“Belonging To the Truth”
In Mark last week, Jesus told his followers, “This is just the beginning.” In other words, no matter what is going on around you, no matter what changes are taking place, no matter what you come up against, it is not the end, it is part of “what is” and the beginning of what will be for you – so continue on and always be ready. Jesus was giving his disciples a preview of what their lives would very well become if they stayed centered on God’s purpose for them – their sharing of the gospel with everyone.”
Paul on the other hand, in his letter to the Hebrews, was reminding this wavering community of faith not to shy away from a lifestyle of which Christ and everything he taught was the center or to give in to the pressure to return to their old habits and beliefs when things started to turn sour. So he told them, hang in there! “Hold fast to the confession of your hope without wavering.” For them too, this was just the beginning.
In today’s text, when asked by Pilate if he is king, Jesus’ response is yes and no. The safe answer would have been no, but Jesus says, “It depends on what you mean by king. King is your word, not mine.” If it is not Jesus’ word, then why do we celebrate today as Christ the King Sunday? Do we have it all wrong, like Pilate, or what? Do we try to frame Jesus’ importance by ‘what’ he is, in earthly terms, rather than by what he reveals – the revelation of God’s suffering love for us? Let us “crown him with many crowns” but remember that the one we worship is much more than an earthly king.
It is not necessary our image of Christ the King be a victorious Jesus, golden-robed and crowned, brandishing a great sword, as long as that image, whatever it may be, is indicative of Christ’s rule in our lives and in the life of the world God loves. After all, we do – don’t we – belong to the truth and listen to his voice? Jesus told Pilate he came into the world “to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Our listening to Christ and all that entails marks the beginning of our faith.
Pilate then, in a voice of power or contempt or curiosity asks, "What is truth?" Placing ourselves in Pilate’s shoes, with the status quo being threatened by this ‘rag-a-muffin’ man of God - who points out he doesn't need to be a king in the traditional sense because his is not that kind of kingdom - how do we respond? When his is not a kingdom of soldiers or violent conflict or democratic vote, but a kingdom in which his power comes from God, what then? What do we ask?
For the church today, is Christ really our king? Or do we hold, and act out of, a serious misunderstanding or illusion of who Jesus really is – not only in our lives but also in the life of the world? Is Christ our king, center of our life, the one we serve? And if not, who or what is? Jesus said, “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
Last week in the message, community shaped my understanding of being a Christian. It does today as well. As a community of faith, what do we say, and believe, about this Jesus? Do we belong to the truth he talks about? Do we live it? Would people recognize us because of what we do? Walter Brueggemann says that the "truth evidenced in Jesus is not an idea, not a concept, not a formulation, not a fact. It is rather a way of being in the world in suffering and hope..." Would people say that about the way this community of faith lives its life? “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’
Our identity in the world as God’s people requires our loyalty to God’s truth revealed. As Eugene Peterson interprets John’s verse in The Message, "Everyone who cares for truth, who has any feeling for the truth, recognizes my voice." To whom is our love given? Whose voice do we hear?
Some have suggested the role of the church is to provide a venue for our lifelong self-examination. That would be good. Emilie Townes reminds us of two things – 1) "God truly is a God of love and grace, who wills the blessings of creation in our lives," and 2) God "asks us to look deeply into who we are and what we have become, to try to live into what we can and should be." “We do this best.” She says, “in community – praying, worshipping, studying and meeting together – as people of faith.
What if our faith were transparent, where we examined and shared openly what we believe or were able to speak the truth about our life in Christ. It is tough enough for the church to carry on this sort of self-examination, let alone facilitate a similar process for individual members, but that may be exactly what we need to do. Despite our claims of allegiance to Christ, in fact we may actually be struggling with the truth and what we, who belong to the truth, are being called to do.
Which brings us to the question of what it means to be the church - the Body of Christ - in the world. On this Christ the King Sunday, we might ask how the "not-of-this-world" reign of Jesus Christ relates to the very-much-of-this-world life we live. Walter Brueggemann says: "The gospel narrative (today), …makes a claim…that in Jesus of Nazareth the things of the world are settled on God's terms." When looking around then at the poverty, injustice, and suffering experienced by so many, do we hear the truth of "the one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little" (Exodus 16) or do we hear something quite different?
Our task is “to make disciples of Christ for the transformation of the world,” but we are not left to do it all on our own – that is the good news. In Christ, we can expect a different kind of power to establish "a wise reign" in this world, and to help us be participants in it - not alone, but in community. Rodger Y. Nishioka says “there is to be a ‘belonging’ part of this Christ the King celebration because when Jesus says, ‘that everyone who listen to his voice belong to the truth and are part of his kingdom,’ he is actually saying that belonging is less about individual decisions and more about collective participation in a community that transcends the self." Imagine that!
Today marks the end of another liturgical year as we observe Christ the King Sunday. All our Sunday meditations have brought us to this point – to this end – and to Christ's omega point. So today, we look forward to Christ’s reign, “a kingdom of truth and life, of holiness and grace, of justice and peace" not only in the future but in the here and now – and a new beginning as we live the truth revealed in Jesus Christ - to love God and to love our neighbor as God loves us.
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