John 18: 33b - 37
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/112121.cfm
One “Peanuts” comic strip from the 1950’s
finds Schroder playing the piano while Lucy sits at one end listening with
admiration, her face in her hands as her elbows rest on the piano. After a short listen, Lucy proclaims:
“Beethoven! Phooey! He wasn’t so great.” Schroder replies: “What do you mean he
wasn’t so great?” Lucy replies: “Well, he didn’t get to be King did he? How can
anyone be called great if he doesn’t get to be called King?” Schroder just lays
his head down on the piano and sighs: “Good grief.”
It seems Lucy’s measure of greatness is what
we might say Pontius Pilate felt in this Sunday’s Gospel passage from the
Passion story according to John. That greatness is measured by power, riches,
kingdoms and an adoring population. Beethoven or any of the classical musicians
did not need to be king to be great. No
one needs to be of a royal line in fact to be called great. In fact we might
feel the famous line quoted from Lord Acton in the late 19th century might be
timely here: "Power tends to
corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always
bad men."
There is some clear historical proof of this
of course but on this Sunday at the end of our liturgical year, the Church
turns our attention to another measure of greatness. Jesus is 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 yet never
claimed that title for himself specifically. In fact in this Sunday’s Gospel,
Jesus says to Pilate who accuses Jesus of claiming to be a king: “You say I am
a king.” Yet, 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.” But it moves us to see a very different kind
of realm.
So here Jesus stands before Pilate who
sarcastically questions him. Pilate’s greatest fear was not Jesus nor his
followers nor the Jewish authorities but Rome and the Emperor. He was placed in this far eastern region of
the Roman Empire to be sure that everything was under control and under the
tight fist of the Roman military. Any
rival “king” to Rome would imply a revolt against the Roman occupiers and would
need to be immediately eliminated. So,
Pilate’s position and reputation was on the line here. He felt any great king,
measured by the values of this world, would be a rival to his own prominence
and ultimately to that of the Emperor in Rome. In fact this was an accusation
of treason on Jesus and deserving of death.
Yet, Jesus does not fall into the trap.
Rather than proclaim himself a king as Pilate questions, he instead speaks of
his kingdom as one not from this world.
In so doing he avoids Pilates specific question about being the leader
of the Jews and proclaims himself “king” of a universal kingdom of truth; the
one whose mission was to reveal the mind and heart of his Father and to open
the gates of heaven to all who would believe through his death and
resurrection. His closest allies, the Apostles, would bring that message to the
world through the power of the Holy Spirit. There are no boundaries or limits
to his power and influence, the King of the Universe as we hear today.
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 as 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 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. This way shows the world the true
meaning of greatness and opens up the window to see from whom ultimate
greatness comes.
It was a strange conversation between Pilate
and Jesus and may have left Pilate more confused than convinced. But, in the end Jesus’ is Lord of heaven and
earth, his kingdom is a kind of proposal from God to renew our vision of
authority and power and to live by the values of his 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. 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 inviting us to follow his way. The truth of Jesus’
kingdom reveals God’s absolute love for us and shows us the mark on which to
stand in order to live a full and rich life as we await the next; to join him
in his kingdom of light and peace. He is Lord of every facet of our life but we
must invite him into those parts.
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? Is Christ truly Lord of all my
life, in every part I live?
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