This Sunday's Gospel reading is from John 18:33-37 in which Pilate interrogates Jesus,
Most people, like Pilate, will not understand Jesus' voice either if He were speaking to them directly or when He speaks to us through the Gospels.
It would be wise to listen to His voice and "belong to the truth".
Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?’ Pilate replied, ‘I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?’ Jesus answered, ‘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 to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.’ Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’Pilate is puzzled by Jesus' response. It would be as if we had asked someone where they were from and they said, "I am from planet Zorgon, fifth planet of the star Muphrid A. Christ's kingdom is not of this world no matter how much we desire it to be. Try as we might, we cannot recreate his kingdom on the Earth. We shall have to wait until Jesus returns.
Most people, like Pilate, will not understand Jesus' voice either if He were speaking to them directly or when He speaks to us through the Gospels.
It would be wise to listen to His voice and "belong to the truth".
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I sincerely hope that was the point of that reading being included in what I will call Christ the King Sunday until my dying day. (Sometimes I wonder what went through the Lectionary editors' heads.)
ReplyDeleteThat's what I grew up with, and I will always know it as such (Revelation 19:16):
'On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.'
We still celebrate it as Christ the King Sunday in our parish. Even though it is politically incorrect and oh so gender biased to do so. I can imagine it was being called Christ the Queen Sunday in some places.
ReplyDeleteOops, I missed this one from 2011. https://hneumark.com/2017/11/19/a-sermon-on-transgender-remembrance-day-from-2011-christ-the-queen-the-queering-of-christ-the-king/
ReplyDeleteIn my 1928 parish, it was "stir up" Sunday, the Sunday Next Before Advent: "Stir up, we beseech the, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people ..."
ReplyDeleteNice,
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