Rev. Danielle K Bartz November 21, 2021
John 18:33-37 “Thy Kingdom Come…”
Most churches today are recognizing Reign of Christ Sunday, otherwise referred to as Christ the King Sunday. It is an odd day in the liturgical calendar – the calendar that marks the seasons of the church. It is essentially New Year’s Eve, the end of one liturgical year, with a new year set to begin next Sunday with the first week of Advent. It is a hinge, connecting the long season following Pentecost, to the season of Advent. And the lectionary, which is used widely across the Church, holds as its hinge between these two seasons a reminder that as Christians we are part of God’s Kingdom and Christ is our king.
And all I can think about is: if Jesus were given the option to state his opinion to the Church about this, he would be appalled. Though, I am not entirely sure he would be surprised. As evidenced in the scripture the lectionary selects for us to consider today, the people, us, continue to struggle to understand what exactly we are praying for when we say, “Thy Kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven.”
In the Gospel of John today we hear of Jesus standing before Pilate, the Roman Imperial governor who has arrived in Jerusalem for the Passover festival. Jesus has been arrested, and the people are demanding his crucifixion, even though it was traditional for the Roman Empire to release one prisoner as a ‘gift’ to the Jews. But, the people demanded Barnabas be released, while leaving Jesus to be executed. Pilate, unable to understand the fury of the people, has summoned Jesus and demands an explanation. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asks Jesus.
What follows is a conversation between human empire and the Divine. We hear the juxtaposition between what you and I can comprehend as power, and the power of God that Jesus was reflecting and trying to teach. They do not align. In fact they are so diametrically opposed, it is not possible for each to exist fully at the same time. And the power of God that Jesus was representing was so foreign the people gave into their fear and attempted to silence it. But we know how the rest of the story goes: Jesus is executed and laid in a tomb, but God is not silenced. And on Easter morning the women find that tomb empty. Life conquerors death, justice defeats hate, and love rules the day. God’s kingdom is not silenced, but continues. But we still struggle to understand exactly what that means.
Here is the thing, my Beloved Community, I stand at this pulpit on Christ the King Sunday reminding you that how we understand kings and power and empire does not align with God and God’s desire for humanity. I stand here and tell you this, but I need to be clear, I don’t understand it myself. I lead you in a prayer each and every week that asks for God’s kingdom to come on earth just as it is in heaven – but I don’t fully comprehend what we are praying for. But I also know, I have seen glimpses of our prayers come to life along the way.
The scriptures, both Old and New Testament, are filled with peaks at what God’s Kingdom looks like. The Hebrew slaves, trying to escape their captivity under the Pharaoh, are miraculously able to cross the Red Sea, while the military forces behind them are not. The prophet Isaiah, in an incredibly epic poem filled with lessons that have endured for millennia, reminds us over and over again that in God the high are made low, the weak become powerful. The Psalms, the ancient text quoted the most in the New Testament, are filled with reminders that God favors the poor, the weak, the grieved, and the vulnerable. And beginning next week with the start of Advent, we will prepare ourselves once again for the greatest reminder of what God’s power actually means – God being born into the body of a powerless, vulnerable infant, born into poverty, relying on the good will of others to survive. And as that infant grows, we hear of him healing the sick, the outcast, talking with women as equals, feeding the hungry, and over-turning the tables of those seeking to make profit on the backs of those trying to serve God.
But it is not just in ancient scriptures that we see glimpses of this kingdom. I see it as neighbors try to genuinely have conversations with one another. I see it in the faces of those who were standing outside the halls of power in Glasgow last week, making sure the leaders knew that climate change is more than a theoretical threat, but a real one. I see it in the email chains of Winona community members trying to find housing for a refugee moving to our town from Columbia. I see it in the faces of St. Mary’s University students who stop by each Monday morning to pick up what we have collected on their behalf for the Dorothy Day House. I see it in the faces gathered here today, both in the sanctuary and those who are online – setting aside time each week to turn your thoughts to God and wonder together – what can we do to make this corner of the world just a little better. So, while I don’t know exactly what I am praying for each week when I ask that God’s Kingdom come – I have seen enough glimpses of it, that the prayer is genuine, even fervent.
On this Christ the King Sunday, I do think Jesus would be deeply concerned that we have continued to conflate his mission with the purposes of empire. But I also know we have seen enough peaks at God’s Kingdom to begin to understand the difference. Empire is about accumulation. Jesus is about giving it all away. Empire is about division, separation, and hierarchy. Jesus is about inclusion, welcome, and equality. Empire will kill for its beliefs. Jesus will die for his. Empire says power is about control of others. Jesus says there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Empire is about domination. Jesus is about liberation. Empire is about violence. Jesus is the prince of peace. Empire is about grabbing wealth, power, and privilege. Jesus is about giving all that away in service to our neighbor. When we claim Christ as our king, that is the king we are praising. It is not a king that aligns with our understanding of power, but one that aligns with God.
As this liturgical year draws to a close and we look to the next, my question for us is how will we seek to center ourselves in this Kingdom we pray for. I am eager to see what we will do together, and I am excited to start a new year with you, focused on the stories of scripture that center those who point to what God seeks from us – not empire, but community. Beginning next week we will take a year long break from the three year cycle of scripture found in the common lectionary – referred to as years A, B, and C. Instead, we will be immersing ourselves in year W, a new lectionary cycle created by Rev. Dr. Wilda Gafney, a scholar and professor at Brite Divinity School. She has created an entirely new cycle of scripture that centers the stories of those commonly left out. The “W” in year W stands for womanist – a theology that interprets scripture from the perspective of black women. But, that does not mean Year W is only meant for women. Year W is a year when no one is left out.
I considered not telling you I was going to be using an entirely different lectionary for the coming church year. Not to be sneaky, but I wasn’t sure it mattered. The scriptures we will be hearing will align with the seasons we will be marking – the Advent readings will feel like Advent, the Easter lesson will be about resurrection, the lessons of Jesus will fill the year. But, as I approach this new year, and as I reflect on what it is we are embracing of Jesus on this Christ the King Sunday, I have decided it is vital for you to know we are embarking on a year of subversion. Subversion against empire, subversion against human power and dominion. We will be marking a year of the church by centering the stories of the very people Jesus places at the center of God’s Kingdom – the marginalized. The poor. Women. Children. Those left out of the halls of power. Those told they were not worthy. Those very people to whom Jesus focuses his attention, his ministry. The very people whom we know God favors. And I can’t help but wonder if, a year from now, when we approach Christ the King Sunday, if we will have a better understanding of just what God’s Kingdom looks like. I can’t help but wonder, if a year from now, if God’s kingdom and its king will feel just a little bit closer. Amen.\
PASTORAL PRAYER
Almighty God:
from the beginning of time
to the end of eternity,
you have chosen
to use your power and majesty
to love us,
to redeem us,
to shape us as your people.
King of Kings
and Lord of Lords:
you became weak
so you could confront
the strength of sin and death,
confounding their ridicule
with your resurrection.
Spirit of God,
resting upon us:
may your power enflame us
with your peace;
may your peace touch us
with your grace;
may your grace fill us
with your hope;
may your hope lead us
into your Kingdom.
God in Community, Holy in One,
may your word be on our lips,
as we pray together as Jesus
has taught us, saying,