, meaning, dignity
and purpose. This ruler shared the power
of forgiveness and mercy with all who would follow him. He rules with the power
of love and mercy and speaks in a way that respects the lost and powerless. He
offers a new vision of God who is a loving and forgiving Father not a heartless
and terrible judge.
Our
Gospel this Sunday from John 18 may be the most revealing, however. This shepherd and teacher, healer and merciful man stands in humiliation and shame
before a representative of the greatest earthly power of ancient times, the
Roman Empire, and is questioned by Pontius Pilate: “Are you the King of the Jews?” That claim in itself was a direct
threat to the Romans. That anyone from
this tiny eastern Mediterranean country would dare to claim superiority over
the Romans was high treason. It was not
a dare Jesus made for himself but one that was forced upon him by his accusers,
likewise aligned with Rome as strange bedfellows.
Jesus
refers to that claim as he questioned Pilate about his suspicion – “Have others told you about me?” Our Lord does not back down but offers a
somewhat spiritual yet absolutely true answer: “My kingdom does not belong to this world . . . my kingdom is not here.”
The power Jesus does claim is that found in his followers: “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to
my voice.”
Its’
a strange conversation between Pilate and Jesus and may have left Pilate more
confused than convinced. But, in the end
Jesus’ kingdom is not political or earthly.
Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, his kingdom is a kind of
alternative kingdom. It is about God’s
desire for humanity; not about destruction and fear but about resurrection and
eternal life.
His
truth reminds us that God wills for us that we hear the voice of his Son. If we follow in the way he shows us, we can
help create a new social order between people in which everyone feels they have
worth and dignity. Jesus’ way is that of
justice, love and peace. Rather than
emphasize power and control, he invites us to unite ourselves with him and to
receive in faith what he offers us. To
hear and follow his Word is to hear the voice of God and the truth he bears
witness to by his life, death and resurrection.
While the world would rather think small God’s kingdom in Christ is open
and expansive inviting all to taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Our
celebration of the Holy Eucharist brings us to experience a taste of this. United in Christ, by our common baptism and
faith, we mark our diversity not as separating nationalities one from another,
or creating rivalries between us but as a reflection of the beauty of God. We gather to hear the word of the King and to
feast on his body and blood, his very life poured out for us so that we may do
the same for one another.
Do
we follow this King with all our hearts as we lay aside our own agenda of power,
control and individualism? What will it take for me to accept his mercy and
forgiveness?
". . . he might present to the immensity of your majesty an eternal and universal kingdom,
a kingdom of truth and life,
a kingdom of holiness and grace,
a kingdom of justice, love and peace . . ."
(From Preface for Solemnity)
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